42 5.2 Technology and Innovation Enhance Upward Social Mobility 5.2.1 Multiple studies have shown that technology and innovation are the main driving forces for upward mobility in today’s society. Research data in the United States shows that the use of technology and innovation has widened the wealth gap among high-income groups. The wealthy people engaged in high-tech jobs have increased their wealth at a significantly faster rate than those engaged in non-technological categories104. On the other hand, Finnish research data105 shows that inventors engaged in technology and innovation not only significantly increase their wealth, but also allow everyone up and down the work team to have a rapid and outstanding increase in income. This is even more obvious in the short term. This fully shows that technology and innovation not only brings wealth to innovative talents, but also has an accompanying effect that can increase the overall income of society. As can be seen from Figure 5.1, compared with ordinary companies, technologically innovative companies are more capable of driving lowskilled employees to increase income106. This proves that the technology and innovation industries is more capable of driving the upward mobility of society as a whole. 5.2.2 Past research results have shown that the income of parents is closely related to the income of children. If the parents’ income is high, their children are more likely to become high-income earners, and vice versa. But this phenomenon does not apply to inventors of innovative technologies107. In this group, the influence of the parents’ generation disappears, and how much achievement can be achieved depends entirely on the individuals themselves. Although innovative inventors are not yet the highest-income group, they are the most likely to break through the boundaries of the original social class and become the new upper class, thereby realizing upward social mobility. 104 Aghion, P, U Akcigit, A Bergeaud, R Blundell, and D Hemous, D (2015) “Innovation and Top Income Inequality”, CEPR Discussion Paper No 10659. 105 Aghion, P., Akcigit, U., Hyytinen, A., & Toivanen, O. (2017). Living the American Dream in Finland : The Social Mobility of Inventors. 106 Aghion, Philippe, Ufuk Akcigit, Antonin Bergeaud, Richard Blundell and David Hemous (2015) ‘Innovation, income inequality, and social mobility’, 28 July, VOX – CEPR’s Policy Portal (weblink) 107 Aghion, Philippe, Ufuk Akcigit, Antonin Bergeaud, Richard Blundell and David Hemous (2015) ‘Innovation, income inequality, and social mobility’, 28 July, VOX – CEPR’s Policy Portal (weblink). 5 Upward Social Mobility
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