Social mobility

Social mobility is the degree to which an individual's family or group's social status can change throughout the course of their life through a system of social hierarchy or stratification. Subsequently, it is also the degree to which an individual's or group's descendants move up and down the class system. 

The individual or family can move up or down the social classes based on achievements or factors beyond their control. It is a sociological concept. Intra-generational mobility can move a person either higher or lower in the social ladder. Pierre Boride describes three types of capital that place a person in a certain social category. 

These are economic capital, social capital, and cultural capital. Economic capital is command over economic resources such as money and assets. In other words, if one person moves up in relative terms, another by definition must have moved down. In contrast, absolute mobility is not zero-sum.

Social capital is resources one achieves based on group membership, relationships, networks of influence, and support from other people. Cultural capital is any advantage a person has that gives them a higher status in society, such as education, skills, and any other form of knowledge.