Tuesday, July 26, 2011
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Effects of Transfer of Payments on Social Mobility
I have attempted the following question of 2008. Seniors are requested to comments and highlight the flaws and shortcomings of mine. Rate my answer also.
Thanks in advannce
QUESTION: WHAT DO YOU UNDERSTAND BY SOCIAL MOBILITY? DISCUSS, “DO TRANSFER OF PAYMENTS AID OR DISCOURAGE SOCIAL MOBILITY”. 2008
INTRODUCTION:
The wish for a higher status and income than one’s parents is the demand of the present day modern world. Therefore, Man strives for attaining a prosper position in the society. The process whereby people achieve or fail to achieve this prosperity is called Social Mobility. In Pakistan, people are now moving towards cities for getting a high and well facilitated standard of life, this is an example of Social Mobility.
DEFINITION OF SOCIAL MOBILITY:
According to Fairchild, Social Mobility is a movement from one condition to another in a society. Whereas Bredemyer and Stephenson describes Social Mobility as moving of an individual or group of people in a society from one status to another.
Form the above definitions it is evident that Social Mobility is an act of movement from one condition to another or adoption of another condition for progressing. In other words, it is a rejection of a social class to adjust with the new ways of life. Social Mobility may be explained as the act of moving from one social class to another. An open class society is one in which mobility is high whereas closed class society is one in which there is little mobility. In modern world many countries are seeking to increase social mobility to make people happier and provide opportunity for the work, the members of society best suited.
FORMS OF SOCIAL MOBILITY
Social mobility can be divide in three forms according to the directions or progress of the individual or groups of people in a society in terms of mobility, as follow:-
VERTICAL MOBILITY
It is defined as any upward or downward change in the absolute or related rank of any individual or group. When an individual or group of people achieve a higher status in the society by income, profession, residence, job, education, marrying a woman of higher status, etc it is called upward mobility. When an individual or group of people lose its status in the society such as lost of job, physical handicapness is called downward mobility. Both, the downward and upward mobility can be summarized as Vertical Mobility.
HORIZONTAL MOBILITY
It is defined as no significant change up or down in the social status of individual or group. When an individual or group of people change its position without any change in status such as transfer of an employee in the same scale and salary is an example of Horizontal Mobility.
GEOGRAPHICAL MOBILITY
Movement of an individual or group of people from one area to another in a society is called geographical mobility. It can be both horizontal and vertical. Migration of people from one place to another is an example of geographical mobility. Geographical movement happens due to getting a job, for acquiring education, expansion in business, marriages outside the area.
EFFECTS OF TRANSFER OF PAYMENTS ON SOCIAL MOBILITY
Industrialized countries made a good deal of progress in terms of spreading prosperity. However, there is still a portion of population living in poverty. This grows in economically depressed times such as the depression of 1980 in United States of America. Government collects revenues from the taxpayers to run the affairs of its management and welfare of the people. In Pakistan, Public Sector Development Project is a very good example of transfer of payments. The government allocates a good amount of its revenue for this project. A big portion of the national income is consumed on the welfare of the poor class in cash or kind. Government subsidized education; housing projects, health and Medicare are the example of transfer of payments. However, poor class as well as middle is benefited from the same. Government extends subsidies on food items as wheat, sugar, ghee provided in the Utility Stores to help the poor class and move in the society. This progress the mobility of poor class towards upward mobility. On the other hand the poor class pays less tax on their income and receive a large part of earnings. In Pakistan, Benzair Income Support Programme is another example of mobility of poor class by transfer of Payments to change their status in the society.
CONCLUSION:
Given the above facts, Social Mobility is the change in the status of an individual or group of people in a society. From the beginning, man is always in pursuit of higher status in as society. Social Mobility in closed class is very low whereas in open class there is high rate of mobility. The industrialized as well as underdeveloped countries are trying to decrease the gap between the poor class and middle class through transfer of payments. Therefore, it subsidized different commodities to help the poor class but simultaneously the middle class profited at great extent for these subsidize.
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