2. CONTENTS
• Social Mobility
• Open and Closed stratification
system
• Types of Social Mobility
• Causes of Social Mobility
• Effects of Social Mobility
3. Social Mobility
Movements of individuals or groups
from one position in a society’s
stratification system to an other is called
Social Mobility.
4. Types of Social Mobility
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Vertical Mobility
Horizontal Mobility
Intergenerational Mobility
Intra-generational Mobility
6. Vertical Mobility
• The movement of an individual from
one social position to another of a
different rank.
• e.g pilot become a lawyer.
• Vertical mobility involves:
1-upword mobility
2-downward mobility
9. Open stratification system
• A social system in which the position of
each individual is influenced by his or
her achieved status.
--Open systems encourage competition among members of society.
10. Negative effects
Ethnic and culture problems
• Unequal division of population
• Unemployment
• Increase in crime
11. Positive Effects
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Betterment in living standard
National unity is increased
Projection of different ideas
Tendency of personal freedom
End of obsolete customs
12. Causes of Social Mobility
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Geographical causes
Political and Economic causes
Desire of better living standard
Desire of higher education
Development of communication and
media
13. Social Policy and Stratification
• The Issue
--Governments in all parts of
the world are searching for the
right solution to welfare.
--How much subsidy should
they provide?
--How much responsibility
should fall on the shoulders of
the poor?
14. • The Setting
– --In 1996, a historic “workfare” act was
passed in the United States that ended the
long-standing federal guarantee of
assistance to every poor family that meets
eligibility requirements. It required that all
able-bodied adults work after two years of
benefits.
– --Other countries vary widely in their
commitment to social service programs.
15. • Sociological Insights
– --Many sociologists view the debate over welfare
from a conflict perspective.
– --From a conflict perspective, the backlash against
welfare recipients reflects deep fears and hostility
toward the nation’s urban and predominantly
African American and Hispanic underclass.
– --Tax breaks and other “corporate welfare”
granted by the government for corporations should
also be examined closely.
16. • Policy Initiatives
– --There are some success stories in the new
“workfare” program of the United States.
– --However, it is too early to see how a dipping
economy and prospects for the hard-core jobless
will affect the program in the long run.
– --Medical coverage and child care remain issues
for the the working poor.
– --In North America and Europe, solutions are often
left to the private sector while government policy
initiatives at the national level all but disappear.
