Paul Spicker
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781447343325
- eISBN:
- 9781447343363
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447343325.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
Conventionally, poverty is often represented as a lack of resources, but it is much more than that. A considerable amount of work has been done in recent years to establish a view of poverty as a ...
More
Conventionally, poverty is often represented as a lack of resources, but it is much more than that. A considerable amount of work has been done in recent years to establish a view of poverty as a complex, multi-dimensional set of experiences. The poverty of nations goes further still. The nature of poverty is constituted by social relationships - relationships such as low status, social exclusion, insecurity and lack of rights. The relational elements of poverty tell us what poverty really means – what poverty consists of, what poor people are experiencing, and what kind of problems there are to be addressed. The more emphasis that we put on such relationships as elements of poverty, the more difficult it becomes to suppose either that poverty is primarily a matter of resources, or that poverty in rich countries means something fundamentally different from poverty in poor countries. The book considers how poverty manifests itself in rich and poor countries, and how those countries can respond to poverty as a relational issue.Less
Conventionally, poverty is often represented as a lack of resources, but it is much more than that. A considerable amount of work has been done in recent years to establish a view of poverty as a complex, multi-dimensional set of experiences. The poverty of nations goes further still. The nature of poverty is constituted by social relationships - relationships such as low status, social exclusion, insecurity and lack of rights. The relational elements of poverty tell us what poverty really means – what poverty consists of, what poor people are experiencing, and what kind of problems there are to be addressed. The more emphasis that we put on such relationships as elements of poverty, the more difficult it becomes to suppose either that poverty is primarily a matter of resources, or that poverty in rich countries means something fundamentally different from poverty in poor countries. The book considers how poverty manifests itself in rich and poor countries, and how those countries can respond to poverty as a relational issue.
Mark S. Cladis
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195125542
- eISBN:
- 9780199834082
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195125541.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Charts the course of the Fall from the simple contentment, invulnerability, and innocence of the Garden to the complex gratifications, vulnerability, and corruption of the City. This is a story of ...
More
Charts the course of the Fall from the simple contentment, invulnerability, and innocence of the Garden to the complex gratifications, vulnerability, and corruption of the City. This is a story of costly progress: the Solitaire must sacrifice itself in order to release its inner potential for development, and thereby give birth to a new creation, the social human. The Fall is cast in seven stages that are based on Rousseau's discourse, “On the Origin of Inequality.” The first four stages are considered in Ch. 3, concluding with stage four, the Second Garden, which represents Rousseau's vision of happy humans precariously balanced between solitude and community, invulnerability and vulnerability, and independence and dependence.Less
Charts the course of the Fall from the simple contentment, invulnerability, and innocence of the Garden to the complex gratifications, vulnerability, and corruption of the City. This is a story of costly progress: the Solitaire must sacrifice itself in order to release its inner potential for development, and thereby give birth to a new creation, the social human. The Fall is cast in seven stages that are based on Rousseau's discourse, “On the Origin of Inequality.” The first four stages are considered in Ch. 3, concluding with stage four, the Second Garden, which represents Rousseau's vision of happy humans precariously balanced between solitude and community, invulnerability and vulnerability, and independence and dependence.
Mark S. Cladis
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195125542
- eISBN:
- 9780199834082
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195125541.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Discusses how the precarious joy and liberty of the Second Garden (as discussed in the previous chapter) collapsed and paved the road to the pain and slavery of the corrupt City. From the division of ...
More
Discusses how the precarious joy and liberty of the Second Garden (as discussed in the previous chapter) collapsed and paved the road to the pain and slavery of the corrupt City. From the division of labor came the multiplication of commodities and complex systems of exchange; from these came a heightened sense of private property and public justice; and from rules of justice came conventions of inequality and the attending humiliation. This genealogy of sorrow is driven by both psychological and sociological developments, chiefly the progression of amour‐propre (anxious self‐love) and the division of labor.Less
Discusses how the precarious joy and liberty of the Second Garden (as discussed in the previous chapter) collapsed and paved the road to the pain and slavery of the corrupt City. From the division of labor came the multiplication of commodities and complex systems of exchange; from these came a heightened sense of private property and public justice; and from rules of justice came conventions of inequality and the attending humiliation. This genealogy of sorrow is driven by both psychological and sociological developments, chiefly the progression of amour‐propre (anxious self‐love) and the division of labor.
Paula Chakravartty and Katharine Sarikakis
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748618491
- eISBN:
- 9780748670970
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748618491.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Media Studies
This volume investigates media and communications policy and provides a comprehensive account of issues that are central to the study of the field. It addresses profound gaps in the study of policy ...
More
This volume investigates media and communications policy and provides a comprehensive account of issues that are central to the study of the field. It addresses profound gaps in the study of policy by demonstrating the centrality of historical, social and political context in debates that may appear solely technical or bound by geography. The book covers the institutional changes in the communication policy arena by examining the changing role of the state, technology and the market and the role of civil society in the process of global governance. It discusses the development of policy areas in broadcasting, telecommunications and the information society, and examines the often-overlooked normative dimensions of communications policy.Less
This volume investigates media and communications policy and provides a comprehensive account of issues that are central to the study of the field. It addresses profound gaps in the study of policy by demonstrating the centrality of historical, social and political context in debates that may appear solely technical or bound by geography. The book covers the institutional changes in the communication policy arena by examining the changing role of the state, technology and the market and the role of civil society in the process of global governance. It discusses the development of policy areas in broadcasting, telecommunications and the information society, and examines the often-overlooked normative dimensions of communications policy.
Henrice Altink
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781789620009
- eISBN:
- 9781789623697
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3828/liverpool/9781789620009.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
Informed by Critical Race Theory and based on a wide range of sources, including official sources, memoirs, and semi-autobiographical fiction, this book examines multiple forms of racial ...
More
Informed by Critical Race Theory and based on a wide range of sources, including official sources, memoirs, and semi-autobiographical fiction, this book examines multiple forms of racial discrimination in Jamaica and how they were talked about and experienced from the end of the First World War until the demise of democratic socialism in the 1980. Case studies on, amongst others, the labour market, education, the family and legal system will demonstrate the extent to which race and colour shaped social relations in the island in the decades preceding and following independence and convey that racial discrimination was a public secret – everybody knew it took place but few dared to openly discuss or criticise it. The book ends with an examination of race and colour in contemporary Jamaica to show that after independence race and colour have lost little of their power and offers suggestions to overcome the silence on race to facilitate equality of opportunity for all.Less
Informed by Critical Race Theory and based on a wide range of sources, including official sources, memoirs, and semi-autobiographical fiction, this book examines multiple forms of racial discrimination in Jamaica and how they were talked about and experienced from the end of the First World War until the demise of democratic socialism in the 1980. Case studies on, amongst others, the labour market, education, the family and legal system will demonstrate the extent to which race and colour shaped social relations in the island in the decades preceding and following independence and convey that racial discrimination was a public secret – everybody knew it took place but few dared to openly discuss or criticise it. The book ends with an examination of race and colour in contemporary Jamaica to show that after independence race and colour have lost little of their power and offers suggestions to overcome the silence on race to facilitate equality of opportunity for all.
J. Scott Carter and Cameron D. Lippard
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781529201116
- eISBN:
- 9781529201161
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781529201116.003.0003
- Subject:
- Education, Educational Policy and Politics
This chapter provides insights into the state of racial inequality in the US today, with a particular eye on income, wealth, jobs, and education disparities. Do these factors continue to be predicted ...
More
This chapter provides insights into the state of racial inequality in the US today, with a particular eye on income, wealth, jobs, and education disparities. Do these factors continue to be predicted by race? If they do not, then there really is no need to consider race when making policy at the national and state levels or in higher education. The discussions over affirmative action and how it should be implemented would be moot. This chapter also provides an examination of the impact of education in general and in particular for minorities. We look at how the elimination of affirmative action at the state level has affected enrollment of minorities in higher education. We then provide a look at the history of affirmative action related to higher education in the courts. As such, we offer a detailed synopsis of past court cases that have set the stage for how affirmative action is viewed and used in higher education today. In this light, we discuss the ever-present and surprisingly controversial notion of diversity and how it shapes the affirmative action landscape. We end the chapter by discussing our methodological and analytical strategies for the remaining portion of the book.Less
This chapter provides insights into the state of racial inequality in the US today, with a particular eye on income, wealth, jobs, and education disparities. Do these factors continue to be predicted by race? If they do not, then there really is no need to consider race when making policy at the national and state levels or in higher education. The discussions over affirmative action and how it should be implemented would be moot. This chapter also provides an examination of the impact of education in general and in particular for minorities. We look at how the elimination of affirmative action at the state level has affected enrollment of minorities in higher education. We then provide a look at the history of affirmative action related to higher education in the courts. As such, we offer a detailed synopsis of past court cases that have set the stage for how affirmative action is viewed and used in higher education today. In this light, we discuss the ever-present and surprisingly controversial notion of diversity and how it shapes the affirmative action landscape. We end the chapter by discussing our methodological and analytical strategies for the remaining portion of the book.
Mugambi Jouet
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520293298
- eISBN:
- 9780520966468
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520293298.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, American Politics
Americans are far more divided than other Westerners over basic issues, including wealth inequality, health care, climate change, evolution, the literal truth of the Bible, apocalyptical prophecies, ...
More
Americans are far more divided than other Westerners over basic issues, including wealth inequality, health care, climate change, evolution, the literal truth of the Bible, apocalyptical prophecies, gender roles, abortion, gay rights, sexual education, gun control, mass incarceration, the death penalty, torture, human rights, and war. The intense polarization of U.S. conservatives and liberals has become a key dimension of American exceptionalism—an idea widely misunderstood as American superiority. It is rather what makes America an exception, for better or worse. While exceptionalism once was largely a source of strength, it may now spell decline, as unique features of U.S. history, politics, law, culture, religion, and race relations foster grave conflicts and injustices. They also shed light on the peculiar ideological evolution of American conservatism, which long predated Trumpism. Anti-intellectualism, conspiracy-mongering, radical anti-governmentalism, and Christian fundamentalism are far more common in America than Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Drawing inspiration from Alexis de Tocqueville, Mugambi Jouet explores American exceptionalism’s intriguing roots as a multicultural outsider-insider. Raised in Paris by a French mother and Kenyan father, he then lived throughout America, from the Bible Belt to New York, California, and beyond. His articles have notably been featured in The New Republic, Slate, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post, and Le Monde. He teaches at Stanford Law School.Less
Americans are far more divided than other Westerners over basic issues, including wealth inequality, health care, climate change, evolution, the literal truth of the Bible, apocalyptical prophecies, gender roles, abortion, gay rights, sexual education, gun control, mass incarceration, the death penalty, torture, human rights, and war. The intense polarization of U.S. conservatives and liberals has become a key dimension of American exceptionalism—an idea widely misunderstood as American superiority. It is rather what makes America an exception, for better or worse. While exceptionalism once was largely a source of strength, it may now spell decline, as unique features of U.S. history, politics, law, culture, religion, and race relations foster grave conflicts and injustices. They also shed light on the peculiar ideological evolution of American conservatism, which long predated Trumpism. Anti-intellectualism, conspiracy-mongering, radical anti-governmentalism, and Christian fundamentalism are far more common in America than Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Drawing inspiration from Alexis de Tocqueville, Mugambi Jouet explores American exceptionalism’s intriguing roots as a multicultural outsider-insider. Raised in Paris by a French mother and Kenyan father, he then lived throughout America, from the Bible Belt to New York, California, and beyond. His articles have notably been featured in The New Republic, Slate, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Huffington Post, and Le Monde. He teaches at Stanford Law School.
Emily Mendenhall
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- January 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781501738302
- eISBN:
- 9781501738319
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9781501738302.001.0001
- Subject:
- Anthropology, Medical Anthropology
Rethinking Diabetes investigates how "global" and "local" factors transform how diabetes is perceived, experienced, and embodied from place to place. The book argues that neoliberal capitalism fuels ...
More
Rethinking Diabetes investigates how "global" and "local" factors transform how diabetes is perceived, experienced, and embodied from place to place. The book argues that neoliberal capitalism fuels the intrinsic links between hunger and crisis, structural violence and fear, and cumulative trauma and psychiatric distress that are embodied in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (hereafter, "diabetes"). It suggests that a global story of modernization as the primary force in the spread of global diabetes overlooks the micro-level stressors that respond to structural inequalities and drive the underlying psychophysiological processes linking hunger, crisis, oppression, unbridled stress, and chronic psychological distress to diabetes. The narratives in this book unveil how deeply embedded such factors are in how diabetes is experienced and (re)produced among low-income communities around the world. Yet, the book focuses on four life stories – one from each context – to consider how diabetes is perceived and experienced in the United States, India, South Africa, and Kenya. These discrete chapters investigate how social, cultural, and epidemiological factors shape people's experiences and why we need to take these differences seriously when we think about what drives diabetes and how it affects the lives of the poor.Less
Rethinking Diabetes investigates how "global" and "local" factors transform how diabetes is perceived, experienced, and embodied from place to place. The book argues that neoliberal capitalism fuels the intrinsic links between hunger and crisis, structural violence and fear, and cumulative trauma and psychiatric distress that are embodied in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (hereafter, "diabetes"). It suggests that a global story of modernization as the primary force in the spread of global diabetes overlooks the micro-level stressors that respond to structural inequalities and drive the underlying psychophysiological processes linking hunger, crisis, oppression, unbridled stress, and chronic psychological distress to diabetes. The narratives in this book unveil how deeply embedded such factors are in how diabetes is experienced and (re)produced among low-income communities around the world. Yet, the book focuses on four life stories – one from each context – to consider how diabetes is perceived and experienced in the United States, India, South Africa, and Kenya. These discrete chapters investigate how social, cultural, and epidemiological factors shape people's experiences and why we need to take these differences seriously when we think about what drives diabetes and how it affects the lives of the poor.
Yue Chim Richard Wong
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9789888390625
- eISBN:
- 9789888390373
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888390625.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
When discussing inequality and poverty in Hong Kong, scholars and politicians often focus on the failures of government policy and push for an increase in social welfare. Richard Wong argues in ...
More
When discussing inequality and poverty in Hong Kong, scholars and politicians often focus on the failures of government policy and push for an increase in social welfare. Richard Wong argues in Fixing Inequality in Hong Kong that universal retirement support, minimum wage, and standard hours of work are of limited effect in shrinking the inequality gap. By comparing Hong Kong with Singapore, he points out that Hong Kong needs a new and long-term strategy on human resource policy. He recommends more investment in education, focusing on early education and immigration policy reforms to attract highly educated and skilled people to join the workforce. In analyzing what causes inequality, this book ties disparate issues together into a coherent framework, such as Hong Kong’s aging population, lack of investment in human capital, and family breakdowns. Rising divorce rates among low-income households have worsened the housing shortage, driving rents and property prices upwards. Housing problems created a bigger gap between those who own housing and have the ability to invest in their children’s human capital and those who cannot, thus adversely impacting intergenerational upward mobility. This is the third of Richard Wong’s collections of articles on society and economy in Hong Kong. Diversity and Occasional Anarchy and Hong Kong Land for Hong Kong People, published by Hong Kong University Press in 2013 and 2015 respectively, discuss growing economic and social contradictions in Hong Kong and current housing problems and their solutions.Less
When discussing inequality and poverty in Hong Kong, scholars and politicians often focus on the failures of government policy and push for an increase in social welfare. Richard Wong argues in Fixing Inequality in Hong Kong that universal retirement support, minimum wage, and standard hours of work are of limited effect in shrinking the inequality gap. By comparing Hong Kong with Singapore, he points out that Hong Kong needs a new and long-term strategy on human resource policy. He recommends more investment in education, focusing on early education and immigration policy reforms to attract highly educated and skilled people to join the workforce. In analyzing what causes inequality, this book ties disparate issues together into a coherent framework, such as Hong Kong’s aging population, lack of investment in human capital, and family breakdowns. Rising divorce rates among low-income households have worsened the housing shortage, driving rents and property prices upwards. Housing problems created a bigger gap between those who own housing and have the ability to invest in their children’s human capital and those who cannot, thus adversely impacting intergenerational upward mobility. This is the third of Richard Wong’s collections of articles on society and economy in Hong Kong. Diversity and Occasional Anarchy and Hong Kong Land for Hong Kong People, published by Hong Kong University Press in 2013 and 2015 respectively, discuss growing economic and social contradictions in Hong Kong and current housing problems and their solutions.
Amanda Grenier, Chris Phillipson, and Richard A. Settersten Jr (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- September 2020
- ISBN:
- 9781447340850
- eISBN:
- 9781447340904
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447340850.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Gerontology and Ageing
This book examines some of the challenges facing older people, given a context of rising life expectancy, cuts to the welfare state, and widening economic and social inequalities. It explores ...
More
This book examines some of the challenges facing older people, given a context of rising life expectancy, cuts to the welfare state, and widening economic and social inequalities. It explores precarity and ageing from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, critical perspectives, and contexts. Although cultural representations and policy discourses depict older people as a group healthier and more prosperous than ever, many older people experience ageing amid insecurities that emerge in later life or are carried forward as a consequence of earlier disadvantage.
The collection of chapters develops a distinctive approach to understanding the changing cultural, economic and social circumstances that create precarity for different groups of older people. The aim of the book is to explore what insights the concept of precarity might bring to an understanding of ageing across the life course, especially in the context of the radical socio-political changes affecting the lives of older people. In doing so, it draws attention both to altered forms of ageing, but also to changing social and cultural contexts, and realities that challenge the assumption that older people will be protected by existing social programmes or whatever resources that can be marshalled privately.Less
This book examines some of the challenges facing older people, given a context of rising life expectancy, cuts to the welfare state, and widening economic and social inequalities. It explores precarity and ageing from a range of disciplinary backgrounds, critical perspectives, and contexts. Although cultural representations and policy discourses depict older people as a group healthier and more prosperous than ever, many older people experience ageing amid insecurities that emerge in later life or are carried forward as a consequence of earlier disadvantage.
The collection of chapters develops a distinctive approach to understanding the changing cultural, economic and social circumstances that create precarity for different groups of older people. The aim of the book is to explore what insights the concept of precarity might bring to an understanding of ageing across the life course, especially in the context of the radical socio-political changes affecting the lives of older people. In doing so, it draws attention both to altered forms of ageing, but also to changing social and cultural contexts, and realities that challenge the assumption that older people will be protected by existing social programmes or whatever resources that can be marshalled privately.
Børge Bakken (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9789888208661
- eISBN:
- 9789888455119
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888208661.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Asian Studies
“Crime and the Chinese Dream” is edited by Børge Bakken. Although official propaganda emphasizes the Chinese Dream as the dream of all Chinese - a strong China with a prosperous population - but the ...
More
“Crime and the Chinese Dream” is edited by Børge Bakken. Although official propaganda emphasizes the Chinese Dream as the dream of all Chinese - a strong China with a prosperous population - but the opportunities of achieving prosperity by legal means are distributed unequally. Crime and the Chinese Dream reveals how people on the margins of Chinese society find their way to the Chinese Dream through illegal or deviant behaviours. The case studies in this book include corrupt doctors in public hospitals in Beijing, fraudsters in a village called “cake uncles”, illegal motorcycle taxi drivers in Guangzhou, drug users being “re-educated” in detention centres, and alleged internet addicts who are treated as criminals by the system in boot camps under an unqualified and uncertified psychiatric regime. Despite the patriotic and collectivistic tint of the official dream metaphor, the contributors to this volume show that the Chinese Dream is essentially a state capitalist dream, which is embedded within the problems and opportunities of capitalism, as well as a dream of control where a vast number of people are excluded from achieving the official dream of prosperity.Less
“Crime and the Chinese Dream” is edited by Børge Bakken. Although official propaganda emphasizes the Chinese Dream as the dream of all Chinese - a strong China with a prosperous population - but the opportunities of achieving prosperity by legal means are distributed unequally. Crime and the Chinese Dream reveals how people on the margins of Chinese society find their way to the Chinese Dream through illegal or deviant behaviours. The case studies in this book include corrupt doctors in public hospitals in Beijing, fraudsters in a village called “cake uncles”, illegal motorcycle taxi drivers in Guangzhou, drug users being “re-educated” in detention centres, and alleged internet addicts who are treated as criminals by the system in boot camps under an unqualified and uncertified psychiatric regime. Despite the patriotic and collectivistic tint of the official dream metaphor, the contributors to this volume show that the Chinese Dream is essentially a state capitalist dream, which is embedded within the problems and opportunities of capitalism, as well as a dream of control where a vast number of people are excluded from achieving the official dream of prosperity.
Venkat Venkatasubramanian
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780231180726
- eISBN:
- 9780231543224
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231180726.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Econometrics
Many in the United States feel that the nation’s current level of economic inequality is unfair and that capitalism is not working for 90% of the population. Yet some inequality is inevitable. The ...
More
Many in the United States feel that the nation’s current level of economic inequality is unfair and that capitalism is not working for 90% of the population. Yet some inequality is inevitable. The question is: What level of inequality is fair? Mainstream economics has offered little guidance on fairness and the ideal distribution of income. Political philosophy, meanwhile, has much to say about fairness yet relies on qualitative theories that cannot be verified by empirical data. To address inequality, we need to know what the goal is—and for this, we need a quantitative, testable theory of fairness for free-market capitalism. How Much Inequality Is Fair? synthesizes concepts from economics, political philosophy, game theory, information theory, statistical mechanics, and systems engineering into a mathematical framework for a fair free-market society. The key to this framework is the insight that maximizing fairness means maximizing entropy, which makes it possible to determine the fairest possible level of pay inequality. The framework therefore provides a moral justification for capitalism in mathematical terms. Venkat Venkatasubramanian also compares his theory’s predictions to actual inequality data from various countries—showing, for instance, that Scandinavia has near-ideal fairness, while the United States is markedly unfair—and discusses the theory’s implications for tax policy, social programs, and executive compensation.Less
Many in the United States feel that the nation’s current level of economic inequality is unfair and that capitalism is not working for 90% of the population. Yet some inequality is inevitable. The question is: What level of inequality is fair? Mainstream economics has offered little guidance on fairness and the ideal distribution of income. Political philosophy, meanwhile, has much to say about fairness yet relies on qualitative theories that cannot be verified by empirical data. To address inequality, we need to know what the goal is—and for this, we need a quantitative, testable theory of fairness for free-market capitalism. How Much Inequality Is Fair? synthesizes concepts from economics, political philosophy, game theory, information theory, statistical mechanics, and systems engineering into a mathematical framework for a fair free-market society. The key to this framework is the insight that maximizing fairness means maximizing entropy, which makes it possible to determine the fairest possible level of pay inequality. The framework therefore provides a moral justification for capitalism in mathematical terms. Venkat Venkatasubramanian also compares his theory’s predictions to actual inequality data from various countries—showing, for instance, that Scandinavia has near-ideal fairness, while the United States is markedly unfair—and discusses the theory’s implications for tax policy, social programs, and executive compensation.
Jagdish N. Bhagwati, Pravin Krishna, and Arvind Panagariya (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780262035231
- eISBN:
- 9780262337687
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262035231.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
When the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) metamorphosed into the WTO in 1994, it seemed that the third pillar of the international economic superstructure was finally put in place. And ...
More
When the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) metamorphosed into the WTO in 1994, it seemed that the third pillar of the international economic superstructure was finally put in place. And yet with the failure if member countries to close the Doha Round of trade negotiations and the emergence of bilateral and plurilateral preferential trade agreements (PTAs) such as the Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP) , the future of the world trade system seems uncertain. In this volume leading economists examine issues in trade policy that have arisen during this shift. The contributors discuss trends in the world trade system and discuss such topics as the effect of the trade on poverty and inequality, the use of antidumping measures within trade agreements, PTAs and litigation between trading partners, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the relationship between trade liberalization and food security. They also offer regional perspectives on the TPP and transatlantic free trade.Less
When the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) metamorphosed into the WTO in 1994, it seemed that the third pillar of the international economic superstructure was finally put in place. And yet with the failure if member countries to close the Doha Round of trade negotiations and the emergence of bilateral and plurilateral preferential trade agreements (PTAs) such as the Trans-Pacific-Partnership (TPP) , the future of the world trade system seems uncertain. In this volume leading economists examine issues in trade policy that have arisen during this shift. The contributors discuss trends in the world trade system and discuss such topics as the effect of the trade on poverty and inequality, the use of antidumping measures within trade agreements, PTAs and litigation between trading partners, the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the relationship between trade liberalization and food security. They also offer regional perspectives on the TPP and transatlantic free trade.
Jack Knight and Melissa Schwartzberg (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781479842933
- eISBN:
- 9781479857609
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479842933.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
In Privatization, a distinguished interdisciplinary group of scholars in political science, law and philosophy examine the implications of transferring state-provided or state-owned goods and ...
More
In Privatization, a distinguished interdisciplinary group of scholars in political science, law and philosophy examine the implications of transferring state-provided or state-owned goods and services to the private sector. The twelve essays in this volume consider how we should evaluate the decision to privatize, both with respect to the quality of outcomes that might be produced, and in terms of the effects of privatization on the core values underlying democratic decision-making. Privatization also affects the structure of governance in a variety of important ways, and these essays evaluate the consequences of privatization on the state. This new addition to the NOMOS series sheds new light on these highly salient questions of contemporary political life and institutional design.Less
In Privatization, a distinguished interdisciplinary group of scholars in political science, law and philosophy examine the implications of transferring state-provided or state-owned goods and services to the private sector. The twelve essays in this volume consider how we should evaluate the decision to privatize, both with respect to the quality of outcomes that might be produced, and in terms of the effects of privatization on the core values underlying democratic decision-making. Privatization also affects the structure of governance in a variety of important ways, and these essays evaluate the consequences of privatization on the state. This new addition to the NOMOS series sheds new light on these highly salient questions of contemporary political life and institutional design.
Yue Chim Richard Wong
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9789888390625
- eISBN:
- 9789888390373
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Hong Kong University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5790/hongkong/9789888390625.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
The contribution of recent immigrants to income dispersion has grown slightly. This reflects the fact that their numbers have been rising over time and that they tend to have a higher proportion of ...
More
The contribution of recent immigrants to income dispersion has grown slightly. This reflects the fact that their numbers have been rising over time and that they tend to have a higher proportion of lower-productivity individuals. Immigration policy is of course another form of human capital investment policy. In a free society, the decision to emigrate is an individual right over which government should not exercise control. But in Hong Kong, government policy decides who is allowed to emigrate here. Family reunion cases are also related to human rights, although what constitutes family is subject to policy delineation. To sum up, then, the increase in individual income dispersion is primarily affected by education. Other factors contribute, too, but none is as significant. Education policy must therefore be at the center of efforts to tackle the rising inequality in individual incomes. This sets up the analysis understand what underlies the rise of household income dispersion over this period.Less
The contribution of recent immigrants to income dispersion has grown slightly. This reflects the fact that their numbers have been rising over time and that they tend to have a higher proportion of lower-productivity individuals. Immigration policy is of course another form of human capital investment policy. In a free society, the decision to emigrate is an individual right over which government should not exercise control. But in Hong Kong, government policy decides who is allowed to emigrate here. Family reunion cases are also related to human rights, although what constitutes family is subject to policy delineation. To sum up, then, the increase in individual income dispersion is primarily affected by education. Other factors contribute, too, but none is as significant. Education policy must therefore be at the center of efforts to tackle the rising inequality in individual incomes. This sets up the analysis understand what underlies the rise of household income dispersion over this period.
Assaf Razin
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262037341
- eISBN:
- 9780262344234
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262037341.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy
The book objective is two-fold: First, the book provides rigorous analysis of some of the major globalization episodes during the decade's long emergence of the economy of Israel. Second, the book ...
More
The book objective is two-fold: First, the book provides rigorous analysis of some of the major globalization episodes during the decade's long emergence of the economy of Israel. Second, the book spells out, empirically, how the globalization played a crucial role in advancing Israel's economic progress. That is, economists and policy makers can gain insights as to how a globalized economy takes advantage of international trade, labor mobility, its international financial links, and at the same time push up against globalization headwinds, such as those triggered by the 2008 global financial crisis. A general lesson which comes out is that once a gradual opening up process is set, time-consistent macroeconomic policy is adapted, and well-regulated institutional setup is put in place, Israel’s economy has been able ride on growth-enhancing globalization flows, and weather its chilly storms. The book analyzes these game-changing events, evaluates their role in Israel remarkable development, and compares these developments to groups of developed and emerging- market economies in similar circumstances. To gain broader perspective, the book also looks back into recent history. The unique saga of Israel’s high-inflation crisis and the long period where it rebuilt the major financial, and monetary institutions, and regulatory bodies. These elements provided better macroeconomic stability and help mitigate business cycle fluctuations, and get the economy through military conflicts and boycotts. The book also surveys trending developments that remain challenging. The exceptionally high fertility among ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arab minority, increasing portions of the population, is the main reason for the flagging labor-force participation. High fertility diminishes skill attainment. A rise in income inequality in all advanced economies, which also takes place in Israel, has a potential for setting off social-political divide. In the case of Israel, its fast development came, however, at the cost of rising income inequality and social polarization. Israel now has the most unequal distribution of income among OECD countries and its public education has declined from one of the best to one of the worst in the OECD. Israel’s income redistributive policies, from rich to poor, from healthy to the sick and from young to old, is significantly less comprehensive in scope, compared to the European systems. It has been becoming even less so over the last decades. Israel has an unusually high fertility rate among the developed economies. The book endeavors to marry economic theory, empirical evidence, and narrative presentation. It does so in a way that is enlightening to the specialist, but remains digestible for the non-professional reader. It provides an opportunity for the reader to look through the rear mirror at the saga of Israel’s high-inflation, and the inflation conquest. To connect to the earlier literature, the book provides a review of books surveys of the earlier phases in the development of the economy of Israel. There could be at least two potential groups of readers: a. Policy makers, academic and non-academic (international institutions, banks, etc.) researchers and students interested in the Israeli Economy; b. Policy makers, academic and non-academic researches, interested in the effects of globalization; and, c. Advanced undergraduate, and graduate students in international macroeconomics courses.Less
The book objective is two-fold: First, the book provides rigorous analysis of some of the major globalization episodes during the decade's long emergence of the economy of Israel. Second, the book spells out, empirically, how the globalization played a crucial role in advancing Israel's economic progress. That is, economists and policy makers can gain insights as to how a globalized economy takes advantage of international trade, labor mobility, its international financial links, and at the same time push up against globalization headwinds, such as those triggered by the 2008 global financial crisis. A general lesson which comes out is that once a gradual opening up process is set, time-consistent macroeconomic policy is adapted, and well-regulated institutional setup is put in place, Israel’s economy has been able ride on growth-enhancing globalization flows, and weather its chilly storms. The book analyzes these game-changing events, evaluates their role in Israel remarkable development, and compares these developments to groups of developed and emerging- market economies in similar circumstances. To gain broader perspective, the book also looks back into recent history. The unique saga of Israel’s high-inflation crisis and the long period where it rebuilt the major financial, and monetary institutions, and regulatory bodies. These elements provided better macroeconomic stability and help mitigate business cycle fluctuations, and get the economy through military conflicts and boycotts. The book also surveys trending developments that remain challenging. The exceptionally high fertility among ultra-Orthodox Jews, and Arab minority, increasing portions of the population, is the main reason for the flagging labor-force participation. High fertility diminishes skill attainment. A rise in income inequality in all advanced economies, which also takes place in Israel, has a potential for setting off social-political divide. In the case of Israel, its fast development came, however, at the cost of rising income inequality and social polarization. Israel now has the most unequal distribution of income among OECD countries and its public education has declined from one of the best to one of the worst in the OECD. Israel’s income redistributive policies, from rich to poor, from healthy to the sick and from young to old, is significantly less comprehensive in scope, compared to the European systems. It has been becoming even less so over the last decades. Israel has an unusually high fertility rate among the developed economies. The book endeavors to marry economic theory, empirical evidence, and narrative presentation. It does so in a way that is enlightening to the specialist, but remains digestible for the non-professional reader. It provides an opportunity for the reader to look through the rear mirror at the saga of Israel’s high-inflation, and the inflation conquest. To connect to the earlier literature, the book provides a review of books surveys of the earlier phases in the development of the economy of Israel. There could be at least two potential groups of readers: a. Policy makers, academic and non-academic (international institutions, banks, etc.) researchers and students interested in the Israeli Economy; b. Policy makers, academic and non-academic researches, interested in the effects of globalization; and, c. Advanced undergraduate, and graduate students in international macroeconomics courses.
Shane Blackman and Ruth Rogers (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- January 2018
- ISBN:
- 9781447330523
- eISBN:
- 9781447330578
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- DOI:
- 10.1332/policypress/9781447330523.001.0001
- Subject:
- Social Work, Communities and Organizations
The book critically engages with neo-liberal policies and media representations of youth austerity as a constructed social crisis but remaining the mechanism used by both government and media to ...
More
The book critically engages with neo-liberal policies and media representations of youth austerity as a constructed social crisis but remaining the mechanism used by both government and media to exert control over young adults;
It explores the diversity of intersections relating to youth marginality across social class, gender and racial boundaries; looking into contemporary theory of advanced youth marginality.
It challenges the dominant notions of youth ‘underclass’ and marginalisation and the representation of ‘youth as trouble’ through participatory research methods to project young people’s ‘real’ experience and voice in spheres of leisure and recreation from street corners to open spaces in relation to surveillance and sanctions;
It develops an understanding of the importance of personal, emotional, familial and collective experiences of poverty and austerity and the strategies of resistance and survival, or consent under social hardship and discrimination from the Police;
It critically assesses the dynamics of social, cultural and educational policies in the shaping social life of young adults as refugees, looked after young people in Care, young mothers, working class youth and young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with reference to contemporary debates on neo-liberalism.Less
The book critically engages with neo-liberal policies and media representations of youth austerity as a constructed social crisis but remaining the mechanism used by both government and media to exert control over young adults;
It explores the diversity of intersections relating to youth marginality across social class, gender and racial boundaries; looking into contemporary theory of advanced youth marginality.
It challenges the dominant notions of youth ‘underclass’ and marginalisation and the representation of ‘youth as trouble’ through participatory research methods to project young people’s ‘real’ experience and voice in spheres of leisure and recreation from street corners to open spaces in relation to surveillance and sanctions;
It develops an understanding of the importance of personal, emotional, familial and collective experiences of poverty and austerity and the strategies of resistance and survival, or consent under social hardship and discrimination from the Police;
It critically assesses the dynamics of social, cultural and educational policies in the shaping social life of young adults as refugees, looked after young people in Care, young mothers, working class youth and young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds, with reference to contemporary debates on neo-liberalism.
Melissa Schwartzberg
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- September 2019
- ISBN:
- 9781479842933
- eISBN:
- 9781479857609
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9781479842933.003.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This chapter introduces the volume. It contextualizes the papers and sets out the organizational logic for the volume as a whole, presenting brief summaries of each chapter.
This chapter introduces the volume. It contextualizes the papers and sets out the organizational logic for the volume as a whole, presenting brief summaries of each chapter.
William L. Miller
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263310
- eISBN:
- 9780191734144
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263310.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Modern History
This book outlines the association between Scotland and England since the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Individual chapters range in focus from the late nineteenth century to the foreseeable future. ...
More
This book outlines the association between Scotland and England since the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Individual chapters range in focus from the late nineteenth century to the foreseeable future. They cover topics from the monarchy, constitution, parliamentary procedure, public policy and finance to the attitudes, experiences and identities of the ordinary Scots and English — both as majorities and as minorities in each other's country. They also include the natural inequality of the union in consequence of population sizes; trends in culture and identity; the changing role of the state; cross-border sympathy; and the pressure of adversarial politics. Gini's ‘Coefficient of Inequality’ is used to calculate the concentration of income or wealth within countries. Culture and identity are not merely conceptually and empirically distinct, they seem to be trending in opposite directions: cultures are merging, identities diverging. An overview of the chapters included in this book is shown.Less
This book outlines the association between Scotland and England since the Union of the Crowns in 1603. Individual chapters range in focus from the late nineteenth century to the foreseeable future. They cover topics from the monarchy, constitution, parliamentary procedure, public policy and finance to the attitudes, experiences and identities of the ordinary Scots and English — both as majorities and as minorities in each other's country. They also include the natural inequality of the union in consequence of population sizes; trends in culture and identity; the changing role of the state; cross-border sympathy; and the pressure of adversarial politics. Gini's ‘Coefficient of Inequality’ is used to calculate the concentration of income or wealth within countries. Culture and identity are not merely conceptually and empirically distinct, they seem to be trending in opposite directions: cultures are merging, identities diverging. An overview of the chapters included in this book is shown.
Deepak Singh
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520293304
- eISBN:
- 9780520966475
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520293304.001.0001
- Subject:
- Sociology, Race and Ethnicity
May I Help You? is Deepak Singh’s insightful and thought-provoking account of disillusionment when, as an educated upper-class Indian, he moves with his American wife to the United States and ...
More
May I Help You? is Deepak Singh’s insightful and thought-provoking account of disillusionment when, as an educated upper-class Indian, he moves with his American wife to the United States and discovers that America doesn’t care if he has an MBA from India or had worked for the BBC. Like many immigrants before him, Singh discovers that in America employers only trust him with a minimum wage job as a clerk, but his disappointment and embarrassment soon give way to shock when he realizes that in this world of low-wage work he is joined not merely by other immigrants, but by many Americans, a whole swath of the citizenry who goes unacknowledged and unassisted in their struggles to make a living wage. In sincere and straightforward prose, Singh takes the reader along on his journey full of dismay and compassion when the expectations he had of the United States, built around interactions in India with well-educated, affluent expatriates, collide with the reality of a coworker who must skip lunch until payday and the customers who buy in anticipation of a paycheck.Less
May I Help You? is Deepak Singh’s insightful and thought-provoking account of disillusionment when, as an educated upper-class Indian, he moves with his American wife to the United States and discovers that America doesn’t care if he has an MBA from India or had worked for the BBC. Like many immigrants before him, Singh discovers that in America employers only trust him with a minimum wage job as a clerk, but his disappointment and embarrassment soon give way to shock when he realizes that in this world of low-wage work he is joined not merely by other immigrants, but by many Americans, a whole swath of the citizenry who goes unacknowledged and unassisted in their struggles to make a living wage. In sincere and straightforward prose, Singh takes the reader along on his journey full of dismay and compassion when the expectations he had of the United States, built around interactions in India with well-educated, affluent expatriates, collide with the reality of a coworker who must skip lunch until payday and the customers who buy in anticipation of a paycheck.
