Social Mobility

Social mobility has long been one of the central topics of sociology. It has been the subject of major theoretical contributions from the earliest generations of scholars, as well as being of persistent political interest and concern. Social mobility is frequently used as a key measure of fairness and social justice, given the central role that modern liberal democracies give to equality of opportunity. More pragmatically, policymakers often consider it a force for economic growth and social integration.
  
However, discussions of social mobility have increasingly become dominated by advanced statistical techniques, impenetrable to all but specialists in quantitative methods. In this concise and lucid book, Anthony Heath and Yaojun Li cut through the technical literature to provide an eye-opening account of the ideas, debates and realities that surround this important social phenomenon. Their book illuminates the major patterns and trends in rates of social mobility, and their drivers, in contemporary western and emerging societies, ultimately enabling readers to understand and engage with this perennially relevant social issue. 

“This is a very interesting, well written, comprehensive and accessible survey of a complex topic – I would recommend it!”
Alun Francis, Chair of the Social Mobility Commission

“Heath and Li are impressively comprehensive in their discussion of social mobility. They examine occupational change from the medieval period onwards, review insights generated by the latest studies using tax data and provide fresh statistics on the historically understudied issues of mobility by gender, race and migration status.”
Jo Blanden, University of Surrey

“Social Mobility is a hugely important book on a topic that matters to us all. It is historical, comparative and interdisciplinary in its review of patterns and trends with due regard to gender and race and ethnicity. The discussion on who gets ahead and why is simply excellent.”
Fiona Devine, University of Manchester

Anthony Heath, CBE, is a Fellow of Nuffield College and Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Oxford.

Yaojun Li is Professor of Sociology at the University of Manchester.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.