Upward Mobility

Bibliographic Data

ID7077672
AuthorsYaojun Li (0000-0002-0355-7715, University of Manchester, corresponding author)
Year2021
Pages1-5
Publication date2021-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeOTHER
VenueThe Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (JOURNAL)
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/9781405165518.wbeos1792
OpenAlexW4320159107
ISBN9781405165518
LanguageEN
References cited9

Upward mobility refers to the situation where an individual holds a higher social position than their parents did or than they held in their own previous job. Greater upward mobility in a society indicates that more people from humble origins are moving up the social hierarchy, hence greater social justice. Given this, promoting upward mobility is a highly desirable goal to pursue. Yet, as social mobility takes place in a given occupational structure, upward and downward mobility is usually a zero‐sum game unless there is increased “room at the top.” People in higher positions have not only strong motivation but also superior resources to prevent downward mobility. The interplay between upward and downward mobility determines how fluid a society is. Over the past two decades or so, there has been heated debate over whether social mobility in Britain is in decline. As limited data were used in previous research, an updated picture is provided here, using nearly 50 years of data

Demographic economics · Economics · Hierarchy · Occupational mobility · Political science · Position (finance · Social hierarchy · Social mobility · Social science · Sociology · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Law · Psychology · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Social Capital and Networks · Social Psychology

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