class poverty and inequality

How does Platt (2019) describe inequality?

Some people have fewer opportunities or choices to live in ways that others take for granted; inequality creates different life chances.

What are 'life chances' in the study of inequality?

The opportunities people have to achieve outcomes in areas such as health, education, income, housing and life expectancy.

Which characteristics can shape unequal life chances?

Social class, gender, age, ethnicity, disability and geography, among others.

What is inequality of opportunity?

Unequal access to chances or resources at the starting point, such as education or secure housing.

What is inequality of outcome?

Unequal eventual results, such as differences in income, health, qualifications or life expectancy.

What is inequality of access?

Differences in people's practical ability to use services, institutions, benefits or opportunities.

What is inequality of entitlement?

Differences in the rights, support or resources to which people are legally or socially entitled.

Why is fairness in inequality contested?

People disagree about what differences are avoidable, deserved or unjust, and whether markets or public intervention should address them.

How can the climate crisis deepen global inequality?

Lower-income countries can experience serious climate harms despite contributing comparatively less to their causes and having fewer resources to adapt.

How can developments in AI generate new inequalities?

Benefits, skills and ownership may become concentrated among particular economies and social groups, creating unequal opportunities.

What does cumulative disadvantage mean?

An initial disadvantage triggers others over time: poverty may lead to poor housing, weaker educational access and worse health.

Why should inequalities rarely be studied in isolation?

Class, health, disability, gender, geography and other factors interact to shape people's actual experiences.

Who is associated with the concept of intersectionality?

Kimberlé Crenshaw, whose work shows how multiple axes of inequality can interact rather than operate separately.

What is intersectionality?

A way of analysing how categories such as class, gender, ethnicity and disability interact to shape inequalities and experiences.

Give an example of intersectional inequality.

A disabled woman from a low-income household may face combined employment and service-access barriers that cannot be explained by just one identity.

What central claim does The Spirit Level make?

Wilkinson and Pickett argue that more unequal societies tend to experience worse health and social outcomes across numerous indicators.

Which outcomes are compared with income inequality in the lecture graphs?

Health and social problems, mental illness, child wellbeing, and educational performance across affluent countries.

Does a correlation between inequality and illness prove causation?

No. The lecture graphs illustrate associations; evidence about causal mechanisms and possible confounding factors is needed for stronger claims.

Why can inequality impose social costs beyond those facing the poorest?

The lecture links inequality to worse health, reduced cohesion, strained services and lost human potential across society.

How does Bell (1997) define social justice as a goal?

Full and equal participation of different groups in a society organised to meet their needs.

Why is social justice described as both process and goal?

It concerns both fair participation in how decisions are made and a social outcome in which groups can participate equally.

How does the Scottish Government's quoted principle relate to social justice?

The lecture cites equal opportunity regardless of characteristics such as ethnicity, disability, gender, sexuality, age or religion.

Why do conceptions of a 'good society' affect social policy?

Beliefs about security, fairness, prosperity and responsibility shape which inequalities people consider acceptable and which policies they support.

What argument is sometimes used to defend unequal rewards?

Supporters of merit-based market rewards argue that incentives and individual choice can encourage effort and innovation.

What is a criticism of strict meritocracy?

People start from unequal positions and face unequal support, so results cannot automatically be read as a fair reflection of effort or talent.

What is a 'social division' in Knypsel and Daly's account?

A relatively stable, socially constructed grouping associated with persistent imbalances of power, resources and opportunities.

According to Payne (2000), what is the key problem with social divisions?

Not difference itself, but the persistent disadvantage faced by the same social categories over time.

How does the lecture define poverty broadly?

Having resources below necessary needs or a defined poverty line, reducing choices, opportunities and participation.

How do poverty and inequality differ?

Poverty concerns insufficient resources; inequality concerns how resources, power and opportunities are distributed across society.

Can inequality exist without widespread poverty?

Yes. A society may meet basic needs yet still distribute wealth, influence and opportunities very unevenly.

What does the United Nations' definition emphasise about poverty?

Poverty is more than low income: it denies dignity, capacity, security, participation and basic opportunities.

Why do societies differ in how they define needs?

Needs are partly judged against prevailing living standards and expectations within a particular society.

What is relative income poverty?

A household income below a threshold relative to typical income in its society; the lecture uses below 60% of median net income.

What is absolute poverty in the lecture's simple definition?

Insufficient household resources to obtain basic necessities such as adequate food, shelter and clothing.

How does absolute poverty differ from relative poverty?

Absolute poverty concerns minimum necessities, while relative poverty assesses disadvantage against the society's typical income standard.

What is persistent poverty?

In the lecture's measure, household poverty in at least three of the previous four years.

What is transient poverty?

A comparatively short period in poverty rather than an enduring low-income situation.

What is recurrent poverty?

Poverty that repeatedly returns after intervals outside poverty.

What is the difference between poverty rates before and after housing costs?

Before-housing-costs income ignores housing expenses, while after-housing-costs income deducts them; the resulting poverty rates may differ.

Which group is shown with the highest poverty rates in the lecture's UK chart?

Children, compared with working-age adults and pensioners in the chart based on the JRF series.

Why does child poverty have consequences beyond childhood?

It can undermine health, learning, social participation and later opportunities, potentially reproducing disadvantage across generations.

What is the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017 highlighted for?

It sets statutory targets for reducing child income poverty by 2030 and requires attention to progress.

What three main drivers of child poverty are shown in the Scottish Government diagram?

Income from employment, costs of living, and income from social security or benefits in kind.

How can income from employment reduce child poverty?

Secure, adequately paid work increases household resources, although low pay and insecure work can limit its effect.

How can the cost of living influence poverty?

High housing, childcare and other essential costs leave families with less money for everyday necessities.

What role can social security play in poverty reduction?

Financial benefits and support in kind can raise disposable resources and reduce the depth or incidence of poverty.

Name three health consequences of child poverty in the lecture.

Reduced life expectancy, greater exposure to health risks and an increased likelihood of mental health difficulties.

Name three educational consequences of child poverty.

Lower attainment, an achievement gap and a greater likelihood of leaving education early.

How does poverty restrict children's opportunities?

It reduces access to activities, services, cultural experiences and social connections, limiting their wider development.

What does the lecture say about stereotypes of benefit claimants?

It challenges claims that recipients are generally lazy, choose hardship or enjoy unusually generous support, drawing attention to misleading narratives.

How can hostile media framing of benefits affect policy?

Sensational stories can stigmatise claimants and influence perceptions of who deserves social support.

What is the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)?

An area-based measure identifying relative deprivation across small areas of Scotland using multiple dimensions.

What does the Glasgow SIMD map illustrate?

Pockets of high and low deprivation occur close together, showing strong geographical inequalities within one urban region.

What is meant by the 'Glasgow effect' in the lecture?

A discussion of Glasgow's notably poor health and life-expectancy outcomes, including large differences between neighbourhoods.

Why must neighbourhood life-expectancy figures be used carefully?

They describe places and specific measurement periods, not the guaranteed lifespan of an individual or an unchanging current statistic.

What is the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) study?

A longitudinal project following thousands of Scottish children to study how life circumstances affect their development over time.

What is a longitudinal study?

Research that follows people or groups over time, allowing changes and longer-term associations to be examined.

What did GUS find about language development and poverty?

The slide reports language concerns for 21% of persistently poor children, versus 12% of those not poor.

What did GUS report about children's social and emotional difficulties?

The slide reports 23% among persistently poor children, compared with 7% among children who were not poor.

What is social class?

A socially constructed grouping connected to status, privilege, power and influence, including differences in resources and cultural practices.

Why is class described as an 'umbrella' concept?

It combines material and cultural features such as occupation, income, education, accent, housing, tastes and social influence.

Can people move between social classes?

Yes. Class boundaries may be blurred and people can experience mobility, although structural barriers make opportunities unequal.

Why does class stigma matter?

People may attach moral worth to social position despite class-based opportunities and disadvantages not reflecting individual deservingness.

Which three forms of capital are associated with Pierre Bourdieu?

Economic capital, social capital and cultural capital.

What is economic capital in a class analysis?

Money and financial or material assets that can support security, influence and access to opportunities.

What is social capital?

Valuable relationships, networks and social norms that help people gain support or opportunities; the lecture also quotes Coleman on childhood networks.

What is cultural capital?

Non-financial knowledge, educational experiences and culturally valued habits or credentials that help people navigate institutions and opportunities.

How can cultural capital influence children’s development?

Activities such as reading with children can develop skills and resources rewarded in educational settings.

What is social mobility?

Movement between social or economic positions, often considered across a person's lifetime or between generations.

Why does the lecture challenge equality of opportunity as a simple ideal?

Different expectations, social support and accumulated advantages mean nominally equal rules may not create genuinely equal chances.

What five 'myths of injustice' are listed by Danny Dorling?

That elitism is efficient; exclusion necessary; prejudice natural; greed good; and despair inevitable.

What does 'prevention' mean as an anti-poverty strategy?

Reducing the chance that people enter poverty in the first place.

What does 'protection' mean as an anti-poverty strategy?

Reducing the harms experienced by people who are already living in poverty.

What does 'propulsion' mean in the lecture's anti-poverty framework?

Helping people move towards better-supported circumstances and away from entrenched disadvantage.

What economic case does the lecture make for reducing inequality?

Prevention may lower later remedial spending, preserve human capital and strengthen social cohesion.

What moral case does the lecture make for reducing inequality?

People should have fair access to protection, provision and participation without unjustified discrimination.

Give one evaluative question about income-based poverty measures.

Do they capture material deprivation and lived experience, or do they miss barriers relating to services, dignity, insecurity and power?