We explain what social mobility is, its types, causes, and its relationship to poverty. We also explain what social mobility is like in Mexico.
What is social mobility?
Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, or groups from one social position to another within a given spectrum of socioeconomic stratification.
If this mobility allows for a change in occupation or territorial residence but does not entail a change in social class, it is called “horizontal mobility.” If mobility consists of joining another social class due to a significant change in income or standard of living, it is called “vertical mobility.” Vertical mobility can be “upward” (moving to a higher social class) or “downward” (moving to a lower social class). You must read about Social Classes once.
The concept of social mobility is frequently used in sociology to study the functioning of class or stratified societies. In modern societies, it is closely related to the idea of meritocracy, that is, the possibility for individuals to rise socially and improve their quality of life if they work hard enough.
However, upward social mobility depends not only on individual merit but also on widespread access to new opportunities. For this reason, societies are often classified according to the level of social mobility they enable based on their socioeconomic structures and educational systems. For example, many immigrants who fled poverty in southern Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were able to rise socially in countries like Argentina due to the demand for labor and the promotion of educational policies in a historical context of modernization.
At the opposite extreme from a society with social mobility are societies without social mobility, in which classes are more like social strata that remain fixed and immutable, regardless of the attitudes of individuals or families. This situation occurs primarily in societies whose hierarchical system is based on birth, such as the castes in India or the three estates in medieval Europe (although in the latter case, social mobility was not impossible, although it was rare). Maybe you should definitely read about Judaism once.
KEY POINTS
- Social mobility is the movement of individuals, families, or groups from one socioeconomic position to another.
- It can be horizontal (when it does not involve a change in social class) or vertical (when a transition occurs from one social class to another).
- Vertical social mobility can be upward (when socioeconomic status improves) or downward (when socioeconomic status worsens).
- Upward social mobility is usually due to equality of opportunity fostered by education, job availability, public policies, or other means. Societies with high rates of social mobility tend to be more equitable than societies with low rates of social mobility, and increased upward social mobility often contributes to reducing poverty.
Importance of Social Mobility
Upward social mobility is promoted by many contemporary societies through various methods, as it is considered a guarantee for building a more equitable and less unequal society. Some of these methods include the promotion of education and job inclusion or integration policies.
The possibility of upward social mobility is considered essential to combat poverty and ensure that individuals from low-income households can develop their skills and achieve a better quality of life. Some analysts also believe that the possibilities for upward social mobility reduce the influence of radicalized movements on the lower social strata. However, other authors argue that inequality and poverty cannot be combated solely through measures that promote social mobility within the prevailing economic system (i.e., capitalism).
Types of Social Mobility
There are various types of social mobility, depending on the criteria used to classify them. A first distinction is between horizontal mobility and vertical mobility:
- Horizontal mobility: This occurs within the same social stratum or class. It occurs when an individual or group moves from one occupational, territorial, social, ideological, religious, or political sphere to another without a change in status or social class.
- Vertical mobility: This occurs when an individual or group moves from one social class to another. This is due to an occupational, professional, economic, or political change that involves a shift, either upward (enrichment) or downward (impoverishment), on the socioeconomic scale.
Other classifications of social mobility relate to the following criteria:
- Generation: We speak of intergenerational social mobility when the shift occurs from one generation to the next (for example, when a child’s professional activity and standard of living are different from those of the parent); and of intragenerational social mobility when the shift occurs within the same generation (for example, when a person’s professional activity and standard of living change throughout their working life).
- Statistics: A distinction is made between absolute social mobility, determined by changes in the social class structure over generations, which allows for measuring the change in the standard of living of an entire nation or region; and relative social mobility, determined by the opportunities for individuals from different social backgrounds to achieve a given socioeconomic position.
Causes of Social Mobility
The main causes of upward social mobility are:
- Investment in education: People with higher levels of education can aspire to better jobs and can more easily update their knowledge, giving them better opportunities to adapt to new environments.
- Technological change: New technologies create new types of employment, both dependent and self-employed, providing job opportunities for those who acquire the necessary qualifications and skills.
- Public policies: The implementation of job inclusion or integration policies aimed at people who have difficulty finding formal employment can help guarantee income and improve the living conditions of a family unit. Furthermore, the development of social welfare programs, family assistance, and public access to health care can raise living standards.
- Family planning: Intentional control of the number of children and reproductive health care promote the well-being of the family group and contribute to socioeconomic planning, which can promote social mobility.
- Fight against discrimination: Policies that combat discrimination based on ethnicity, religion, social status, gender, class, and other grounds tend to facilitate social mobility by broadening educational and employment opportunities. This contrasts with certain traditionalist or fundamentalist discourses that can hinder social mobility, for example, in relation to the role of women in society.
- Migration: Migration within the country (internal) and to other countries (external) can improve the socioeconomic status of some people, as moving to places with better employment or educational opportunities can improve their quality of life.
Social Mobility and Poverty
Social mobility is related to poverty in several ways. First, it can foster certain improvements in the economic situation of families living in poverty and even allow them to leave that social position behind thanks to educational and employment opportunities or a more equitable distribution of resources.
For this same reason, societies with low upward social mobility are those with higher rates of poverty, as the lowest strata of society are unable to advance socially and reproduce their precarious conditions intergenerationally.
On the other hand, social mobility can also be downward, leading to the impoverishment of the middle classes, but such shifts tend to be less frequent, characteristic of times of crisis, and are often reversible.
Secondly, poverty generated by structural economic inequality can impose limits on social mobility, as scarcity of resources is often accompanied by limited access to education, healthcare (including reproductive healthcare), and emotional support networks (social or familial). These limitations, in turn, can hinder obtaining better job opportunities.
Finally, social mobility is linked to inequality, as the most egalitarian societies are those with greater social mobility and a large middle class. On the other hand, societies with more rigid social stratification tend to be more unequal, with practically unbridgeable gaps between one class and another.
Social Mobility in Mexico
According to the 2019 Social Mobility Report in Mexico published by the Espinosa Yglesias Center for Studies (CEEY), 49 out of every 100 people born into the lowest strata of society in Mexico remain there their entire lives, and of the 51 people who do manage to rise socially, 25 never rise above the poverty line.
All this indicates that social mobility in Mexico is low, as of every 100 Mexicans born into poverty, 74 fail to escape it. On the other hand, of every 100 people born into a wealthy household in Mexico, 57 remain in that same stratum their entire lives.
References
All the information we offer is supported by authoritative and up-to-date bibliographic sources, ensuring reliable content in line with our editorial principles.
- Bobbio, N., Matteucci, N., & Pasquino, G. (Eds.). (2015). Dictionary of Politics. Siglo XXI.
- Heath, A. & Li, Y. (2024). Social Mobility. Polity.
- Orozco, M., Espinosa, R., Fonseca, C., & Vélez, R. (2019). Social Mobility Report in Mexico 2019. Centro de Estudios Espinosa Yglesias. ceey.org.mx
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica (2023). Social Mobility. Encyclopedia Britannica. britannica.com
