The long shadow of deprivation: Differences in opportunities across England

You can download the slides used in this presentation here.

A socially mobile country provides equal opportunities for everyone, across big cities and small towns, and regardless of whether your parents are rich or poor.

While previous work has documented the national picture of social mobility in England, new research published by the Social Mobility Commission and carried out by researchers from IFS and the UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, is able to show - for the first time - how earnings outcomes of children from different backgrounds vary across lower-tier local authorities. It explores why there are differences in opportunities across place, considering the important role of education and the labour market in creating pockets of poor social mobility.

At this event, we present these new findings and place them in the context of wider research and policy developments. We ask what determines areas of high or low social mobility and explore policy options for any government committed to a levelling up agenda.

IFS Director Paul Johnson will chair this event. Speakers will include:

• Sam Friedman, London School of Economics
• Sandra Wallace, Social Mobility Commission
• Lindsey Macmillan, UCL and IFS