What is Economic Mobility?

Economic Mobility describes the upward or downward movement in a person’s economic or social status throughout their lifetime and throughout generations. External circumstances surrounding an individual have a significant effect on the outcome on one’s own economic mobility status. For example, a person that is raised in a community that does not have easy access to clean air, reliable internet, adequate education, and a safe environment is less likely to have upward mobility throughout their lifetime than an individual who has all of those resources within an arm’s reach. Local government managers are uniquely positioned to implement policies and effect conditions that promote overall well-being and upward mobility for their residents. ICMA’s Code of Ethics and Declaration of Ideals speak to the profession’s obligation to serve the best interests of all people, eliminating barriers to public involvement in decisions, programs, and services, and to promote mobility and opportunity for all people in all communities. In practice, this can be accomplished through direct and indirect influence on access to quality housing, education, and health services, to stable employment and safe and supportive neighborhoods, and to representative and responsive governance.

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