The Davis–Moore hypothesis, sometimes referred to as the Davis–Moore  theory, is a central claim within the structural functionalist paradigm  of sociological theory, and was advanced by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert  E. Moore in a paper published in 1945.[1] The hypothesis is an attempt  to explain social stratification. As a structural functionalist theory,  it is also associated with Talcott Parsons and Robert K. Merton. [from  Wiki, Davis-Moore hypothesis]