Lee Elliot Major & Stephen Machin 
What Do We Know and What Should We Do About Social Mobility? 

Featured in the
 Financial Times Best Books of the Year 2020

The evidence is rigorously marshalled and the…solutions equally clearly illuminated. A definitive study. –
 Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator, The Financial Times

In this vital new book, Britain′s first Professor of Social Mobility Lee Elliot Major and Stephen Machin, reveal the causes of the UK’s low social mobility, explain why it′s getting worse, and outline how we reverse this worrying trend, before it’s too late. 



It covers the history of social mobility in the UK, explores international comparisons, analyses the recent ‘dark age’ of declining absolute mobility, and investigates issues such as how family traits affect inter-generational mobility. The authors then outline what it is we should do about this pressing issue. Calling for a fundamental shift in debates about social mobility and arguing that only by establishing general principles of fairness in society can we agree the major policy reforms that can make Britain a more mobile and just society for all.

Table of Content

1. Introduction

2. Background

3. What Do We Know About Social Mobility?

4. What Should We Do About Social Mobility?

5. Conclusion

About the author

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.