Poverty and Global Inequality Flashcards

Global Inequality

• A Note for Teachers: This presentation mirrors the recorded lecture 'Poverty Part 1,' enhanced with a task on slide 5 and additional tasks on slides 17 & 18.

Week 22 Objectives

• F1 - Explain key features of aspects of global inequality including income and wealth, education, health, gender.
• F2 - Explain absolute and relative poverty.
• F3 - Explain impacts of poverty using evidence/examples from different countries.
• F4 - Explain ways global inequality is measured.
• F5 - Explain terminology used to describe global inequality and problems which it causes.
• F6 - Analyse measurements of global inequality using evidence/examples from different countries.

Poverty and Global Inequality

• Globalization, the internet, and swift money transfers facilitate wealth accumulation worldwide.
• Inequality is evident globally, even in affluent nations.
• The world population has almost doubled in the last 70 years.
• Economic opportunities and inequalities are both on the rise.
• Vast differences exist in living conditions globally.

Global Population and Economic Growth

• Source: McCormick, J (2021) Introduction to Global Studies

What do we mean by inequality?

• Aspects of inequality include:
  • Income and wealth
  • Education
  • Health care
  • Gender inequalities
• Inequality refers to the distribution of resources and an individual’s opportunities and/or access to any social, political or economic need or want. It is relative.
• Inequalities are understood by comparing opportunities between individuals/countries.

Income and Wealth

• Income is the sum of all earnings in a given state, derived from labor (wages) and wealth (interest, dividends).
• Wealth is the total value of all assets.
• Global Averages (based on a 2021 global adult population of 5.1 billion out of 7.8 billion):
  • Income: 23,380 per annum / 1,950 per month
• Perfectly Equal World:
  • The bottom 50% of earners would earn 50% of total global income, and the top 10% would earn 10%.
• Completely Unequal World:
  • The bottom 50% of earners would earn 0% of total income, and the top 10% would earn 100%.

Reality

• [No specific content provided for the 'Reality' slide]

Relative and Absolute Poverty

• Relative poverty is based on a person's circumstances compared to those around them and different countries/governments define and measure poverty differently.
• Absolute poverty designates those living under a certain level as living in poverty, regardless of their location or circumstances. The World Bank sets an international ‘extreme poverty’ threshold at 1.90 per person per day.
• In the UK, relative poverty is living in a household where the total income is less than 60% of the median income in that year.
  • For example, in the financial year ending in March 2020, median household income in the UK was £29,900.
  • Relative poverty in the UK = Persons living in households where the income was less than £17,940 (60%)
• In the UK absolute poverty is measured as all those living in a household where the total income is below 60% of the (inflation adjusted) median in a ‘base year’, usually 2010/11. The average median income in 2011/12 was £23,200.
• Absolute poverty = Persons living in households (in 2020) where the income was less than £13,920
• Source: The Office of National Statistics

Main Types of Inequality

• Income and wealth
  • Income: money earned like wages and salaries
  • Wealth: Value of things a person has like houses and assets
• Education
  • Education helps people earn more money as it gives more opportunities
  • Poor people often have less changes to access education e.g Covid-19 caused negat effects in global education
• Health
  • Many people in rich countries get free healthcare
• Gender
  • Treating a party fair for war
  • Women get 4th men some jobs are heifer

Education

• Education often leads to increased economic opportunities.
• Educational opportunities are affected by location, income, and wealth.
• The COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to have ‘wiped out 20 years of education gains’ (UNDP).
• Between 2010 – 2019, 54% of children between grades 1-8 were achieving minimum standards in reading proficiency, which dropped to 45% in 2020 due to the pandemic.
• Six out of ten are not acquiring basic literacy and numeracy after several years in school (UNESCO).

Health

• Most countries in the global North and a growing number in the global South offer universal health care.
• Many individuals lack access to basic healthcare, including treatments for preventable diseases like malaria and tuberculosis.
• Even in wealthy countries, there are healthcare gaps, and low income/poor nutrition affects health and life expectancy.
• Some residents spend a significant amount of income on healthcare or attempt dangerous home remedies.
• UN considers immunizations among the world’s most successful and cost-effective health interventions.
• Measles is highly contagious and potentially fatal. The UK offers measles immunizations to all children. However, worldwide immunization coverage is at 71% of two doses which was not high enough to contain multiple outbreaks.

Gender Inequality

• The unadjusted gender pay gap looks at the overall average gap between men’s and women’s incomes.
• The adjusted gender pay gap considers similar levels of employment (e.g., comparing similar job types and qualification levels).
• Both figures don't account for women's unequal access to work, especially meaningful work.
• Some occupations are still considered out of reach for many women globally.
• Labor income shares level the figure, considering both pay gaps and inequalities in employment access.
• Source: World Inequality Report 2022 (World Inequality Lab)

Gender Discrimination

• “One of the key sources of poverty all over the world is gender discrimination, and when women are poor, the societies in which they live suffer disproportionately” - McCormick, J (2022)

Types of Parity

• Relative
• Absolute

How is Inequality Measured?

• GDP (Gross Domestic Product) – the overall size of an economy, representing the sum of all goods and services produced within a country.
• GDP per capita – Provides a clearer picture of an economy's productivity by dividing the GDP by the country's population.
• GNP (Gross National Product) – the value of all the means of production (all finished goods and services) owned by the residents of that country for a particular period of time.
• GNI (Gross National Income) – the total of incomes earned by residents and businesses of a country (this includes income from foreign investments).

Data Exploration

• Time to explore the data
• https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD GDP ratings
• https://hdr.undp.org/en/data Human Development Index

Terminology

• In the 1970s, Willy Brandt introduced a line dividing rich and poor countries (generalized).
  • Most economically developed countries were in the Northern Hemisphere, and ‘less developed’ countries were in the Southern Hemisphere.
• Consider how the world has changed since the 1970s, and if the Brandt line is still relevant.
• Development should not be understood only in terms of economics (rich and poor).

Poverty and Global Inequality Part II

• F1 - Explain key features of aspects of global inequality including income and wealth, education, health, gender.
• F2 - Explain absolute and relative poverty.
• F3 - Explain impacts of poverty using evidence/examples from different countries.
• F4 - Explain ways global inequality is measured.
• F5 - Explain terminology used to describe global inequality and problems which it causes.
• F6 - Analyse measurements of global inequality using evidence/examples from different countries.

The Impacts of Poverty

• Poverty directly impacts Human Security and the chances of sustainable development in countries and regions.
  • Hunger and malnutrition
  • Health problems (including illness and death from preventable diseases
  • Low literacy levels
  • Poor accommodation and sanitation infrastructure (which in turn affects health)
  • Damage to ecological systems
  • Increase in mental health challenges
  • An increase in feelings such as humiliation which in turn can affect motivation.

The USA

• The NGO ‘Save the Children’ published a report entitled The Many Faces of Exclusion which measured life- changing events (including displacement by conflict, mortality rates of under 5s, adolescent birth rates, school drop out and malnutrition and others).
• The 8 factors are used to generate an index that determines threats to childhood.
• The USA ranked 36th out of 175 between Belarus (35th) and Russia (37th) Source: IMF.org
• When measured solely on GDP the USA is by far the ‘largest’ economy in the world.

What's the picture in The USA

• Average national income (adult) is €54,300
  • Top 10% - €246,800
  • Bottom 50% - €14,500
• Incomes of the top 10% is 17 times higher than the bottom 50%.
• This inequality is significantly higher than is found in other nations with ‘developed’ economies.

What's the picture in The USA (Rural Areas)

• Rural (or nonmetropolitan) areas in the USA have the highest levels of poverty.
• Nearly 1 in 4 rural children in the USA grow up in poverty.

The USA - Impact

• Some 707,000 teens aged 16-19 were not in school and not high school graduates in 2016.
• Almost a quarter of a million babies were born to girls aged between 15-19 in 2016
• “The impact of child poverty unfolds over the course of a lifetime. Research has linked child poverty in rural areas to low levels of well-being during both childhood and adulthood, encompassing poor educational, economic, behavioural and health outcomes…Poor rural children are at even greater risk of having unmet medical needs, delayed medical care and no consistent pediatrician or clinic to visit” Source: Save the Children, 2019

South Africa

• The NGO ‘Save the Children’ published a report entitled The Many Faces of Exclusion which measured life- changing events (including displacement by conflict, mortality rates of under 5s, adolescent birth rates, school drop out and malnutrition and others).
• South Africa ranks 111th out of 175 between Namibia (110th) and India (112th) Source: IMF.org
• When measured solely on GDP South Africa has the 33rd ‘largest’ economy in the world.

South Africa - average national income

• Average national income (adult) is 12,400
• Top 10% - 82,500
• Bottom 50% - $$1,300
• Incomes of the top 10% being 60 times higher than the bottom 50%.

South Africa - Impact

• Women-led families are more likely to lack access to clean water and sanitations
• Despite apartheid having ended in 1991 South Africa still effectively supports a ‘dual economic system’ as insufficient structural economic reforms (including tax and land reforms) have been achieved.
• Since 1990 the average household wealth in South Africa for the bottom 50% has remained at zero, however there is a lot of debt amongst this group.
• Forecasts suggests that the direct impact of COVID-19 has pushed close to a million more South Africans into poverty.

Reports

• 1. 2 Billion Childhoods Threatened by Conflict, Poverty, Gender Discrimination, New Save the Children Report Reveals | Save the Children
• The World Inequality Report 2022 presents the most up-to-date & complete data on inequality worldwide:
• TASK: Access the World Inequality Report 2022 OR The Save the Children report below. Chose any TWO countries of the world and conduct a short research project. Where do they rank? When comparing the countries what impressions come to you about the level of inequality in those countries. Be prepared to share your findings with the class

Additional Considerations

• Education can reduce inequality if everyone can have opportunities
• Education gives more chances for individuals to work in better places and get high incomes. Access to education is critical for individuals to have the same advantages