A collection of articles said that social mobility had not increased since the 1960s and might have declined, with children more likely to take up the occupation of parents and adults more likely to marry a partner of the same social class. The main causes for the lack of social mobility were education policies that disproportionately benefited middle-class students, and growing inequalities in income since the late 1970s. The expansion of higher education had overwhelmingly benefited wealthier students, but had been subsidised by poorer young people.
Source: Wendy Piatt (ed.), New Economy, Institute for Public Policy Research, available from Blackwell Publishing (01865 778315)
Links: IPPR press release | Guardian report
Date: 2003-Dec
An article analysed trends in social class differences in mortality by cause of death over the 1990s. Between 1986-92 and 1997-99, death rates among men from coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease/stroke and lung cancer fell in all social classes, but they fell more rapidly for those in professional classes. Death rates from respiratory disease fell among professional classes, but rose among those in unskilled and semi-skilled social classes. Among women, there was an increase in the inverse social gradient in breast cancer, which contributed to a reduction in overall social class differences.
Source: Chris White, Folkert van Galen and Yuan Huang Chow, 'Trends in social class differences in mortality by cause, 1986 to 2000', Health Statistics Quarterly 20, Winter 2003, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
A paper summarised discussions at a government seminar on the effects of childhood experiences on life chances and life-course outcomes. It outlined methodological approaches to determining how childhood experiences affected outcomes in adulthood. It said that a central government champion should be appointed to ensure that knowledge on child outcomes was prioritised, assembled and disseminated, gaps in understanding identified, and appropriate new research initiated. A knowledge centre should be established to identify, review and evaluate theoretical and empirical research on the factors influencing child outcomes (including policy interventions) on a continuing basis. Funding should be made available for a review and comparative evaluation of measures of child outcomes and parenting, in order to ensure that the best measures were used where appropriate, in all future studies, particularly those funded by government.
Source: Robert Walker, Determining Children's Life Chances: Methodological challenges and strategies, Working Paper 12, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Oct
A paper examined changes over time in the extent of educational inequality defined as educational attainment by people from higher, relative to lower, income backgrounds. The data showed a sharp rise in educational inequality over time, with the rapid expansion of higher education disproportionately benefiting children from relatively affluent backgrounds.
Source: Jo Blanden, Paul Gregg and Stephen Machin, Changes in Educational Inequality, Working Paper 03/079, Centre for Market and Public Organisation/University of Bristol (0117 954 6943)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-Aug
A paper summarised the results of an empirical investigation into the extent of meritocracy in the education system and labour market, based on two cohorts - one born in 1958, and the other in 1970. It was found that the effect of cognitive ability on educational attainment had actually decreased, while the role of parental social class and income in determining educational attainment had increased.
Source: Fernando Galindo-Rueda and Anna Vignoles, Class Ridden or Meritocratic? Economic analysis of recent changes in Britain, DP 32, Centre for the Economics of Education/London School of Economics (020 7955 7285)
Links: Paper (pdf)
Date: 2003-May
A report said that educational success in Britain is more determined by social class than in any other country in the industrialised world.
Source: Paul Ennals, The Education and Child Poverty Report, End Child Poverty (020 7843 1913) and National Children's Bureau
Links: Report (pdf) | Guardian article
Date: 2003-Mar
A study explored the relationship between fathers' and sons' earnings, and the function of inheritance as a means of influencing life-time inequality. A father's background was found to be at least as important as his son's academic abilities in determining whether the child will go on to get a university degree.
Source: Martin Weale and James Sefton, Inherited Wealth and the Intergenerational Transmission of Inequality, Economic and Social Research Council (01793 413000)
Links: Press release | Project report (pdf) | Summary (pdf)
Date: 2003-Feb