Inyang, Ndueso Akpan2016-04-222016-04-228/31/2001http://hdl.handle.net/11274/7806A holistic and comprehensive theory is developed in the study which attributes societal stratification to endogenous and exogenous factors as well as the interactions between the two sets of factors. Empirical analyses based on bivariate and multiple regression modelings confirm key theoretical assumptions which attribute societal stratification to a state's internal dynamics of development as well as status in the world systems. Interaction of development status and world systems position produce different stratification effects in different clusters of countries. These findings of the study suggest that previous attempts to theorize societal stratification on the basis of endogenous or exogenous factors only distort the underlying causes of this social problem.en-USSocial stratificationSocial problemsSociologyDissertation