Social Advancement in Austria: A Ladder Without Bars?. Video: WIFO Director Christoph Badelt at "WU matters. WU talks."

Markus Kiesenhofer

24.06.2019

Social Advancement in Austria: A Ladder Without Bars?

Video: WIFO Director Christoph Badelt at "WU matters. WU talks."

On Wednesday, May 29, "WU matters. WU talks." took place on the topic of social advancement in Austria. WIFO Director Christoph Badelt, WU researcher Alyssa Schneebaum from the Institute for Institutional and Heterodox Economics and Michael Förster, Chief Analyst, OECD discussed the topic. The event was moderated by WU researcher Karin Heitzmann, Director of the Research Institute for Distribution Issues.

Life is often unfair, right from the start. Which family you are born into has a great impact on future life and income opportunities. Despite great personal commitment, many ultimately remain in the socio-economic class of their parents. In this way, class affiliation is also – and above all – inherited over generations in Austria. This is also confirmed by a recent OECD analysis. Social advancement is therefore proving to be a difficult, if not impossible undertaking.

Why social advancement here in Austria still fails so often as "rungs can be pulled into the ladder" at the system level and why this is politically uneven was demonstrated and discussed by profound experts in national and international research on the subject of "social mobility" at this event.

Wilfried Altzinger, Michael Lang, Christoph Badelt, Alyssa Schneebaum, Michael Förster, Karin Heitzmann, Ulrike Schneider (© Vienna University of Economics and Business)