The Truth About Social Mobility

Public talks

 - 

RSA House, London

  • Economics and Finance
  • Social mobility
Watch Now

Many people assume that it is much easier to move between social classes today than in the past. But new research by economist Gregory Clark, based on tracking family names across generations, reveals that mobility rates are lower than conventionally estimated, and that inherited advantage remains a deeply entrenched force.

By tracking family names over generations to measure social mobility across periods and countries, Clark reveals that more than ever, the only sure route to success is to be born to the right parents. And so we need to come up with new ways to tackle the entrenched force of inherited advantage and avoid creating winner-take-all societies.

Speaker: Gregory Clark, professor of economics, University of California, Davis

Chair:Anthony Painter, RSA.

 

Be the first to write a comment

0 Comments

Please login to post a comment or reply

Don't have an account? Click here to register.

Related events

  • How to Close the Parenting Gap

    Durham Street Auditorium, RSA House

    Economist Matthias Doepke reveals the impact of economic forces and growing inequality on how parents are raising their children.

  • Who’s Destroying the American Dream?

    Durham Street Auditorium, RSA House

    Influential political thinker Richard Reeves argues that the ‘opportunity-hoarding’ US upper middle classes are making it much harder for everyone else to climb the economic ladder.

  • Towards An Economy That Works For Us

    Durham Street Auditorium, RSA House

    David Graeber, anthropologist and leading figure in the Occupy movement, visits the RSA to consider what it would take to build a flourishing, sustainable and just future economy.