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Is Social Mobility Really Declining? Intergenerational Class Mobility in Britain in the 1990s and the 2000s

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  • Yaojun Li
  • Fiona Devine

Abstract

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate on social mobility in contemporary Britain among economists and sociologists. Using the 1991 British Household Panel Survey and the 2005 General Household Survey, we focus on the mobility trajectories of male and female respondents aged 25-59. In terms of absolute mobility, we find somewhat unfavourable trends in upward mobility for men although long-term mobility from the working class into salariat positions is still in evidence. An increase in downward mobility is clearly evident. In relation to women, we find favourable trends in upward mobility and unchanging downward mobility over the fourteen-year time period. With regard to relative mobility, we find signs of greater fluidity in the overall pattern and declining advantages of the higher salariat origin for both men and women. We consider these findings in relation to the public debate on social mobility and the academic response and we note the different preoccupations of participants in the debate. We conclude by suggesting that the interdisciplinary debate between economists and sociologists has been fruitful although a recognition of similarities, and not simply differences in position, pushes knowledge and understanding forward.

Suggested Citation

  • Yaojun Li & Fiona Devine, 2011. "Is Social Mobility Really Declining? Intergenerational Class Mobility in Britain in the 1990s and the 2000s," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 16(3), pages 28-41, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:16:y:2011:i:3:p:28-41
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.2424
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Geoff Payne & Judy Roberts, 2002. "Opening and Closing the Gates: Recent Developments in Male Social Mobility in Britain," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 6(4), pages 1-13, February.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Yaojun Li, 2013. "Social Class and Social Capital in China and Britain: A Comparative Study," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 1(1), pages 59-71.
    2. Yaojun Li, 2020. "Social mobility in China: A case study of a quantitative sociological approach to social mobility research in the Global South," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2020-4, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    3. Alexi Gugushvili & Olga Zelinska, 2023. "What are the Trends and Explanations of Perceived Social Mobility in Poland?," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(2), pages 811-832, April.
    4. Li Yaojun, 2020. "Social mobility in China: A case study of a quantitative sociological approach to social mobility research in the Global South," WIDER Working Paper Series wp2020-4, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Yaojun Li, 2018. "Integration Journey: The Social Mobility Trajectory of Ethnic Minority Groups in Britain," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(3), pages 270-281.
    6. Lex Thijssen & Maarten H. J. Wolbers, 2016. "Determinants of Intergenerational Downward Mobility in the Netherlands," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(3), pages 995-1010, September.
    7. Yaojun Li & Yizhang Zhao, 2017. "Double Disadvantages: A Study of Ethnic and Hukou Effects on Class Mobility in China (1996–2014)," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(1), pages 5-19.
    8. Lasierra-Asun, Diana, 2023. "La clase social como elemento limitador de la movilidad, la inmovilidad persistente [Social class as a limiting element of mobility, The persistent immobility]," MPRA Paper 117093, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    9. Yanjie Bian & Mingsong Hao & Yaojun Li, 2018. "Social Networks and Subjective Well-Being: A Comparison of Australia, Britain, and China," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 19(8), pages 2489-2508, December.
    10. Anna Klimova & Tamás Rudas, 2012. "Coordinate-free analysis of trends in British social mobility," Journal of Applied Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(8), pages 1681-1691, January.
    11. Adrian Byrne & Natalie Shlomo & Tarani Chandola, 2023. "Multilevel modelling approach to analysing life course socioeconomic status and understanding missingness," Review of Evolutionary Political Economy, Springer, vol. 4(2), pages 275-297, July.
    12. Andrea Lizama-Loyola, 2022. "Teachers’ Narratives of Life Satisfaction, Social Mobility, and Practical Sense of Inequalities in Chile," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 27(2), pages 342-360, June.
    13. Helene Snee & Haridhan Goswami, 2021. "Who Cares? Social Mobility and the ‘Class Ceiling’ in Nursing," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 26(3), pages 562-580, September.

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