Social Mobility
From Halbeeg, the open encyclopedia · Af-Soomaali
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Social mobility (also known as social stratification movement) is the movement of an individual, family, or social group across different social strata. These strata are measured by factors including income, wealth, education, occupation, and social prestige. When a person moves from a lower stratum to a higher one, it is called upward mobility; when the reverse occurs, it is called downward mobility.
Social science uses social mobility as a measure of how much a person's circumstances at birth determine their future. In societies with low mobility, children typically remain in their parents' stratum. In societies with high mobility, the link between family origin and life outcomes weakens. This does not necessarily mean equality; a society can have high income inequality while also having considerable mobility, or vice versa.
Types of mobility
Two broad types are distinguished. Intergenerational mobility compares the stratum of children with that of their parents—for example, a farmer's son who becomes an engineer. Intragenerational mobility examines changes that occur within one person's working life, such as someone who starts as an ordinary worker and later reaches a management position. Mobility is also classified as structural (moving up or down) or exchange (changing occupations without changing stratum).
Factors affecting mobility
Education in general is the strongest pathway to mobility, since qualifications open access to higher-income occupations. Labor market conditions and economic development also matter: when manufacturing and service sectors expand, new positions are created that pull many people upward. Government policies—taxation, healthcare, education subsidies, and housing—affect how much a household can invest in its children. Family ties, inherited wealth, and systems of privilege based on gender, clan, race, or birth can impede or facilitate mobility.
Measurement
Researchers typically use long-term household survey data. A standard method is to calculate the statistical correlation between a father's or parent's income and their child's income in adulthood; a strong correlation indicates low mobility. Occupational transition tables, which show what percentage of one occupational group moves into another, are also used. These measures require reliable data collected over many years, which is difficult in many countries.