What is the Global Social Mobility Index?
Launched by the World Economic forum in 2020, it ranks 82 countries according to their performance across five key pillars
Just like all the previous three industrial revolutions, the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) has been a major driver of social mobility as the economies have become more dynamic, globalized and technologically advanced. The biggest achievement of 4IR has perhaps been the emergence of a burgeoning middle class in countries like China and India. But each industrial revolution has come with its own set of problems as well.
While globalization and 4IR have been successful in lifting millions of people out of poverty and raising their standards — the world’s population living in extreme poverty has decreased from 44% in 1980 to less than 8.6% today. However, it has given rise to massive inequality as some countries experienced much more rapid growth than others. This increase in inequality has resulted in the weakening of social fabric, eroding trust in institutions & disenchantment with political processes in these countries.
In this day and age, an individual's chance of succeeding in life are determined by the socio-economic status of the household they are born in. A person’s socio-economic background thus becomes a…
