The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently came out with a cross-country study of social mobility, both within one’s lifetime and across generations (parent to child). The study also looked at the relationship between inequality and social mobility - a relationship that was hard to discern, partly because the countries being compared were a heterogeneous bunch, some developed; others not. In an attempt to detect patterns in the mountain of data, I put together the following table:
Even with color-coding (yellow/pink/,blue = low/medium/high), it’s still pretty hard to see a forest through the trees here. Maybe that’s the take-away: inequality, social mobility, and household disposable income* aren’t all that connected to each other. Of the above countries, Norway seems to get the balance best: low inequality, decent social mobility, and decent disposable income. Then, again, Norway has a population of just 5.2 million.
How to improve social mobility and general economic well-being? The OECD folks mention universal healthcare, subsidized childcare, affordable housing, better education and training, paid parental leave. Good ideas, as long as they can be financed without killing the goose**.
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* Per the OECD, household net adjusted disposable income is the amount of money a household earns, or gains, each year after taxes and transfers. It represents the money available to a household for spending on goods or services.
** Which is doable. See, for instance: How California Does Subsidized Child Care, How to Save a Trillion a Year in US Healthcare Spending (That’s $3,000 per capita per year!), Basic Income for Adult Students and Trainees (paid mostly by cutting other programs), and How To Slash Housing Construction Costs
References:
A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility - © OECD 2018