Social mobility: The lift, and what blocks it

People often talk about the social lift. The idea: no matter where you are born, you can rise.

To know if it works, we compare generations. Do children earn more, or less, than their parents at the same rank?

If parents' position predicts their children's very well, the lift is stuck. If it predicts almost nothing, it works.

The OECD did the maths in two thousand eighteen. In France, it would take a low-income family six generations to reach the average income.

Six generations is about one hundred and fifty years. In Denmark, the OECD counted two.

And one finding often comes back: the most unequal countries are also those where people move least. It is called the Great Gatsby curve.

What lifts people up, or holds them back? First factor, the most predictive: education.

Qualifications remain the best predictor of future income. And access to long studies still depends a lot on background.

It is not only money. It is help with homework, books at home, knowing which path to choose.

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Second factor, the one that blocks everything else: housing.

Jobs are concentrated in big cities. And that is where housing costs most.

Say a flat at three hundred thousand euros. The bank asks for a ten per cent deposit: thirty thousand euros.

Saving three hundred euros a month, it takes one hundred months to gather this deposit. Eight years and four months.

Meanwhile, whoever gets help from their parents buys right away. And starts repaying for themselves eight years earlier, instead of paying rent.

Housing also decides the school, transport, the jobs within reach. It does not just cost money: it closes doors.

Third factor, the one never counted: the network.

An internship found through an uncle. Career advice at the right time. A recommendation slipped to a recruiter.

None of this appears on a balance sheet. And yet it is capital, passed on as surely as a flat.

The twist: a network can also be built. Associations, alumni, mentoring, colleagues. It is cultivated like savings.

So mobility is not a question of merit alone. It is the sum of what you receive, and what you can build.

Public policies work on these three levers: student grants, social housing, mentoring programmes.

At your scale, two things matter. Investing in skills, your own and your children's.

And keeping up your network before you need it. These are the two investments that appear on no statement.

The social lift exists. But it does not rise at the same speed for everyone.