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LSE Politics and Policy blog:
Social mobility matters, and government can affect the mechanisms which promote it

4 November 2013

In response to arguments that the 'social mobility problem' has been overstated and that social mobility as a policy aim is futile, Jo Blanden reviews research that her and colleagues have conducted into intergenerational mobility in the UK. She argues that there is good evidence that relative intergenerational income mobility declined over time in the UK and that governments can indeed affect the mechanisms which can promote social mobility. To do so they must take a close look at the overall shape of society.

The piece was published by LSE politics and policy blog on November 4, 2013
Link to blog here

Related publications
Blanden, J., A. Goodman, P.Gregg and S.Machin (2004) ''Changes in Intergenerational Mobility in Britain'' in Corak, M. (ed.) Generational Income Inequality in North American and Europe, Cambridge University Press. Details.
Social Mobility in Britain: Low and Falling, Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin. Article in CentrePiece Volume 10, Issue 1, Spring 2005
Intergenerational Mobility in Europe and North America by Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin - a report supported by the Sutton Trust, April 2005
This paper has been published as: Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin, 'Educational Inequality and Intergenerational Mobility' in Stephen Machin and Anna Vignoles (eds.) What's the Good of Education? The Economics of Education in the UK, Princeton University Press, 2005. Details.

Related links
Jo Blanden webpage
Stephen Machin webpage
Education and Skills Programme webpage

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