A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility. OECD report (Paris, OECD Publishing, 2018)

Abstract

The review presents OECD’s A Broken Social Elevator? How to Promote Social Mobility volume. Its primary aim is to identify the mechanisms that hinder social mobility, focusing in particular on inter-generational mobility and the lack of it. The mechanisms are presented in three groups – property, health, and education – which are not only mechanisms of mobility but also indicators of it. The three groups can, of course, be broken down purely analytically, but in reality, they are closely intertwined and mutually reinforcing. In addition to this, albeit with less emphasis, I also present the chapter on intra-generational mobility. I also discuss the possible consequences of low social mobility and make some critiques, first and foremost concerning the sometimes somewhat over-generalized conclusions of the book.