PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — In a United Kingdom Parliament hearing on Thursday, June 26, John Friedman, a professor of economics and international and public affairs at Brown University, urged British lawmakers to consider the crucial role that a person’s social network and so-called “soft skills” play in gaining upward mobility.
Speaking to the House of Lords Social Mobility Policy Committee, Friedman — whose appointment as inaugural dean of the Watson School of International and Public Affairs at Brown takes effect on July 1 — shared key takeaways from his research on social and economic mobility in the United States. He described how Parliament leaders could translate that research into policies that improve the lives of “NEETs” — young U.K. residents who are not in education, employment or training.
Friedman, who co-directs the Harvard University-based research project Opportunity Insights, spoke about two important patterns he has observed in his research. Pattern one: Kids who grow up in low-income households but live near and interact with kids from high-income households are overwhelmingly more likely to move up the social ladder.
“Economic connectedness — that is, the extent to which children from lower status and socioeconomic backgrounds have connection to the broader society, to other children and families from higher socioeconomic status backgrounds… seems to be the single most powerful factor in explaining upward mobility,” Friedman said.
Pattern two: Many who come from disadvantaged backgrounds don’t learn about “soft skills” like office etiquette and dress codes — but those who do tend to see better career outcomes.
“Things like, how does one greet other individuals when you walk into a professional workplace? How do you put a resume together to highlight what you have done?” Friedman said. “These are things which, from one perspective, are really quite straightforward. But if you have young adults who have grown up… without exposure to people who are working in these types of environments, I think it’s very easy to see how you would have never learned that. If it’s not addressed, it’s going to put you at a serious disadvantage… [in] the workplace.”
Friedman recommended that lawmakers look to the nonprofit organization Year Up United for inspiration. Year Up offers tuition-free job training to students from low-income backgrounds, prioritizing both technical and soft skills. Studies have shown that on average, Year Up students see a 38% boost in earnings within five years of participation.
The economist also joined other panelists in urging lawmakers to make public data more accessible to researchers and nonprofits. He said while he appreciates that the many layers of U.S. and U.K. bureaucracy are in some cases designed to protect citizens, they often indirectly harm them instead — because without the wide availability of census information like birthplaces and occupations, researchers, nonprofits and lawmakers cannot work together to solve systemic inequality.
“Let’s err on the side of sharing data in a way that fits within guide-walls, as opposed to having a system where you have to have 19 people say ‘yes,’ and if one person says ‘no,’ the whole thing can fall apart,” Friedman said. “That broader attitude… can have an enormous impact on the practical ability of researchers and of government departments to make progress on these things.”
The committee hosted the hearing as part of an effort to explore how education and work opportunities can be better integrated to improve social mobility across the U.K., particularly as the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training is rising. Speaking alongside Friedman on the panel were Jennet Woolford, director for public policy analysis in the U.K. Office for National Statistics; Mark Brewin, deputy director of data sharing and acquisition within His Majesty's Revenue and Customs; and Emma Gordon, director of Administrative Data Research U.K. A full video of the hearing is available on the Parliament website.