Article by Kairi Hattori

Photo by Luemen Rutkowski on Unsplash

When we think of life as a long-distance run, each of us has a different starting line. Although the goal of each life is different, the starting line is determined by where parents pass the baton to their children. A child who starts behind others has to run extra long on their own to catch up with the other children. On the other hand, a child who gets the baton at the front might be able to drive with the help of his or her supporters. There is no rule against using a vehicle in the long-distance race called life. In many cases, it will be difficult for those suffering from poverty to pull off an upset and get ahead in this race. Can you imagine yourself in last place? Can you accept the fact that children born with a silver spoon in their mouths are ahead of you simply because they were born in better situations? In the past, it was difficult to see who was in that race, but in the modern age of social media, this fact has become more and more visible.

In Japan, the term ‘親ガチャ’ is heard very often nowadays. This is the Japanese equivalent of a parent lottery in English. This is an expression that compares the situation where children cannot choose their parents, even though their lives are largely determined by their parents’ socio-economic status, to a gacha game. The emergence of this term can be seen as a kind of social phenomenon. A society that can no longer tolerate the conditions brought about by neoliberal reforms, in which all responsibility lies with oneself, has reinforced the discourse of ‘parent lottery’, in which life is determined by birth.

Disparities continue to reproduce themselves in different countries around the world. While there are still considerable disparities between countries, disparities within countries are growing rapidly. Branko Milanovic shows that half of a person’s income is determined by where they live and 20 per cent by their parent’s income. The Economist also points out that social mobility is quite low in the US, with about 33 per cent of people born into families with incomes in the bottom 25 per cent remaining at that level, and about 7.5 per cent going to the top 25 per cent. Similarly, in the UK, the former is about 31 per cent and the latter about 11 per cent, which would not be considered high either. [1] As OECD’s document shows, the lack of social mobility has a significant social, economic and political impact.[2] For example, it would be possible to miss out on the benefits generated by potential children born in an environment of low social stratification. There is also evidence of a more positive impact on well-being and life satisfaction. From these, increasing social mobility will be essential for building a better society.

Why does this happen？

One reason for this is attributed to the major changes in society and education. The industrial structure has shifted from a focus on manufacturing to a focus on professions that require intellectual skills, which has led to the demand for university degrees. Therefore, the level of education began to determine life possibilities. Whether or not a person went to university, and which university they went to, became a major factor in determining their future earnings. Wealthy family therefore began to invest more and more in education for their children. As a result, This vicious cycle has developed in which children from wealthy families go to better universities and get better-paying jobs, on the other hand, It’s challenging for the poor to escape the loop. Many students in Japan take out loans to go to university, and many students become part of society with large debts when they graduate. Data show that approximately one in two Japanese university students take out student loans, and the burden of repaying these loans accelerates many other social problems, such as the declining birth rate. As the sociologist Bourdieu points out, schools function as a device for the reproduction of inequality, and the cultural capital passed on from parents to children contributes to inequality in an invisible way.

Solution

So what exactly should be done to increase social mobility? One thing that can be done is to increase investment in education. Indeed, OECD data show that there is a correlation between the amount of public spending on education and mobility in education.[4]

Undoubtedly, education is one important building block that shapes a child’s life. Ensuring equality of opportunity in education is essential for social mobility in an age when how much education a person has received defines his or her life. There are several concrete ways in which this can be done. The first is to provide good educational opportunities from the pre-school stage. Data show that the expansion of child care and preschool has led to higher learning outcomes, especially among children from lower-income groups. The second is to provide equal educational opportunities for school-aged children. It has been found that disadvantaged schools tend to have larger class sizes and lack learning materials and infrastructure. It is important to make sure that such educational places are well-equipped.

Furthermore, even students who do well in school may struggle to get a job. This is because they do not have the social capital such as networks and work experience. Making career advice, for example, accessible to all would improve the situation. ’Cradle-to-workplace’ support in education will be essential to break the vicious cycle of educational inequality.

Footnote:
[1]https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/02/14/americans-overestimate-social-mobility-in-their-country
[2]https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/broken-elevator-how-to-promote-social-mobility_9789264301085-en#page48
[3]https://www.jasso.go.jp/statistics/gakusei_chosa/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2022/03/16/data20_all.pdf
[4]https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/broken-elevator-how-to-promote-social-mobility_9789264301085-en#page48

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