Philippine ranks 61 out of 82 countries in terms of social mobility — WEF

by Louella Desiderio (The Philippine Star) – 20 Jan 2020

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines ranked 61st out of 82 countries in terms of social mobility, underscoring the need to provide an environment where individuals would have fair opportunities to fulfill their potential in life to help boost economic growth, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF).

WEF’s inaugural Global Social Mobility report showed the Philippines had a social mobility score of 51.7.

Within Southeast Asia, the Philippines was behind most of its neighbors such as Singapore (20th), Malaysia (43rd), Vietnam (50th), and Thailand (55th), but ahead of Indonesia (67th), and Lao People’s Democratic Republic (72nd).

Topping the Social Mobility Index was Denmark, followed by Norway on second place and Finland on the third spot.

Meanwhile, Cote d’ Ivoire placed 82nd.

WEF ranked the 82 economies based on five key dimensions of social mobility such as health; education (access, quality and equity); technology; work (opportunities, wages, conditions); and protections and institutions (social protection and inclusive institutions).

Economies with greater social mobility are those providing more equally shared opportunities such as equal and meritocratic footing irrespective of socio-economic background, geographic location, gender or origin, WEF said.

As there is a direct and linear relationship between a country’s income inequality and its social mobility score on the index, enhancing social mobility could provide benefits for economic growth, it also said.

“If countries included in this report were to increase their social mobility index score by 10 points, this would result in an additional gross domestic product growth of 4.41 percent by 2030 in addition to vast social cohesion benefits,” the WEF said.

WEF said areas where improvements need to be seen for both developed and emerging economies are in terms of increasing wages, providing more social protection, giving better working conditions, as well as having lifelong learning systems for workers and the unemployed.

“The social and economic consequences of inequality are profound and far-reaching: a growing sense of unfairness, precarity, perceived loss of identity and dignity, weakening social fabric, eroding trust in institutions, disenchantment with political processes, and an erosion of the social contract. The response by business and government must include a concerted effort to create new pathways to socioeconomic mobility, ensuring everyone has fair opportunities for success,” WEF founder and executive chairman Klaus Schwab said.

To optimize social mobility, WEF said it is important to have policies that address wealth concentration and rebalance the sources of taxation to support the social mobility agenda.

In terms of education and lifelong learning, the WEF said the public and private sector should work together in financing and promoting skills development throughout the working life.

Given technological changes and industry transitions, economies should also have holistic protection to all workers.

The WEF added that businesses should take the lead in promoting a culture of meritocracy in hiring, providing vocational education, reskilling and upskilling, improving working conditions and paying fair wages.