The Downward Slope of Upward Mobility in a Global Economy

Abstract

This chapter examines the unraveling of the social contract and the social welfare safety net for the poor and vulnerable populations in many countries following the Great Recession which began in 2007 and ended in 2009. Analyzing data on income inequality, links between individual and parental earnings, and intergenerational poverty data, among others, this chapter dispels the notion of trickle-down economics, the notion that the benefits of economic growth automatically trickle down to the disadvantaged. The growing divisions between the “haves” and “have-nots” point toward growing inequality and marginality on a global scale.

Citation

Camp Yeakey, C. and Shepard, D.L. (2012), "The Downward Slope of Upward Mobility in a Global Economy", Camp Yeakey, C. (Ed.) Living on the Boundaries: Urban Marginality in National and International Contexts (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities, Vol. 8), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 3-22. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-358X(2012)0000008006