scholarly journals Experience of social mobility and support for redistribution: Beating the odds or blaming the system?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Sophie Weber
Keyword(s):  
Social Mobility ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Ceteris Paribus ◽  
Negative Experience ◽  
Great Gatsby ◽  
System P ◽  
The Great Gatsby ◽  
Potential Demand ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Attribution Bias

How does the experience of social mobility affect people's distributive preferences? Using cross-country survey data and a survey experiment, I examine the effects of experienced social mobility on support for redistribution. The results indicate an asymmetric relationship - experiencing downward mobility increases support for redistribution while experiencing upward mobility does not affect distributive preferences. In line with a common attribution bias, the self-serving bias, those with negative mobility experiences 'blame the system' and extrapolate from their negative experience onto society at large, which increases their demand for redistribution. Conversely, those who experienced positive mobility believe they `beat the odds' and do not extrapolate from their experience onto perceptions of societal mobility, leading to no less support for redistribution. This finding suggests significant implications at the aggregate and a potential demand-side explanation for the Great Gatsby Curve: As overall absolute mobility decreases (increases), ceteris paribus, demand for redistribution also decreases (increases).

J GATSBY AND THE EXTERNAL AGENTS OF HIS FALL

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-32
Author(s):  
Lale Massiha
Keyword(s):  
Social Identity ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Financial Success ◽  
American Novel ◽  
Tragic Hero ◽  
Great Gatsby ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Great Gatsby ◽  
External Agents ◽  
The Hill

The Great Gatsby, as the icon of 20th century American Novel generated a wide range of criticism and reactions, since its publication in 1925. J Gatsby is believed to be an undeniably true American following his American dream.He strongly believes in his success by employing all the means he owns. This is the force behind Gatsby's strong but blind belief in the fantasy of his ideally sketched future. Although he achieves his dream of financial success hetragically falls. Any classic tragic fall, definitely, claims a tragic hero guilty of a tragic flaw. Psychoanalytic studies have been conducted to identify the inner causes of this fall related to the lack of family, secured social position andhis desires. This paper, however, attempts to bring the external destructive agents of this modern tragic hero into the spotlight. The opportunity to earn wealth, to construct a fake social identity and to believe that the impossible ispossible pushes him down the hill. And that is nothing more than the very American Dream itself. This includes the possibility of social mobility, connecting with the members of higher social ranks and the wealth facilitating him touse the machinery and the new inventions of the age.

Jumping off of the Great Gatsby curve: how institutions facilitate entrepreneurship and intergenerational mobility

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
CHRISTOPHER J. BOUDREAUX
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Property Rights ◽  
Institutional Quality ◽  
Income Mobility ◽  
Secondary Importance ◽  
Great Gatsby ◽  
Institutional Determinants ◽  
The Great Gatsby ◽  
Country Analysis ◽  
Cross Country

Abstract:Income inequality is often attributed to declines in income mobility following the Great Gatsby curve, but this relationship is of secondary importance in determining the factors of income mobility if one considers that changing rules is more important than changing outcomes under defined rules. Rather, improvements in institutional quality are hypothesized to increase income mobility by allowing entrepreneurs the freedom to pursue their dreams. This paper is the first to empirically analyze the institutional determinants behind entrepreneurship, and their effect on income mobility. The findings from a cross-country analysis suggest that secure property rights and less corruption are associated with less income persistence, leading to higher income mobility, independent of the Great Gatsby effect. This suggests that reducing corruption and protection of property rights increase income mobility through the channels of entrepreneurship.

Still Great: Subjective Intergenerational Mobility and Income Inequality

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 496-518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eyal Bar-Haim
Keyword(s):  
Income Inequality ◽  
Intergenerational Mobility ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Great Gatsby ◽  
Individual Perceptions ◽  
Intergenerational Income Mobility ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Great Gatsby ◽  
Using Data

AbstractIn recent years, the authors of several studies have established that income inequality is negatively associated with intergenerational income mobility in a phenomenon known as “The Great Gatsby Curve.” Yet, extant research on the effects of inequality and social mobility on people’s perceptions and social and political behavior has yielded contradicting results. In light of these inconsistencies, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the association between income inequality and subjective intergenerational mobility. Using data from 40 countries, the effect of income inequality on subjective mobility was examined, along with their combined effect on views regarding redistribution. The results indicated that income inequality increases mainly subjective downward mobility. The effect of subjective mobility on the attitudes toward redistribution was found to be substantial, but there were no significant results highlighting an interaction between inequality and subjective mobility. The results show how individual perceptions of opportunity inequalities are affected by the structural constraints of society. The social implications of these results are discussed herein.

scholarly journals Subjective social mobility, quality of life and mental health of asylum seekers/refugees in Germany

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
D Costa ◽  
L Biddle ◽  
C Mühling ◽  
K Bozorgmehr
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Social Mobility ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Country Of Origin ◽  
Subjective Social Status ◽  
Downward Mobility ◽  
Asylum Seekers And Refugees

Abstract Background Changes in the subjective social status (SSS) of migrants, specifically between the pre- and post-migratory movement, can be a relevant determinant of their mental health condition. This study analyzed the effect of downward subjective social mobility to the mental health of asylum seekers and refugees (ASR) in Germany. Methods Through a random sampling procedure, 560 adult ASR (18+ years) were recruited across 58 collective accommodation centers in Germanys' 3rd largest state (2018). SSS was assessed with the MacArthur social ladder (10-rungs), in reference to the participants' position in the country of origin and in Germany. Quality of Life (QoL, measured with EUROHIS-QOL), anxiety (General Anxiety Disorder-2) and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-2), were considered as mental health outcomes. Generalized linear regression models were fitted to measure associations between changes in SSS and each outcome. Results A loss of 3 or more steps in SSS from origin to Germany (compared to no-change) was significantly associated with poorer scores in QoL (B, standardized coefficient= -2.679, standard error, se = 1.351, p = 0.047), with more symptoms of depression (B = 1.156, se = 0.389, p = 0.003) and anxiety (B = 0.971, se = 0.432, p = 0.025), in models adjusted for SSS in the country of origin. The strength and direction of associations was unaltered after further adjusting for sex, age, educational level and time since arrival, although the coefficient for QoL was non-significant for those declaring a 3-step downward mobility (B= -2.494, se = 1.351, p = 0.066 for QoL; B = 1.048, se = 0.393, p = 0.008 for depression; and B = 1.006, se = 0.438, p = 0.022 for anxiety). Discussion The results suggest that interventions should focus on those experiencing social downward mobility and not only prioritize individuals with low social status. Early integration efforts and intersectoral measures to counter social downward mobility could prevent poor mental health among ASR. Key messages We analysed the impact to the quality of life and mental health of asylum seekers and refugees, of a change in subjective social status from country of origin to Germany. Asylum seekers and refugees residing in Germany, who perceived a downward social status mobility following their migration process, are at risk for poorer mental health.

Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby and Glyn's Three Weeks

1996 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 233-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Brooks
Keyword(s):  
Great Gatsby ◽  
The Great Gatsby
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