Pulling Away? A Social Analysis of Economic 'Elites' in the UK [Audio]

Speaker(s): Professor Lee Elliot Major, Dr Sam Friedman, Dr Katharina Hecht | This event will launch a report from a research project at the International Inequalities Institute supported by the Sutton Trust to investigate whether British elites are pulling ahead, not just economically but also socially. Economic research has demonstrated that the richest 1 per cent in terms of income in the UK have increased their relative advantage since the 1980s but we know less about whether their social mobility and self-identities are becoming more exclusive and hence whether there is a more general process of ‘elites pulling away’. Lee Elliot Major (@Lem_Exeter) is Professor of Social Mobility, University of Exeter and Visiting Senior Fellow, LSE. Sam Friedman (@SamFriedmanSoc) is Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology, LSE. Katharina Hecht is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and a Visiting Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute (III). Mike Savage (@MikeSav47032563) is Martin White Professor of Sociology at LSE and Director of the International Inequalities Institute. The International Inequalities Institute (@LSEInequalities) at LSE brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to lead cutting-edge research focused on understanding why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas across the world, and to develop critical tools to address these challenges.