Since young, my parents would say that I should study hard, get a degree, and then a good job so I can live a better life.
It’s the idea of meritocracy where we can rise from low to high SES through sheer hard work.
But as adults, we now know that it isn’t as simple as they made it out to be.
Recently, researchers in an article published by Today revealed that
Young Singaporeans not only have lesser but also a harder time accumulating wealth than the older generation.
It seems that the ‘escalator’ of social mobility is slowing down or perhaps even broken.
Why is that so and what does this mean for young Singaporeans like you and me?
Social Mobility and Socioeconomic Status
The topic of social mobility has been a hot-button issue as of late and is more commonly described with phrases such as “low SES” and “high SES”.
For the uninitiated, social mobility refers to the change in a person’s socio-economic situation or status, either in relation to their parents (inter-generational mobility) or throughout their lifetime (intra-generational mobility). Meanwhile, socioeconomic status (SES) refers to the social standing or class of an individual or group that is often measured as a combination of education, income, and occupation.
Now that we know what social mobility and SES are, let’s find out what’s going on with social mobility in Singapore.
The Current State of Social Mobility in Singapore
After some research, here’s what I’ve found:
- 2020: Singapore ranked 20th out of 82 countries surveyed when it came to social mobility according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF)
- 2022: Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong has admitted that there is “a concern that social mobility is slowing, with those who have done well pulling further ahead of the rest due to their entrenched advantages.”
- 2023: A recent study by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) showed that younger respondents are less likely to have seen upward mobility than older folk.
Based on these, it seems that while Singapore has seen massive improvements in social mobility over the past half-century, things are no longer as lofty now.
The cause?
A culmination of factors including slowing economic growth, income inequality, the effects of the Sandwich Generation, and even housing.
Slowing Economic Growth
Thanks to the visionary that is the late Lee Kuan Yew and his government, we all know of the zero-to-hero story of young Singapore. From third world to first world in just one generation.
As then Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said back in 2018, those first few decades of Singapore were like a rising tide that lifted all boats. Singapore started from the bottom and there were ample opportunities for Singapore as a whole to improve.
But what happens when that tide subsides?
That’s what we are experiencing today as our economy matures.
Income Inequality
This brings me to my next point, income inequality. As Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam also said, the tide “did not lift them equally”. Although Singapore experienced massive growth in its initial years, not everyone was able to capitalise on this growth.
And while Singapore has in recent years helped lower-income workers with the progressive wage model, there is still a significant gap between the rich and poor Singaporeans.
If you would like to find out more about income inequality in Singapore, here’s an article written by Joel:
The Effects of the Sandwich Generation
Alongside the above factors, many young Singaporeans are also feeling the effects of the Sandwich Generation.
This occurs when working adults are expected to support their ageing parents and their children financially, thus creating the “Sandwich”.
And while many of us might think that this is referring to millennials only, this is no longer the case as Gen Z now enters the workforce while starting to feel the same effects.
Housing
Additionally, housing is also another significant yet less obvious factor when it comes to slowing social mobility in Singapore.
Sure, our government has done an impressive job with its urban planning by ensuring that schools, jobs, and homes are easily accessible and in close proximity.
So in that sense, Singaporeans are not as disadvantaged compared to one another.
However, this cannot be said when you look at housing financially.
The housing debate has been going on for years with property prices increasing multi-fold over the past few decades. And in that time, those lucky enough to own a home have seen their property values skyrocket. The rich are even able to afford multiple properties for investment, which pushes property prices up even further.
Recently, the issue of housing affordability has also become very popular among Singaporeans, with many questioning if Singaporeans can afford a home now, let alone upgrade from an HDB to a condo.
This means that older and richer Singaporeans now hold a lot of wealth in property whereas younger Singaporeans are not as privileged.
All in all, these factors are tall hurdles for young Singaporeans when it comes to wealth accumulation, especially for those who are of lower SES and not as privileged.
So, to answer the question, social mobility in Singapore has indeed slowed. But if we are not careful as a nation, it may become broken eventually if the above issues aren’t addressed.
So What?
If you’re a young Singaporean reading this, the traditional Singaporean dream of owning luxuries is now farther out of reach for us.
Of course, there’s nothing much us individuals can do (except voting wisely) when this is a systemic problem that our government has a duty to solve. Then again, unless you are of low SES and really struggling financially, is moving from middle to high SES something that we should be focusing on?
Do we really need to chase financial “success”?
According to data, it has already been established that having more money doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be happier.
So, even in the face of slowing social mobility, these are questions that we should be asking ourselves if we haven’t already.
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