SOCIAL MOBILITY

• What is social mobility?

  Measure of how free people are to improve their position in society, to move from one class to another. Associated with a meritocratic society
• What is intERgenerational Social mobility?

  Occurs when the class of a child differs to the class of their parents
• what is intRAgenerational social mobility?

  occurs when a person moves from one class to another during their working life
• what is absolute social mobility?

  when society as a whole becomes more equal, usually as incomes rise
• what is relative social mobility?

  a change in social status compared to people who started in a similar place - moving out of your original class
• how does the economy cause social mobility?

  as a society industrialises, social mobility increases. More skilled occupations become available, status is achieved rather than being assigned at birth
• how does education cause social mobility?

  usually seen as the golden ticket to upwards social mobility, if opportunities are equal those from a low social class can gain qualifications and move up.

  However this is not always the case, when people from a disadvantaged backgrounds land a professional job they earn 17% less than privileged colleagues
• how have changes to the class structure caused social mobility?


  underclass can be difficult to escape so a growing underclass may limit social mobility

  middle class grows and higher classes engage in opportunity hoarding which prevents lower classes from moving up

  proletarianisation of middle class has increased downward social mobility
• how has demographic change caused social mobility?

  parents who have many children are less likely to experience intragenerational social mobility

  children who grow up with many siblings are less likely to experience intergenerational social mobility

  smaller families means more social mobility
• how has globalisation caused social mobility?

  increased trade links have created the TCC, opportunities for a minority of people to become super rich

  emigration causes brain drain, increase in social mobility for those who remain

  immigration can limit opportunities in host country, illegal immigration causes underclass to grow
• how has the middle class changed over time

  1950s only 11% of working males were in managerial and professional roles

  in 2018 it was 44%
• what were the results of the 1958 social mobility cohort?

  by 34 30% born to poor families stayed at the bottom, 18% were at the top
• what was the 1970 British cohort survey?

  tracked 1700 people born in the same week, compared to 1958

  by 34 38% stayed at bottom, 11% moved up
• what did the IFS find?

  intergenerational social mobility declined 50% between 1958 and 1970
• in 2006 64% of 30-40 year olds exceeded or equalled their fathers earnings in real terms at the same ages, fell to 44% in 2019
• what are the negative impacts of social mobility?

  leave behind culture, family and friends

  areas decline and become ‘ghost towns’ as ambitious people leave

  loss of identity, feel disconnected