FIGHTING FOR SOCIAL MOBILITY IN OECD COUNTRIES

Abstract

The current trends of the development of the world economy are characterized by deepening inequality and the indicators of income, especially wealth distribution among different groups of the population witness about it. Deepening income inequality causes low level of social mobility. The latter assumes that the social status of an individual at different stages of life depends mostly on such factors as parents' educational level, profession, income rather than his own behavior. The paper has studied social mobility in OECD countries by social mobility integral index and different indicators. It should be noted that social mobility is limited by "sticky floors" and "sticky ceilings". The experience of OECD countries shows that the social status of households has a decisive role in children's employment, health and educational opportunities. Therefore, it is getting vital to provide those opportunities for human development and prevent the further deepening of inequality.