Promoting social mobility is an increasingly important policy priority for many OECD countries, especially amid growing concerns around inequality and the perceived fairness of economic systems. Social mobility – the extent to which individuals’ social and economic outcomes are independent of their background – plays a central role in ensuring that everyone has a fair chance to succeed. However, in many countries, mobility remains limited, with children from disadvantaged backgrounds often facing significant barriers to upward mobility. Evidence shows that childhood circumstances are a key determinant of lifetime outcomes: disparities in family income, education, health, and access to opportunities emerge early and compound over time, shaping children’s development and influencing their future educational attainment, employment prospects, earnings, and well-being. Reducing these early-life inequalities and ensuring that all children have the support and resources they need to thrive is therefore essential not only for improving individual outcomes, but also for fostering more dynamic, inclusive, and cohesive societies.
Work on this review began prior to the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023. The analysis presented covers data and developments before that date.
This report builds on the OECD’s longstanding work on monitoring child well-being and exploring how to better support children and expand their opportunities to improve life outcomes – both for themselves and for future generations. It also contributes to the Organisation’s broader efforts to understand the root causes of inequalities and social mobility and equal opportunity,
This report was prepared by the OECD Centre on Well Being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity (WISE Centre). It was developed under the leadership of Romina Boarini (Director, OECD WISE Centre) and under the supervision of Olivier Thévenon (Head of the Child Well-being Unit, OECD WISE Centre). The report was written by Chris Clarke (Chapters 2, 3 and 4) and Olivier Thévenon (Chapter 1). Anne‑Lise Faron (OECD WISE Centre) prepared the manuscript for publication, and Martine Zaïda (OECD WISE Centre) provided valuable support and advice on communication and publication.
The report has benefited from helpful feedbacks and comments on early drafts provided by Shlomit Avni, Omer Feitelson, Iris Florentin, Meilta Tsabari (Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs), Yafit Alfandari, Bar Avni and Edna Shimoni (Central Bureau of Statistics), Miri Benshimoun, Aharonov Yosef, Odette Sela and Yossi Machluf (Ministry of education), Hanni Schroeder (Ministry of Health), Yoav Loeff (Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute), Noa Ben-David (American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee), John Gal and Shavit Ben Porat (Taub Center), Omri Zegen and Yael Balla Avni (Rashi Foundation), Oren Heller (Washington University in St. Louis), Michal Grinstein Weiss (Center for Social Development), Daphna Aviram-Nitzan and Karnit Flug (Israel Democraty Institute), Muhammad M. Haj-Yahia (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Lior Barkan (Permanent Mission of Israel to Multilateral Organizations), and other participants to the online meetings organised in July 2024 to discuss the main findings of the study.