Socioeconomics – the field of study that examines social and economic factors to

better understand how the combination of both influences something.

Socioeconomics in USA:

Socioeconomic mobility in the United States refers to the upward or downward

movement of Americans from one social class or economic level to another, through job
changes, inheritance, marriage, connections, tax changes, innovation, illegal activities,
hard work, lobbying, luck, health changes or other factors.

This vertical mobility can be the change in socioeconomic status between parents and
children ("inter-generational"); or over the course of a lifetime ("intra-generational").

Socioeconomic mobility typically refers to "relative mobility", the chance that an

individual American's income or social status will rise or fall in comparison to other
Americans, but can also refer to "absolute" mobility, based on changes in living
standards in America.

In recent years, several studies have found that vertical intergenerational mobility is
lower in the US than in some European countries. US social mobility has either
remained unchanged or decreased since the 1970s. A study conducted by the Pew
Charitable Trusts found that the bottom quintile is 57% likely to experience upward
mobility and only 7% to experience downward mobility.

A study published in 2008 showed that economic mobility in the U.S. increased from
1950 to 1980, but has declined sharply since 1980.

A 2013 Brookings Institution study found income inequality was increasing and
becoming more permanent, sharply reducing social mobility.

A large academic study released in 2014 found US mobility overall has not changed
appreciably in the last 25 years (for children born between 1971 and 1996), but a variety
of up and down mobility changes were found in several different parts of the country. On
average, American children entering the labor market today have the same chances of
moving up in the income distribution (relative to their parents) as children born in the
1970s.

However, because US income inequalities have increased substantially, the

consequences of the "birth lottery" - the parents to whom a child is born - are larger
today than in the past. US wealth is increasingly concentrated in the top 10% of
American families, so children of the remaining 90% are more likely to be born at lower
starting incomes today then the same children in the past. Even if they are equally
mobile and climb the same distance up the US socioeconomic ladder as children born
25 years earlier, the bottom 90% of the ladder is worth less now, so they gain less
income value from their climb especially when compared to the top 10%.

Socioeconomics in UK:

The social structure of the United Kingdom has historically been highly influenced by the
concept of social class, with the concept still affecting British society today.

British society, like its European neighbours and most societies in world history, was
traditionally (before the Industrial Revolution) divided hierarchically within a system that
involved the hereditary transmission of occupation, social status and political influence.
Since the advent of industrialisation, this system has been in a constant state of
revision, and new factors other than birth (for example, education) are now a greater
part of creating identity in Britain.

Although definitions of social class in the United Kingdom vary and are highly
controversial, most are influenced by factors of wealth, occupation and education. Until
recently the Parliament of the United Kingdom was organised on a class basis, with the
House of Lords representing the hereditary upper-class and the House of Commons
representing everybody else. The British monarch is usually viewed as being at the top
of the social class structure.

British society has experienced significant change since the Second World War,
including an expansion of higher education and home ownership, a shift towards a
service-dominated economy, mass immigration, a changing role for women and a more
individualistic culture, and these changes have had a considerable impact on the social
landscape. However, claims that the UK has become a classless society have
frequently been met with scepticism. Research has shown that social status in the
United Kingdom is influenced by, although separate from, social class.

World War I cartoon by Bruce Bairnsfather "The Growth of Democracy: Colonel Sir
Valtravers Plantagenet gladly accepts a light, during a slight lull in a barrage, from a
private in the Benin Rifles"

The biggest current study of social class in the United Kingdom is the Great British
Class Survey.

Class System- The class system is universal phenomenon denoting a category or

group of persons having a definite status in society which permanently determines their
relation to other groups. The social classes are de facto groups (not legally or religiously
defined and sanctioned) they are relatively open not closed. Their basis is indisputably
economic but they are more than economic groups. They are characteristic groups of
the industrial societies which have developed since 17th century. The relative
importance and definition of membership in a particular class differs greatly over time
and between societies, particularly in societies that have a legal differentiation of groups
of people by birth or occupation. In the well-known example of socioeconomic class,
many scholars view societies as stratifying into a hierarchical system based on
occupation,economic status, wealth, or income.

USA Class System:

1. Upper Class- First, we'll start at the top of the hierarchy. Individuals who are
considered to be members of the upper class are the owners of the means of
production and most of the country's private wealth. Many are important
government officials, large business owners, or top executives that have a great
deal of income and/or wealth.
2. Middle Class- The next step down in the social hierarchy of the U.S. class
system is the middle class, which includes about half of the U.S. population. Most
advertisements are directed towards this audience, and fictional characters in
popular culture - TV shows, movies, and books - are typically middle-class
members. The greatest amount of social mobility occurs at this level, whether it's
upward, downward, or horizontal.
3. Lower Class- The remainder of the population makes up the lower class, which
includes those who lack money and/or the means to meet basic needs. They
have low-prestige jobs and extremely low income, if they have any at all. For the
most part, society tends to look down on and segregate the lower class,
especially those who are also part of minority groups.

UK Class System:

The seven social classes:

1. Elite - This is the wealthiest and most privileged group in the UK. They went to
private school and elite universities and enjoy high cultural activities such as
listening to classical music and going to the opera.
2. Established middle class - This is the most gregarious and the second
wealthiest of all the class groups. They work in traditional professions and
socialise with a wide variety of people, and take part in a wide variety of cultural
activities.
3. Technical middle class - This is a small, distinctive and prosperous new class
group. They prefer emerging culture, such as social media, and mix mainly
 among themselves. They work in science and tech and come from middle-class
backgrounds.
4. New affluent workers - These people are economically secure, without being
well-off. This class group is sociable, has lots of cultural interests and sits in the
middle of all the groups in terms of wealth. They're likely to come from working
class backgrounds.
5. Traditional working class - This group has the oldest average age, and they're
likely to own their own home. They mix among themselves and don't enjoy
emerging culture. Jobs in this group include lorry drivers, cleaners and
electricians.
6. Emergent service workers - These young people have high social and cultural
capital - so they know people from all different walks of life, and enjoy a wide
range of cultural activities - but are not financially secure.
7. Precariat - The poorest and most deprived social group. They tend to mix
socially with people like them and don't have a broad range of cultural interests.
More than 80% rent their home.

Caste System- A caste system is a class structure that is determined by birth. Loosely,
it means that in some societies, if your parents are poor, you’re going to be poor, too.
Same goes for being rich, if you’re a glass-half-full person.

Caste System in USA:

Society in America is not an entity. It is rather the reflection of the mood of the individual
who is contemplating it, the incarnation of certain tastes, and has neither locality nor
measurement. For some it possesses elasticity, for others immobility; all desire to enter
where many have disappeared in an apotheosis of self-laudation, and when there find
that their circle is not society, which is ever beyond and ever narrowing.

Caste System in UK:

When the British first gained a foothold on the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century
their concern was profit. The men who administered the territory for the East India
company were more inclined to profiteering than to attempting to establish an effective
government. By the beginning of the 19th century this type of attitude had begun to
change. A series of conquests expanded the territory held by the British and the idea of
responsible trusteeship began to creep into the thinking of the individuals charged with
governing British India. The freebooters of the 18th century were giving way to the
bureaucrats of the 19th century. Ironically, it is highly debateable which of the two,
freebooters or bureaucrats were the most dangerous to the people of India. Treasure
can be replaced. Cultures, once tampered with, are nearly impossible to reclaim.
The men charged with the governing of British India in the 19th century were creations
of the society that they had left behind in Britain. That society had become increasingly
intrigued with methods of social management and improvement. Moreover, as the 19th
century progressed, it progressively appeared that the British were destined to lead the
world. Victorious in the Napoleonic wars and with an empire growing at an
unprecedented rate, the British became ever more confident that their destiny was to
lead the way to civilization and raise up the lesser races. The British Empire was
believed to be the natural heir to the classical Roman Empire. From this mix of belief in
their superiority and fascination with methods of social management and improvement,
came a variety of so called sciences. These included such things as phrenology and
eugenics but at the heart of any of the movements to study either man or society was
statistics.

Sources:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/socioeconomic.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_United_States#Current_state

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class_in_the_United_Kingdom

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/caste%20system

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1881/12/caste-in-american-society/305936/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/12037247/the-seven-social-classes-of-21st-century-
britain-where-do-you-fit-in.html

http://www.britishempire.co.uk/article/castesystem.htm

http://study.com/academy/lesson/american-class-system-and-structure-definitions-
types-of-social-classes.html

http://www.sociologyguide.com/social-stratification/class-system.php