We might reasonably assume that education is the single biggest route out of poverty and to upward social mobility. Research from the University of York highlights how while that is broadly the case, it still has limitations.
It shows that professionals, such as doctors and lawyers, from working-class families are less likely to live in affluent areas than their peers from better-off families.
Family background
The researchers trawled through census data for over 8,000 people who were born between 1965 and 1981, and who were working in professional occupations when they were aged between 30 and 36. They also looked at their family backgrounds and the places they lived in.
The analysis found that people in those professions were more likely to move to prosperous areas if they themselves came from prosperous backgrounds. While the researchers weren’t able to discover a reason for this, they believe it might be due to the financial help wealthier parents can provide in supporting the move.
This ability to move to more affluent areas carries various advantages, including the proximity to good schools and well-paid jobs.
“This area gap persists during adulthood: when the upwardly mobile move, they are unable to close the gap to their peers with privileged backgrounds in terms of the affluence of the areas they live in—they face a moving target,” the researchers explain.
“Therefore even when the upwardly socially mobile—who grew up in less advantaged places and are less likely to move long-distance—do move area, they are unable to close the gap to their intergenerationally stable peers who started out in more affluent areas.”
Mobility gap
The researchers found that the difference in family background is equivalent to the difference between living in an economically mixed area in, for instance, Portsmouth, and living in an affluent part of London. This was especially prominent for women.
“There are individual and familial benefits to moving. For instance, internal migration may offer employment and wage gain opportunities,” the researchers explain. “Geography shapes access to opportunities to accumulate wealth including the highest paying jobs, higher house prices, and opportunities for entrepreneurship.”
This can be particularly important in areas such as London, as internships and other low-paid opportunities are plentiful there, with these roles often acting as a crucial stepping stone into better work later in one’s career.
“Parental wealth plays an important role in determining transitions to homeownership, and the children of higher managers and professionals are likely to have wealthier parents and hence receive larger transfers of wealth,” the authors conclude. “They will be able to afford houses in more expensive areas, net of income, than their counterparts from less advantaged backgrounds. As a result, wealth is likely to play an important role in explaining why those from advantaged backgrounds move to more affluent areas than the upwardly mobile.”
With around 60% of those from wealthier backgrounds making at least one long-distance move, the divide is all too apparent, especially as 70% of those from poorer backgrounds stayed put. If labor mobility is something we view as desirable across society, then these are issues that need exploring to ensure opportunities are not stratified according to one’s family background.
