Lecture Revision Questions (Inequality)

Why are numerical measures of inequality often used, what are the problems with this? (1)

Often numerical measures of inequality are used because they are rigorous and provide a sense of accuracy and credibility when trying to capture the complex issue of inequality; however, this is problematic as it constructs knowledges surrounding inequality in specific ways with lingering biases.

How are measures of dispersion, the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient useful in understanding inequality but also potentially harmful? (1)

These are useful in understanding inequality as they provide outcomes that are easy to understand and a way of capturing complex issues in neat values or axes that can often be applied to many different contexts. However, these measures can be flawed mathematically as well as in the way that they do not show us why this occurs or who is suffering the most.

How has inequality changed over time at different scales? (1)

At a global level inequality has changed over time with greater impacts to the very poor or very rich; at a national level connections to globalisation, SAPs and austerity have caused inequality within countries to change economically as well as impacting education and health.

Instead of being understood as a comparison between points, what is a better way of describing inequality? What is an example of this being applied? (1)

Inequality is better understood as a flow of how labour, capital and sectors interact in a circular concept that provides benefits for some and disadvantages for others. This has been applied to unequal flows of labour between the Global North and South as the Global South workers contribute 90% of labour to the world economy but only receive 21% of global income. This captures a more embodied experience of inequalities in flows of work.

What are the arguments surrounding neutrality when presenting measures of inequality? (1)

No measure or outcome is ever neutral as what we chose to measure and how we chose to do it are always influenced by a political or ideological leaning of some kind, this provides questions on if there is a way to calculate a truly neutral value or if we should even try and do this.

What kind of questions should we ask when attempting a more critical reading of inequality? (1)

It is important to ask questions behind numbers, questions on what ideological stances may have contributed to certain outcomes as well as what numbers don’t tell us about embodied experiences of inequality.