Data journeys in a research career : Marii Paskov
Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2025 2:59 am
Marii Paskov, @MariiPaskov UK Data Service Data Impact Fellow and Research Officer at the University of Oxford, shares her journey about how, when it comes to social mobility research we need to be inventive in using both survey and administrative data.
Why is intergenerational social mobility so difficult to measure?
Intergenerational social mobility indicates to what extent an individual’s social and economic position is influenced by that of their parents. The extent to which life chances depend on family singapore rcs data circumstances is a fundamental question of social science. A highly mobile society is thought to be providing more equality of opportunity because an individual’s life chances are less strongly conditioned by characteristics over which they have no control over (nobody can choose which family they are born into).
While intergenerational social mobility has interested researchers – in particular, sociologists – for quite some time already, it has recently also emerged at the forefront of policy and public discussion. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has said he wants to see “a more socially mobile Britain…where no matter where you come from…you can get to the top”. Social mobility has been put forward as a point of societal concern by other prominent people, including the former President of the US, Barack Obama, and Nobel laureate, Paul Krugman.
Despite widespread interest in social mobility, robust empirical evidence on social mobility rates remains limited.
Why is intergenerational social mobility so difficult to measure?
Intergenerational social mobility indicates to what extent an individual’s social and economic position is influenced by that of their parents. The extent to which life chances depend on family singapore rcs data circumstances is a fundamental question of social science. A highly mobile society is thought to be providing more equality of opportunity because an individual’s life chances are less strongly conditioned by characteristics over which they have no control over (nobody can choose which family they are born into).
While intergenerational social mobility has interested researchers – in particular, sociologists – for quite some time already, it has recently also emerged at the forefront of policy and public discussion. The former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, David Cameron, has said he wants to see “a more socially mobile Britain…where no matter where you come from…you can get to the top”. Social mobility has been put forward as a point of societal concern by other prominent people, including the former President of the US, Barack Obama, and Nobel laureate, Paul Krugman.
Despite widespread interest in social mobility, robust empirical evidence on social mobility rates remains limited.