EQ 3: how does economic change influence patterns of social inequality in places?

what is social inequality?

the unequal distribution of factors such as income, education, or health across a population, leading to the existence of unequal opportunities

what is quality of life?

the extent to which people’s needs and desires are met

what is standard of living?

the ability to access services and goods

what is deprivation?

the degree to which an individual or an area is deprived of services and amenities

what are the two types of poverty?

absolute and relative

what is absolute poverty?

where people cannot obtain adequate resources to support a minimum level of health

what is relative poverty?

where people do not enjoy a minimum level of living standards as determined by the government

what is used to measure social deprivation?

the index of multiple deprivation (IMD)

what are the 7 factors included in the IMD?

income, crime, employment, health, education, access to housing and services, living environment

what is used to measure economic inequality?

the gini index

what is the gini index?

measured on a scale of 0 (total equality) to 1 (most unequal)
total equality is a straight diagonal line, lorenz curve is representation of income or wealth distribution
the further the lorenz curve bows away from the line of equality, the greater the level of inquality

what are five reasons why spatial patterns of social inequality vary?

wealth, housing, health, education, access to services

how does wealth impact spatial patterns of social inequality?

low incomes linked to ill-health, lower educational attainment, and poor access to services due to lack of disposable income - quality of life reduced in low income areas

how does housing impact spatial patterns of social inequality?

a low income means there is less choice on housing
in LEDCS, rapid urbanisation often forces people to live in slums and leads to homelessness
those with low incomes are unable to afford rising house prices

how does health impact spatial patterns of social inequality?

poor quality housing and diet leads to poor health
deprived individuals lack an ability to improve their diet or lifestyle, as healthier options are often too expensive
distribution of medical services is uneven, with very few opportunities to access a GP in a rural area

how does education impact spatial patterns of social inequality?

access to basic education is an issue for those in rural areas of an LEDC
reduces their employment opportunities and ability to access a higher income

how does access to services impact spatial patterns of social inequality?

influenced by number of services, how easy it is to access service, and social + economic factors e.g. age and income
often LIDCs, peripheral, and rural areas have poor access to services such as the internet

what is a model for global inequality?

wallerstein’s world systems theory

what is wallerstein’s world systems theory?

there are three areas: the core, the periphery, and the semi-periphery
the core dominates global trade and high-value production of consumer goods (US, Japan)
the periphery supply raw materials and cheap labour to the global economy and remain economically dependent on core nations (many African and Latin American countries)
the semi-periphery are intermediate nations that have characteristics of both core and periphery (India, Brazil)

how has globalisation changed the distribution of manufacturing?

manufacturing has decreases globally from 1980-2018 (in the UK, 24.6% - 8.9%)
deindustrialisation may have been a factor for UK - manufacturing moved abroad to countries where labour cost was cheaper, rise in tertiary and quaternary jobs due to better access to higher education

what is free trade?

the movement of goods and services without restrictions (sanctions and tariffs)

what is global shift?

the locational movement of manufacturing production from ACs to EDCs and LIDCs from the 1970s onwards

why can restrictions be enforced on trade?

to protect domestic activities e.g. the EU has higher tariffs on processed pineapple products, with cheaper tariffs on fresh pineapples to maintain manufacturing jobs in the EU

what is a concept used to describe global shift?

1980s new international division of labour (NIDL) - TNCs created factories in newly industrialised countries (NICs) in east asia and latin america

what were two factors contributing to deindustrialisation of the car industry in the UK?

TNCs and trade policy

how have TNCs contributed to deindustrialisation of the car industry in the UK?

Chery Group and Dongfeng, Chinese TNCs are seeing opportunity to locate factories in Europe - competition

how has trade policy contributed to deindustrialisation of the car industry in the UK?

brexit made trade harder in the EU
COVID caused output to drop by nearly a third and created shortages of vital parts
uncertainty over US trade policy - tariffs
expensive to manufacture cars in UK - labour costs (twice the amount in Poland), energy costs (British manufactured pay some of the highest electricity prices in the world)

what are three positive impacts of structural economic change on people and places in ACs?

greater industrial efficiency should lead to development of new technologies, attracting FDI
cheaper imports of products can keep cost of living down
workers can easily move to places where jobs are needed, helping economic efficiency and improving job opportunities

what are three negative impacts of structural economic change on people and places in ACs?

jobs losses are concentrated in certain areas and industries, leading to deindustrialisation and structural unemployment in regions
branch plants are first to close in economic recession, resulting in job losses
big gaps develop between skilled and unskilled workers who experience extreme reemployment differences

what are three positive impacts of structural economic change on people and place in EDCs and LIDCs?

employment growth in manufacturing spreads wealth and redress global injustice
higher export income leads to economic growth, encourages more investment, and can create a multiplier effect
exposure to new technology

what are three negative impacts of structural economic change on people and place in EDCs and LIDCs?

disruptive social impacts can be caused by TNCs, where they can exploit relaxed labour safety laws
unlikely to decrease inequality, as jobs tend to be concentrated in core region of urban areas, promoting rural-urban migration
the economy may become overdependent on a small number of industries, which is risky if they decline

what is a model that shows structural economic change?

clark fisher model

what does the clark fisher model show?

first phase: traditional civilisations - lack of scientific development to enable use of machinery, with high percentage of employment in primary sector
second phase: transitional period - more machinery deployed, reducing number of primary workers needed and increasing demand for secondary sector workers
third phase: tertiary civilisation - primary and secondary increasingly dominated by automation. tertiary sector grows and can be split into quaternary

what are factors involved in the multiplier effect?

new economic activity leads to invention and innovation due to increased services and labour pool

what are factors involved in the spiral of decline?

labour migration where the young population migrates to the core for job opportunities, causing an ageing labour force in the area which decreases attraction for economic investment and increases the gap between the core and periphery
investment is attracted to the core, causing a lack of investment in the periphery and resulting in stagnation or recession

how has tertiarisation affected the UK?

change was more rapid for some places - NW england, manufacturing employment fell by 25% between 1952-1979
1980s manufacturing decline in the UK accelerated in northern regions
decline has continued - dyson moved to malaysia in 2003, reducing labour costs by 2/3, nestle moved causing 645 lost jobs in York in 2006

what is a recession?

a fall in the level of real national output (GDP) over a period of two consecutive quarters (at least 6 months)

what is a model for cyclical economic change?

kondratieff’s waves of innovation theory
the capitalist economy operates in a series of interconnected cycles of about 50 years of growth and decline, since 1750
each cycle is linked to technological innovation with new industries
where education is high, more tech will be found

what are five methods a government can use to reduce social inequality?

taxation, subsidies, planning, law, and education

how can taxation reduce social inequality?

income tax used to redistribute wealth → fairer society
progressive tax systems where better-off pay a larger proportion of their incomes in tax

how can subsidies reduce social inequality?

free school meals, clothing allowances, and help with university fees for children in poor families
subsidies for fuel and transport for pensioners

how can planning reduce social inequality?

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

how can law reduce social inequality?

outlaws on discrimination and aims to give equal opportunities to all groups

how can education reduce social inequality?

funding for training and upgrading skills in order to raise skill levels and qualifications, improving employment prospects
education programmes to improve personal health (smoking, diet) targeted at poorest groups in society

what is a strategy that the government has implemented to tackle inequalities in education?

educational maintenance allowance

what does the educational maintenance allowance do?

a weekly financial support payment of £30-60 for 16-19 year olds from low-income households in scotland, wales, and northern ireland to support further education

what is the eligibility criteria for the educational maintenance allowance?

16-19 year olds attending school full time with household income >£27,000

what have been the successes of the educational maintenance allowance?

increased full time education participation in yr 12 by around 2.5pp among students eligible for free school meals
caused a small reduction in crime - drop in convictions of 5%+ among students who obtained fewer than 5 9-6 grades at GCSE

what have been the problems with the educational maintenance allowance?

reduced student earnings at 17 by an average of about 7% → reduced valuable WEX
provided only around 40p of benefits for every £1 spent