What Do We Know and What Should We Do About Social Mobility?

Lee Elliot Major is the country's first Professor of Social Mobility. Appointed by the University of Exeter to be a global leader in the field, his work is dedicated to improving the prospects of disadvantaged young people. As a Professor of Practice he is focused on the impact and dissemination of research, working closely with schools, universities, employers and policy makers. Lee is a founding trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation and chairs its evaluation advisory group. He was formerly Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust. He commissioned and co-authored the first Sutton Trust-EEF toolkit, a guide used by 100,000s of school leaders. He is an Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute of Education. Lee regularly appears in national broadcast and print media, commenting on education and social mobility issues. He has served on several Government advisory bodies and presented several times to the House of Commons Education Select Committee. Lee Elliot Major is the country's first Professor of Social Mobility. Appointed by the University of Exeter to be a global leader in the field, his work is dedicated to improving the prospects of disadvantaged young people. As a Professor of Practice he is focused on the impact and dissemination of research, working closely with schools, universities, employers and policy makers. His Penguin book Social Mobility and Its Enemies, co-authored with Stephen Machin, has attracted attention across the world. One of the book's conclusions is that income inequality and income mobility are inextricably linked together. Lee's forthcoming Bloomsbury book What Works?, co-authored with Steve Higgins, offers best bets to teachers for improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Lee is a founding trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation and chairs its evaluation advisory group. He was formerly Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust. He commissioned and co-authored the first Sutton Trust-EEF toolkit, a guide used by 100,000s of school leaders. He is an Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute of Education. Lee regularly appears in national broadcast and print media, commenting on education and social mobility issues. He has served on several Government advisory bodies and presented several times to the House of Commons Education Select Committee. Lee Elliot Major is the country's first Professor of Social Mobility. Appointed by the University of Exeter to be a global leader in the field, his work is dedicated to improving the prospects of disadvantaged young people. As a Professor of Practice he is focused on the impact and dissemination of research, working closely with schools, universities, employers and policy makers. His Penguin book Social Mobility and Its Enemies, co-authored with Stephen Machin, has attracted attention across the world. One of the book's conclusions is that income inequality and income mobility are inextricably linked together. Lee's forthcoming Bloomsbury book What Works?, co-authored with Steve Higgins, offers best bets to teachers for improving outcomes for disadvantaged pupils. Lee is a founding trustee of the Education Endowment Foundation and chairs its evaluation advisory group. He was formerly Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust. He commissioned and co-authored the first Sutton Trust-EEF toolkit, a guide used by 100,000s of school leaders. He is an Honorary Professor at the UCL Institute of Education. Lee regularly appears in national broadcast and print media, commenting on education and social mobility issues. He has served on several Government advisory bodies and presented several times to the House of Commons Education Select Committee. Stephen Machin is a Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics (LSE). He is currently director of the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) and is a fellow of the British Academy and Society of Labor Economists. His research focuses on labour economics, the economics of education, the economics of crime, and industrial economics.

1. Introduction 2. Background 3. What Do We Know About Social Mobility? 4. What Should We Do About Social Mobility? 5. Conclusion

The authors are two well-known British experts on the economics of social mobility. In this short, but comprehensive, survey, they illuminate the relatively poor UK record on mobility and what might be done to improve it. The evidence is rigorously marshalled and the complexities (and political difficulty) of solutions equally clearly illuminated. A definitive study. -- Martin Wolf An assured and detailed book bringing together the latest research, wide-ranging recommendations for practice and authoritative critiques of conventional wisdom. It's a solid grounder for those new to the topic and has plenty of fresh perspective for readers who know the field well. -- Sam Baars Written by two of the leading authors on social mobility in the U.K., this book is an excellent and accessible entry point into a large and complex academic literature. It covers enormous ground, from technical issues about how to measure social mobility, to reasons for the historical trends in U.K. post war social mobility. It also puts the U.K. in an international context and suggests concrete policy solutions for the future. A must read for policymakers! Written in an engaging way, I can see it will become a primer on social mobility for years to come. -- Anna Vignoles, Professor, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge