2026 Eka Research Award

research objectives

This problem of reduced social mobility is well-known but poorly understood. Many young people start off hopeful, dream big, and are willing to work hard. Several realise these goals, climbing over time to achieve true social and economic mobility. Yet, for others, those hopes fade and the resulting trajectory sometimes ends in low-income, low-agency work, far removed from earlier dreams. The factors driving this are complex, and often intersectional / multi-variate.

We want to understand better what drives these outcomes. What role do intersectional factors, luck, effort and other stimuli play? When do downward bends happen? What accelerates them? Perhaps most importantly, what can we learn from those who achieved their aspirations, and what interventions could have changed the outcome for those who didn’t?

Some specific angles the paper could explore include:

• How aspirations of young people from underprivileged backgrounds evolve as they progress from Standard 8 to working in their first job

• Key stimuli or events that influence upward or downward changes in aspiration. These could include, amongst others:

  • Influences (e.g., family, school, role models, adverse childhood experiences)

  • Access & Barriers (e.g., financial, geographic, language, gender, digital access, and networks)

  • Decision-Making Moments (e.g., trade-offs between ambition and stability, stream choice, influence of mentors)

  • Set-backs that impacted self-confidence and persistence

  • Transition to Work (e.g., perceptions of job quality, alignment with aspirations, first job as stepping-stone vs. long-term role)

• Ongoing aspirations for economic and social mobility once into their first jobs

• Interventions at various points in time (e.g., during primary school, high school, junior college, degree college) that could have helped them achieve better outcomes. These interventions could be of various types, from academic to extracurricular to non-curricular.

This research is intended to contribute to the ongoing redesign of real school-to-work programs, so we are looking for real stories, insightful patterns, and practical interventions. Other objectives include surfacing new voices and refining public understanding of economic mobility in India.