How does economic change influence patterns of social inequality in places?

What is social inequality and how can it be measured

• differences exist in all societies and such differences can often raise moral issues concerning inequality

• social differences vary from place to place

Indicators of quality of life and standard of living

Social:

• fear of crime

• standard of health and access to health facilities

• standards of education

Political:

• opportunities to participate in community life and influence decisions

Economic:

• access to leisure services

• level of income

• access to employment

Physical:

• quality of housing

• level of pollution

Quality of life and standard of living

Quality of life - the extent to which peoples needs and desires are met, this can have variations as are all people treated with equal dignity and do they have equal rights

Standard of living - the ability to access services and goods, this includes basics such as food and water, clothes, housing and personal mobility

Factors determining SOL and QOL

• income and wealth are significant factors in determining both of these

• higher incomes tend to offer people a greater choice of housing, education and diet but might not necessarily result in a better QOL

• higher income leads to higher SOL but low QOL - e.g. longer hours of work, having to migrate away from family, poor air quality and pollution

• QOL might be sacrificed for a higher SOL

Deprivation

• when social inequalities lead to very great differences between groups of people, the term deprivation is commonly used to refer to a context when QOL and SOL are low

• deprivation refers to a general lack of resources and opportunities

• poverty is not having enough money to support a decent standard of living

Seven factors combine to give an overall measure of deprivation:

poor skills, poor education, poverty, poor living conditions, ill-health

Measuring social inequality based on income

• the definition of extreme poverty - living below $1.90 per day, because below this level of income, the person cannot afford to purchase the minimum amount of food and non-food essentials such as clothing and shelter

• the definition of relative poverty - 60% of the UK median household income, this is a useful measure as it relates the level of poverty to the distribution of income across the whole population

• 14 million inhabitants of the UK fall below the threshold for relative poverty

The Gini coefficient

• this is a technique that can be used to measure levels of income inequality within countries

• it is defined as a ratio with values between 0 and 1.0

• the lower the value the more equal is income distribution

Measuring social inequality with housing

• being able to afford accommodation of an adequate standard is closely related to income

• social inequality is evident in the type and quality of housing people occupy

• housing tenure is an important indicator of social inequality - it is a financial arrangement and ownership structure under which someone has the right to live in a house

• housing tenure is complex in many LIDC’s, especially in the slum areas because the term ‘squatter settlement’ is often misleading and should only be used where people have no legal right to the land they occupy

Measuring social inequality with education

• formal education is provided by schools, colleges and universities

• informal education can be gained from doing something in the home e.g. learning how to cook

• contrasts in literacy levels give an indication of inequality in education

Measuring social inequality with health care

• access to health care and levels of ill-health are closely associated with social inequality

• influences on poverty and ill-health include number of doctors per 1000 people, access to clean water, effective sanitation, quality and quantity of diet, air quality etc.

Measuring social inequality with employment

• unemployment is not always the most straightforward way to assess

• someone may be in employment but only receiving low wages

• in AC’s it is generally the case that rural places have average incomes below those in towns and cities

• in urban areas in LIDCs and EDCs millions of people make a living by working in the informal sector of the economy

Why does spatial patterns of wealth vary

• ability to purchase goods and services is fundamental to social well-being

• low incomes are linked to factors such as ill-health, lower educational attainment and poor access to services

• the lack of formal qualifications and low skill sets are major obstacles to raising income and thereby reducing social inequality

• cost of living is an important consideration because if a persons income rises but increases in the prices of resources outstrip the additional income, then the person is relatively less well-off

• disposable income is an important factor because the more that a person has the more wealthy they are

Why do spatial patterns of housing vary

• quality of accommodation is a significant influence on social inequality

• the smaller the income of a household, the less choice of housing they have

• poor quality housing and overcrowded conditions often create ill-health

• many areas are have a high demand for housing and the prices of housing increases

Why do spatial patterns of health vary

• in all societies there is a clear link between ill-health and deprivation

• sub-standard housing, poor diet, unhealthy lifestyle and additional stress of day-to-day living in poverty take their toll on human health

• access to medical services

• within a local area, some groups such as the elderly have limited mobility which restricts their access to health care

Why do spatial patterns of education vary

• differing access to educational opportunities is recognised as a significant element in creating and maintaining inequalities

• illiteracy excludes people from accessing education and skills training and therefore reduces employment opportunities

• most governments invest in education to raise standards of living and quality of life

• accessing even basic education can be a major issue in rural regions in LIDC’s

Access to services

• how accessible services are greatly affects the quality of life and standard of living, and it is a significant disadvantage to people if they find accessing services difficult

• there are massive inequalities between societies in ACs, EDCs and LIDCs in terms of access o services

• at the national scale, most countries display inequalities between regions, because when people are living in core regions, they tend to have good access to services whereas the more peripheral regions are usually furthest away from the services and suffer from limited access

Factors influencing access to services

• number of services

• how easy it is to get to the services e.g. quantity and quality of transport links and geographical distance

• social and economic factors e.g. age, gender, and income

• on average urban dwellers have better access to services than their rural counterparts and those with higher incomes and statuses are nearly always advantaged as regards to their access to services

• another inequality is the access to the internet, owning technology and WIFI connection for example those with higher income and are nearer to urban areas, but also those living in areas where the authorities restrict access to internet services and it is controlled by many governments

The role of globalisation in economic change

• has led to increasing flows of ideas, capital, goods and services and people

• globalisation is driven by economic changes across all scales from global to local and TNC;s have a big impact

• one major consequence is global shift (the relocation of manufacturing production on a global scale) and containerisation and bulk handling brought down relative costs dramatically and so contributed to the locational changes

• economic restructuring caused the loss of employment in the primary and secondary sectors as the advantages of them in AC’s declined and they transformed into post-industrial societies where people work in the tertiary and quaternary sectors

In the UK, 83.5% of people are employed in the Tertiary sector

The impacts of structural economic change on AC’s (deindustrialisation)

Positive in AC’s:

• cheaper imports of all relatively labour-intensive products can keep cost of living down

• growth in LIDC’s can lead to a demand for exports from AC’s

• promotion of labour market flexibility and efficiency

• loss of mining and manufacturing industries can lead to improved environmental quality

Negatives in AC’s:

• rising job exports leads to inevitable job losses, often with unskilled workers and competition-driven changes add to this

• big gaps develop between skilled and unskilled workers who may experience extreme redeployment differences

• job losses in concentrated areas can result in deindustrialisation and structural unemployment in certain regions

The impacts of structural economic change on LIDC’s and EDC’s (industrialisation)

Positive:

• higher export generated income promoted export led growth and investment in productive capacity and can potentially lead to a multiplier effect on national economy

• can reduce negative trade balances and lead to exposure to new technology, improvement of skills and labour productivity

Negatives:

• unlikely to decrease inequality - as jobs tend to be concentrated in core region of urban areas

• may disrupt social impacts e.g. the role of TNCs potentially exploitative and may lead to sweatshops

• can lead to overdependence on a narrow economic base

• can destabilises food supplies, as people give up agriculture

• environmental issue associated with over-rapid industrialisation

How booms and recessions impact on people and places

• booms and recessions are caused because different types of economic activities are not distributed evenly in space

• the capitalist economic system operates in a series of interconnected cycles and these cycles of growth and stagnation have been linked with technological innovation with new industries providing the basis for a boom and once the technology is no longer new, fewer opportunities for growth exist and boom is followed by recession

• centres of innovation an their inhabitants often benefit from above average economic growth and within these centres, the multiplier effect is strong

• the greater economic opportunities available in core regions help to explain the higher standards of living found there

• recessions are general slowdowns in economic activity and some people are more able to cope with a recession than others, households with high income can just cut back on spending on non-essentials when there is pressure on incomes

UK government - Taxation

• income tax is often used by governments to redistribute wealth from more prosperous to less prosperous groups, and so create a fairer society

• most governments have progressive tax systems where the better off pay a larger proportion of their incomes in tax but essential items such as food may be exempt from tax

UK government - subsidies

• governments also try to reduce inequality by giving subsidies to poorer groups e.g. children in poor families may get free school meals and help with university fees

• low wage earners, unemployed workers and those with long-term disability are entitled to benefits

UK government - planning

• governments, charities and housing agencies often give priority to upgrading housing and services in the poorest areas

• planning is often organised geographically and is targeted at the most deprived areas which vary in scale

UK governments - law

• legislation exists which outlaws discrimination on racial, ethnic, gender and age criteria and aims to give equal opportunities to all groups

• the poorest groups of workers are protected by minimum-wage legislation

UK government - education

• governments often provide funding for training and upgrading skills in order to raise skill levels and qualifications, improve employment prospects and boost economic growth

• education programmes designed to improve personal health are often targeted at the poorest groups in society.

Evidence - Housing comparison between Kensington & Chelsea and Makoko

Makoko:

• 2/3rd of pop. live in squatter settlements

• densely populated, overcrowding

• poor quality housing; built with scrap wood which is vulnerable to weather events

Kensington and Chelsea:

• 30% privately owned house

• average house price is £2 million

Evidence - Environmental quality comparison between K&C and Makoko

Makoko - built on a lagoon:

• polluted water - rapid spread of disease

• no sewage systems

• frequent floods

• hot humid climate

• accumulation of rubbish

K+C:

• low air pollution levels

• large green space e.g. Kensington Palace Gardens

Evidence - Crime rates comparison between K+C and Makoko

Makoko:

• police absence → high crime rates

• e.g. Area boys (gang) extort money from citizens

• forced evictions

K+C:

• along top 10 boroughs in London with the highest crime rates

  • this is largely due to high value houses and goods

Evidence - Digital divide between Makoko and K+C

Makoko:

• illegal access to electricity

K+C:

• almost 100% access to the internet

• Public library

Factor - INCOME Makoko vs. K+C

Makoko:

• 60% in Nigeria in absolute poverty

• $100/month - avg. income

• informal employment mainly insecure

• few health and safety precautions in factory work

K+C:

• 23% in poverty

• high knowledge economy

Factor - Health Makoko vs. K+C

Makoko:

• life expectancy around 45 years

• lack of access to clean water

• 90% shared bathrooms

• Makoko served by informal clinics

K+C:

• Life expectancy around 82 years

• low air pollution

• free access to healthcare

• uneven healthcare access to NHS

Factor - Education Makoko vs. K+C

Makoko:

• unaffordable -child labour main

• no school in Makoko

K+C:

• 51% independent education

Factor - Demographic Makoko vs. K+C

Makoko:

• young demographic

K+C:

• 30 average age