Social mobility – which is the ability of a person or a household to move between social groups and social classes in a society during their lifetime (intragenerational) or over generations (intergenerational) – is largely the result of economic and social inequalities.
In Africa, such inequalities are rooted in factors like limited access to quality education, healthcare, and stable employment. High levels of poverty, coupled with disparities in income distribution, hinder upward mobility for large segments of the population. Gender and ethnic discrimination further exacerbate these challenges, particularly in rural areas.
With the widening gap between the rich and poor locking generation after generation into cycles of poverty and inequality, this ACEIR research theme is important because inequality in many African countries is high, which makes social mobility more difficult than in countries with less inequality.
Projects and studies
Social mobility from the middle to the top
The International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) conducts important research on asset and wealth inequalities that affect social mobility. This body of work draws attention to how asset stocks in the top half of the income distribution affect broader social divisions. Building on the TSITICA research component on climate shocks and household assets and welfare, ACEIR teams from the Ghana and South Africa nodes collaborate with the LSE’s International Inequalities Institute to explore the drivers that facilitate or hinder social mobility through the middle classes and into the elite in developing contexts. Read more