science

Global Social Mobility Index

Global Social Mobility Index is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Global Social Mobility Index rather than just read about it. In short: The Global Social Mobility Index is an index prepared by the World Economic Forum. The inaugural index from 2020 ranked 82 countries and has not been updated since.

Key takeaways

Global Social Mobility Index belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Global Social Mobility Index to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Global Social Mobility Index from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Global Social Mobility Index is an index prepared by the World Economic Forum. The inaugural index from 2020 ranked 82 countries and has not been updated since. The Index measures social mobility holistically through 5 determinants. The findings from the index were then used in the World Economic Forum's Global Social Mobility Report 2020, which provided recommendations for governments and businesses. Researchers have used the index to analyze income inequality and have determined reasons for countries to improve social mobility.

Context The Global Social Mobility Index was established by the World Economic Forum in 2020 in light of the changes caused by globalization and technological advancement. The results and findings of the index are summarized in the Global Social Mobility Report 2020. The index differs from previous measures of social mobility because it uses a more holistic methodology, ultimately measuring the causes of social mobility. Previous measures focused on comparing intergenerational incomes. These comparisons drew data from different time periods, and thus it was more difficult to draw clear conclusions about the present.

Methodology summary The World Economic Forum measured social mobility through five determinants: health, education, technology, work, and institutions. These five determinants are measured by the following ten pillars, each with its own set of parameters. Pillar 1: Health

Adolescent birth rate per 1000 women Prevalence of malnourishment (as a percentage of 5-19 year olds) Health access and quality index Inequality-adjusted healthy life expectancy index Pillar 2: Education Access

Pre-primary enrollment (as a percentage) Quality of vocational training NEET ratio (the percentage of 15-24 year olds not in employment, education, or training) Percentage of school-age children that lack access to education Inequality-adjusted education index Pillar 3: Education Quality and Equity

Children below minimum proficiency Pupils per teacher in pre-primary/primary/secondary education Harmonized learning outcomes (a metric created by the World Bank that compares learning progress between countries) Social diversity in schools Percentage of disadvantaged students in schools which report a lack of education material Pillar 4: Lifelong Learning

Extent of staff training Active labor market policies Impact of ICTs (information and communications technology) on access to basic services Percentage of firms offering formal training Digital skills amongst the adult population Pillar 5: Technology Access

Internet users (as a percentage of the adult population) Fixed-broadband internet subscriptions (per 100 pop.) Mobile-broadband subscriptions (per 100 pop.) Percentage of population covered by at least a 3G mobile network Percentage of rural population with electricity access Internet access in schools Pillar 6: Work Opportunities

Unemployment among labor force with basic/intermediate/advanced education (as a percentage) Unemployment in rural areas (as a percentage) Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate Workers in vulnerable employment (as a percentage) Pillar 7: Fair Wage Distribution

Low pay incidence (as a percentage of workers) Ratio of bottom 40% to top 10% labor income share Ratio of bottom 50% to top 50% labor income share Mean income of bottom 40% (as a percentage of national mean income) Adjusted labor income share (as a percentage) Pillar 8: Working Conditions

Worker’s rights index Cooperation in labor-employer relations Pay and productivity Employees working more than 48 hours a week Collective bargaining coverage ratio (as a percentage) Pillar 9: Social Protection

Guaranteed minimum income benefits (as a percentage of median income) Social protection coverage (as a percentage of population) Social protection spending (as a percentage of GDP) Social safety net protection Pillar 10: Inclusive Institutions

Corruption perceptions index Government and public services efficiency Inclusiveness of institutions Political stability

Global Social Mobility Index (2020) results

Below is the list of 82 countries ranked by their score in the inaugural Global Social Mobility Index 2020. The value 100 was the highest possible score a country could receive.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Global Social Mobility Index

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Global Social Mobility Index claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Global Social Mobility Index before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Global Social Mobility Index ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Global Social Mobility Index

In research: Global Social Mobility Index appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Global Social Mobility Index in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Global Social Mobility Index is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Economic indicators, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Global Social Mobility Index outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Global Social Mobility Index in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Global Social Mobility Index means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Global Social Mobility Index out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Global Social Mobility Index in simple terms?

The Global Social Mobility Index is an index prepared by the World Economic Forum. The inaugural index from 2020 ranked 82 countries and has not been updated since.

Why does Global Social Mobility Index matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Global Social Mobility Index?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Global Social Mobility Index.