41 5.1 The Impact of Technology and Innovation on Social Mobility 5.1.1 Before analyzing how technology and innovation would affect social mobility, we should first introduce the concept of social mobility. 5.1.2 Social mobility refers to one’s movement through the social hierarchical ladder 96. According to the World Economic Forum, social mobility includes two dimensions: intragenerational, which measures an individual’s movement between socio-economic classes; and intergenerational, which measures a family group’s movement between the classes, in the span of at least one generation. In order to make quantitative and tangible measurement, this can be sub-divided into income mobility, education mobility and occupational mobility. Mobility can also be directional, such as upward, which is the desired outcome the government expects. The following table shows the explanation of the aforementioned terms: Table 5.1 Different Types of Social Mobility 5 Upward Social Mobility 96 “Social Mobility | Definition, Examples, & Facts”. 2020. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-mobility. 97 World Economic Forum. (2020) “The Global Social Mobility Report 2020 Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative”, pp. 9. 98 World Economic Forum. (2020) “The Global Social Mobility Report 2020 Equality, Opportunity and a New Economic Imperative”, pp. 9. 99 LegCo Secretariat (2015) “Social mobility in Hong Kong”, Research Brief Issues No.2 2014-15, pp.2. 100 LegCo Secretariat (2015) “Social mobility in Hong Kong”, Research Brief Issues No.2 2014-15, pp.4. 101 LegCo Secretariat (2015) “Social mobility in Hong Kong”, Research Brief Issues No.2 2014-15, pp.6. 102 Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit (2016) 2015 Study on Earnings Mobility, pp. 4. 103 Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit (2016) 2015 Study on Earnings Mobility, pp. 4. Intragenerational mobility Intergenerational mobility Income mobility Education mobility Occupational mobility Upward mobility Downward mobility The ability of a family group to move up or down the socio-economic ladder across the span of one or more generations98. For example, if the son has more income than his parents, this is an example of inter-generational mobility. It means moving across different income class99. It means the change in educational attainment 100. It means moving across different occupations, which is a proxy of socio-economic class101. This means rising to a higher decile (10%) in the social income distribution curve102. This means falling to a lower decile (10%) in the social income distribution curve103.
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