Inequality in Irish Society Exam

Baker (2009) 4 Contexts of Inequality

economic, cultural, political, affective

Baker (2009) 4 R's

resources, respect, representational, relational

Economic inequality

unequal distribution of material resources

Cultural inequality

marginalised because of identity

political inequality

lack of representation

affective inequality

inequality in the act of care and love

Baker (2005) alternative inequality context

work/learning inequality

socially disadvantaged groups

age, gender, cultural, classes, races, sexual orientation, disabled

Irish Law

Employment Equality Acts (1998-2015)

Equal Status Acts (2000-2015)

9 grounds of discrimination

gender, religion, traveller, civil status, age, family status, disability, sexual orientation, race

Equality of Condition

equal in relational to central condition of lives, equally enabled and empowered

Equality of Opportunity

liberal egalitarianism, equal opportunity to succeed.

Challenges of Inequality

some people benefit, inequalities grow, limited attention, limited interest

more equal countries

better child wellbeing, higher level of trust, higher educational scores

less equal countries

more mental illness, higher infant mortality rate/homicide rate, lower social mobility

OECD (2014) IMF (2015)

inequality limits growth, less inequality boosts GDP

Oxfam (2019) effects of inequality

harder to fight poverty, destabilises society, harder to address climate change, implications for children

Panama Papers (2016)

exposed tax evasion methods for rich/powerful

2 ways of collecting income data

individual and household

individual income data

tax and social security

Household income data

surveys

Ireland Data Collection

Revenue commissioners (tax)

Department of Social Protection (security)

Central Statistics Office

Household Budget Surveys

Survey on Income and Living Conditions (SILC)

Direct/Market Income

all types of earnings, salaries, profits, pensions, rent, investments

Gross Income

direct income+welfare payments

income tax base

disposible income

gross income-income tax

livable/spendable income

equivalence scale

used to differentiate and compare household incomes, attribute household income to individual members

Irish Equivalence Scale

First adult: 1

Each subsequent adult: .66

Each child: .33

Entire Income Distribution

use gross or disposable income

line up lowest to highest income

observe mean and median

Decile Income Distribution

divide population into 10% deciles

lowest to highest

compare shares of wealth

Summary Concentration Measure

compare share of bottom 20% to top 20%

income quintile ratio (EU)

Gini Coefficient

0=perfect equality 100= mot extreme inequality

compare countries over time, inequality between countries, before/after policy change

decile shares Ireland

bottom 20%= 8.3

top 20% = 39.9

bottom 50%= 28.5

top 10%= 24.7

Composition of Disposable Income (2017)

71.1% post tax earnings

26.7% welfare payments

low pay

earning less than 2/3rds of median hourly wage

who is low paid

60% women

under 40 yrs

temporary contract

60% concentrated in 3 sectors:

wholesale/retail

accommodation/food

health/social work

high pay in UK

High Pay Commission

Resolution Foundation

Absolute poverty

creates poverty line, without essentials for life

relative poverty

poverty relative to living standard within society

gives weekly/monthly amount

Lisbon Agenda

poverty line= 60% of median income

Ireland weekly poverty line

239.97 (per adult)

Invisible poverty

homeless, traveller, asylum seekers, prisoners

deprivation

non monetary measures

lack of basic items

deciders of deprivation

expert data

consensual approach (expert+survey)

budget standards approach (survey only)

rate of deprivation

going without 2 or more items on list

consistent poverty

% of population below poverty line AND going without 2 or more items

Household Finance and Consumption Survey (2015)

measure net wealth: all assets minus debts

Distributive Justice

equality of access, participation, outcomes of education

Procedural Justice

important the way education is delivered, recognition of cultures, languages, and minorities

Irish educational inequality

distributive justice view

Eurostat: upper secondary education is essential to participate in social and economic life

Early School Leavers

7.1% overall

16.6% in disadvantaged areas

NEETS

Not in Education, Employment or Training

EU Gender Equality Index

view work, time, violence, money, power, knowledge, health

higher score means more equality

Ireland: 69.5

OECD (2017) 4 points

financial incentive for paternal leave

pay equity incentives+ pay transparency

gender quotas

strengthen legislation and campaigns

TASC (2017) recommendation for gender equality

education, investment in childcare, make equality a public policy objective, increase female representation, gender equal economic structures

health inequality

differences in health status between population groups

social gradient

low social status= poor health

Irish Health Survey (2015)

high affluence=45%

high disadvantaged=57%

Irish Health System

National Health Service and Private Health Insurance

Irish Health Expenditure

77% public funding

10% out of pocket

12% PHI

proportionate universalism

To reduce the steepness of the social gradient in health, actions must be universal, but with a scale and intensity that is proportionate to the level of disadvantage.

Universal Basic Income

monthly income for essential living costs

47% in favour in Ireland

Living Wage

hourly wage provides acceptable standard of living

Income floor

above= afford non basic items

below= cutting back on essentials

Irish living wage

11.90 euro per hour

Growing Up in Ireland (GUI)

child 1998= interviewed at 9yrs

infant 2008= interviewed at 9 months

Funding models for universal basic income

charges on non-renewable resources

tax waste production

fiscal transactions tax

tech tax

euro dividend

UN Human Development Index

measured by poverty, literacy, life expectancy, education, GDP

Genuine Progress Index

measured by economic, social, environmental, cultural factors