Publication Year: within 25 Years / Topic: Inequality

51. Analysis on the Determinants of Labor Share and Its Policy Implications

Author:: Yaein Baek, Minsoo Han, Wongi Kim, and Hyunsuk Kim
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP)
Abstract:: There has been a significant decline in the global labor share, leading to numerous studies about the cause of this drop. The labor share is used as one of the main indicators of inequality because a decrease in the labor share can lead to aggravation of income inequality. This is because low-skilled workers can be greatly affected by such a decline in the labor share and the main source of in-come for the low-income class, including the self-employed, is labor income. Among various indicators of inequality, this study analyzes the determinants of the change in labor share. Technological changes such as adoption of robots, advancements in information and communications technology (ICT) and the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) are expected to change the labor market. Hence, this study analyzes the impact of technological changes on labor share and suggests policy responses.
Topic:: Economics, Science and Technology, Labor Issues, and Inequality
Political Geography:: Global Focus

52. Refuge: How the State Shapes Human Potential

Author:: Heba Gowayed
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:: Drawing on a global and comparative ethnography, this presentation explores how Syrian men and women seeking refuge in a moment of unprecedented global displacement are received by countries of resettlement and asylum—the U.S., Canada, and Germany. It shows that human capital, typically examined as the skills immigrants bring with them that shape their potential, is actually created, transformed, or destroyed by receiving states’ incorporation policies. Since these policies derive from historically informed and unequal approaches to social welfare, refugees’ experiences raise a mirror to how states (re)produce inequality.
Topic:: Refugees, Inequality, Human Capital, Resettlement, and Asylum
Political Geography:: Middle East, Canada, Germany, Syria, and United States of America

53. Absolute or relative: perceptions of inequality among young adults in Mozambique

Author:: Giulia Barletta, Ines A. Ferreira, and Vincenzo Salvucci
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Different concepts of inequality lead to different positions in discussions about whether economic growth leads to increasing inequality. This study investigates how over 1,100 young adults in Mozambique perceive inequality and whether their perceptions are based on relative or absolute terms. It follows the line of work which examines attitudes (perceptions and preferences) towards different distributional axioms, and focuses on scale and translation invariance. Most of our respondents believe that inequality in their neighbourhood is too high and that circumstances beyond their control explain why some people are poor. We conclude that, while some respondents think in absolute terms, many do not agree with either the scale-invariance or the translation-invariance axioms, and there is great variation depending on the scenario presented to the respondents. We find some correlation between their way of thinking and gender, but no clear link with level of education and type of employment.
Topic:: Education, Inequality, Economic Growth, Youth, and Gender
Political Geography:: Africa and Mozambique

54. The Political Economy of the Cost of Living Crisis in the UK: What Is to Be Done?

Author:: Ozlem Onaran
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: This paper analyzes the political economy of the cost of living crisis in the context of the United Kingdom. The paper presents the long-term trends in the wage share, wealth inequality, labour’s bargaining power, and real wages in the UK. The first and second waves of inflation in 2021-22 are discussed presenting the trends in the profit margins. The policy responses by the conservative governments and the Bank of England are analyzed, and their limitations are assessed. The paper concludes with short-run and medium-run policy alternatives to the cost of living crisis
Topic:: Political Economy, Labor Issues, Inequality, Inflation, and Cost of Living
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

55. Environmental Inequality in Industrial Brownfields: Evidence from French Municipalities

Author:: Charlotte Bez, Michael Ash, and James K. Boyce
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: Recent research on environmental inequality has extended its focus from ongoing pollution to legacy pollution by examining the geography of industrial brownfields, defined as nonproductive, contaminated land. This article is the first extensive brownfield analysis for a European country from an environmental inequality perspective, exploiting the political momentum in France where brownfield restoration has become a national priority. In doing so, we combine data on over 7,200 industrial brownfields from the 2022 geodatabase ‘Cartofriches’ with socio-economic variables at the municipality level. We demonstrate communities with higher percentages of foreign-born and unemployed persons are disproportionately more likely to be located near brownfields. The social gradient increases significantly in communities that host many brownfields, the so-called hotspots. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship with income, with a positive correlation until the 75th percentile (C23,700 annually). These findings are robust to different controls, including across urban and rural areas, though with regional differences. Further, we also account for the location of noxious industrial facilities sourced from the E-PRTR database to show the existence of cumulative impacts of environmental risks. Our analysis provides crucial entry points for restorative environmental justice considerations and has important implications for Europe’s just transition and cohesion policies.
Topic:: Environment, Inequality, Pollution, Industry, and Municipalities
Political Geography:: Europe and France

56. Reproductive Injustice? A County-Level Analysis of the Impact of Abortion Restrictions on Abortion Rates

Author:: Raymond Caraher
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract:: Since Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992, state governments in the United States have been permitted to restrict abortion access up to the point where such restrictions do not place an ‘’undue burden” on those seeking abortion care. Since this ruling, abortion restrictions of various types and intensities have proliferated across the South and Midwest, especially since the 2010s. This paper uses a novel dataset of county-level abortion rates covering 20 years, as well as a database covering four types of restrictions which represent both “demand-side” restrictions (i.e., those which target abortion seekers) and “supply-side” restrictions (i.e., those which target abortion providers), to analyze the effect of abortion restrictions on abortion rates. Using a difference-in-differences design, the analysis finds that while both classes of abortion restrictions reduce the abortion rate, restrictions that target pregnant people seeking an abortion have a substantially larger effect on abortion rates. Leveraging the spatial heterogeneity of the county-level dataset, the analysis further finds that abortion restrictions have a substantially larger negative effect on abortion rates for counties which have a larger share of Black or Hispanic residents. When comparing high and low income counties, the results suggest that poorer counties experience a higher negative effect of abortion restrictions. Further, the study finds significant variation in the effect of different abortion restrictions by state. While demand-side laws consistently cause abortion rates to decrease, the results for supplyside laws are more heterogenous. Overall, the results suggest that repealing Roe v. Wade will have a significant and unequal effect on abortion rates, with marginalized communities experiencing a greater impact.
Topic:: Health Care Policy, Inequality, Legislation, Reproductive Rights, and Abortion
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

57. Women, Peace and Security and the 2022 National Security Strategy

Author:: Hans Hogrefe and Cassandra Zavislak
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Our Secure Future
Abstract:: This brief examines the inclusion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda in the Biden Administration’s 2022 National Security Strategy, and compares it to the ways in which the Trump Administration’s 2017 National Security Strategy addresses the full participation of women in our national security interests.
Topic:: Security, National Security, Women, Inequality, Peace, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: Russia, China, North America, and United States of America

58. Gender Equality & Women's Empowerment in the Post-Soviet Space: Challenges and Perspectives

Author:: Vugar Bayramov, Nigar Islamli, and Emin Mammadov
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Economic and Social Development (CESD)
Abstract:: The countries have a plan for women’s empowerment that sets it as a primary target in national development plan for achieving gender equality outcomes across the country. Under this review, the countries’ gender assessment, which mainly consider the female labor force participation in these countries, elaborates the extent to which women enjoy the same rights and opportunities, in which sectors they are highly employed and what obstacles they face that could be of exceptional importance in formulating policy objectives. The analysis also touches some points on women’s social and economic empowerment, which pertains to access opportunities and resources, and control their own lives.
Topic:: Development, Women, Employment, Inequality, Post-Soviet Space, and Gender
Political Geography:: Caucasus and Azerbaijan

59. An Age of Crises: Prospects for inequality and division

Author:: Roshni Menon
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:: Inequalities can shape, drive, and amplify crises and at the same time, be the consequence of crises. The double shock of the COVID-19 pandemic followed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine has been accompanied by an uptick in income and social inequalities. Moreover, a world enveloped in a series of crises has become the grim backdrop for many of the current discourses on how to solve salient world problems. The complexity and force of how each individual crisis overlaps and interacts with, and sometimes worsens the impact of other crises—including rising levels of inequality and exclusion—is profound and damaging, requiring careful analysis of both consequences and solutions. For instance, surging inflation rates, which began in 2021, as well as the food and energy crises set off largely by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, have precipitated and worsened the debt crisis in many lower income countries. Combined with the existential threat of climate change and related and prevalent extreme climate events, a perfect and potent storm of events have been set in motion: even if aspects of today’s cost-of-living crisis wane, their ripple effects will continue to reverberate, in some instances setting off political instability and social unrest in parts of the world. The lessons learned from these crises, and their interaction with inequality and exclusion will be critical to better prepare for the future, and to break the deadly spiral of crises and rising inequality. While disasters—both those created by people and generated by nature—have increasingly become a daily reality for many in different parts of the world, policies at the global, regional, and national levels, have yet to catch up with this new reality. Looking across six areas—food and fuel shortages, inflation, debt distress, extreme climate-related events, and political unrest—there are very few countries that escape the reach of at least one crisis. However, more alarmingly, many countries are exposed to multiple and compounding levels of economic, social, and environmental shock; which can intersect with underlying inequalities and vulnerabilities such that a vicious cycle of income inequality, increasing social stratification, and discontent spreads across societies and generations. New research from the Pathfinders team shows that in those countries for which complete data exists across six crises (90 in total), eight countries are at risk for being impacted by all crises at the same time. 72 out of these 90 countries (or 80 percent) are at high or moderate risk of suffering from at least three crises at the same time. If we limit the analysis to five crises (food price shock, inflation, extreme climate events, debt distress, and protests), 10 out of the 134 countries with complete data are at high or moderate risk of suffering from all five crises and 86 countries (65 percent) from at least three crises. This number may even be an underestimate as typically lower income countries have less capacity to collect data and tend to deal with multiple crises arising from debt and cost-of-living issues. In response to these multiple crises (or polycrisis), urgent, integrated, and coordinated policy interventions are needed, including even greater cooperation and commitment at the global level. Without a sharp change of course, a renewed recommitment to multilateralism and bolder action to address root causes, there will be little change for the better. There is an opportunity for committed countries to advocate for sustained and urgent action to respond to the immediate humanitarian needs of a great majority of the world’s population. Policy solutions can be geared towards the shorter and longer terms: The first includes an urgent set of instruments aimed at reducing suffering as soon as possible and a second set focused on achieving longer-term structural transformation to reduce vulnerability and promote sustainability.
Topic:: Inequality, Crisis Management, COVID-19, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Global Focus

60. From Rhetoric to Action: Delivering Inequality & Exclusion

Author:: Center on International Cooperation
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation (CIC)
Abstract:: Inequality and exclusion are not destiny. Change is possible. Following three years of research, country visits, expert meetings, and debate, the Pathfinders’ Grand Challenge on Inequality and Exclusion has identified policy priorities for immediate and longer-term actions to tackle inequality and exclusion. The report draws on the lived experiences and desires of people across countries around the world. To understand citizens’ concerns about inequalities, their policy priorities, and their desire for change, we commissioned a public opinion survey in eight countries: Canada, Costa Rica, Mexico, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Sweden, Tunisia, and Uruguay. These opinion surveys show an immense preoccupation with societal divisions and a consensus that more needs to be done to address them. What is working to make progress on equality and inclusion? Countries and local communities that have made sustained progress towards more inclusive and equal societies have generally taken a three-pronged approach: They have delivered visible results that make a material difference in people’s daily lives, in areas such as social protection, housing and wages; they have built solidarity, through for example truth-telling exercises, police and justice reform and community empowerment; and they have secured credibility and sought to avert reversals by fighting corruption, broadening political power, and increasing the public financing needed for policy development.
Topic:: Public Opinion, Inequality, Survey, and Exclusion
Political Geography:: Canada, South Korea, Uruguay, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Mexico, Tunisia, Costa Rica, and Global Focus

61. A New Horizon in U.S. Trade Policy: Key Developments and Questions for the Biden Administration

Author:: Trevor Sutton and Mike Williams
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for American Progress - CAP
Abstract:: This issue brief examines some of the key trade initiatives pursued by the Biden administration to date. It then sets out key questions facing U.S. trade policy in a global environment defined by volatility and renewed ambition to tackle the great challenges of the 21st century, such as climate change, inequality, and great power competition.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Treaties and Agreements, European Union, Inequality, Economy, Trade Policy, and Strategic Competition
Political Geography:: Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, United States of America, and Americas

62. Spatial Wage Inequality in North America and Western Europe: Changes Between and Within Local Labour Markets 1975-2019

Author:: L. Baluz, P. Bukowski, M. Fransham, A. Lee, and M. López Forero
Publication Date:: 08-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW)
Abstract:: The rise of economic inequalities in advanced economies has been often linked with the growth of spatial inequalities within countries, yet there is limited comparative research that studies the relationship between national and subnational economic inequality. This paper presents the first systematic attempt to create internationally comparable evidence showing how different countries perform in terms of geographic wage inequalities. We create cross-country comparable measures of spatial wage disparities between and within similarly-defined local labour market areas (LLMAs) for Canada, France, (West) Germany, the UK and the US since the 1970s, and assess their contribution to national inequality. By the end of the 2010s, spatial inequalities in LLMA mean wages are similar in Canada, France, Germany and the UK; the US exhibits the highest degree of spatial inequality. Over the study period, spatial inequalities have nearly doubled in all countries, except for France where spatial inequalities have fallen back to 1970s levels. Due to a concomitant increase in within-place inequality, the contribution of places in explaining national wage inequality has remained fairly constant over the 40-year study period, except in the UK where we document a significant increase. Whilst common global social, economic and technological shocks are important drivers of spatial inequality, this variation in levels and trends of spatial inequality opens the way to comparative research exploring the role of national institutions in mediating how global shocks translate into economic disparities between places.
Topic:: Inequality, Labor Market, and Wages
Political Geography:: Europe and North America

63. Los retos de Honduras en materia de inseguridad. El dilema de Xiomara Castro ante el populismo punitivo y de la seguridad.

Author:: Javier Lozano Cobos
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
Institution:: Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
Abstract:: La militarización y el combate como herramienta casi exclusiva contra la violencia y la inseguridad ha sido el paradigma de profundo calado en Honduras y la mayor parte de la región, lo que implica la solución a los problemas de inseguridad en clave de guerra. Este conflicto asimétrico entre los grupos criminales y los Estados se recrudeció a raíz de la Guerra contra las Drogas iniciada por el presidente mexicano Calderón, y no es sino la continuación de las diversas guerras contra ya ensayadas en Centroamérica bajo inspiración de los EEUU. Con la llegada al poder de la presidenta hondureña, Xiomara Castro, se advertía un cambio en relación a las políticas de seguridad que no se enfocaran exclusivamente en la mano dura, sino que abordara la reforma integral del Estado priorizando la lucha contra la corrupción y la impunidad, así como la mejora de la calidad de la democracia. Una ola de populismo punitivo recorre la región, pero la mejora en los niveles de inseguridad en Honduras no será sostenible mediante el uso exclusivo de la fuerza ni estados de excepción.
Topic:: Corruption, Human Rights, War on Drugs, Democracy, Geopolitics, Inequality, Populism, and Militarization
Political Geography:: Latin America, Honduras, and United States of America

64. Violence against women: A public health crisis

Author:: Victoria Pedjasaar
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Policy Centre (EPC)
Abstract:: In the EU, a third of women over the age of 15 have experienced physical or sexual violence and over half have been sexually harassed. Although often overlooked, the majority of (workplace) violence takes place in the healthcare sector as healthcare professionals are 16 times more at risk of violence in comparison to other occupations. Violence does not only manifest in abusive behaviour toward workers on duty but can also be perpetrated on women as receivers of healthcare. High rates of violence in healthcare, brought on and exacerbated by gender stereotypes and inequality, point to dysfunctional health systems. This Discussion Paper provides policy recommendations on the way forward for the EU member states, taking a closer look at: Gender-based violence against healthcare workers. Obstetric and gynaecological violence against women. Gender-based violence as a story of gender inequality. Legislation and policies that protect women.
Topic:: European Union, Women, Inequality, Gender Based Violence, and Legislation
Political Geography:: Europe

65. Inequality in Chile: Perceptions and Patterns

Author:: Ignacia Lecaros, Daniela Paz Cruzat, Ricardo Pommer Muñoz, Pablo Tillan, and Michael Walton
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: Chile has pioneered many things: a market-oriented, “neoliberal” approach to development; an impressive transition from authoritarianism to democracy; innovations in social policy; and an extraordinary series of street protests between 2006 and 2019. While often lauded as a model of economic and social development, the protests reflect acute concerns over perceived failures in the Chilean political, economic and cultural system, concerns that were profoundly inflected with issues of inequality and lack of fairness. To inform this contrast, this paper undertakes a systematic assessment of the perceptions and perspectives of Chilean citizens, both in the context of the protests and in their broader expressed views in surveys. The core theme is that “the street was right”, in the specific sense that the protests reflected much wider sentiments across social classes over perceived inequities in economic advancement, social provisioning, and the undignified “treatment” by state actors and elites. The paper then compares these perceptions with some of the “objective” measures of inequality. While alternative measures indicate modest declines in some measures of inequality, Chile remains a very high inequality society, in relation to income, wealth, and education. These perceptions and patterns are central to Chile’s current development challenges, in ways that resonate with the position of many countries in today’s polarized environment. This is the first of two papers, with the sequel exploring the underlying drivers of inequality and implications for policy direction.
Topic:: Education, Health, Inequality, Protests, State, Perception, and Fairness
Political Geography:: South America and Chile

66. Growth Through Inclusion in South Africa

Author:: Ricardo Hausmann, Tim O'Brien, Andrés Fortunato, Alexia Lochmann, and Kishan Shah
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:: It is painfully clear that South Africa is performing poorly, exacerbating problems such as inequality and exclusion. The economy’s ability to create jobs is slowing, worsening South Africa’s extreme levels of unemployment and inequality. South Africans are deeply disappointed with social progress and dislike the direction where the country seems to be heading. Despite its enviable productive capabilities, the national economy is losing international competitiveness. As the economy staggers, South Africa faces deteriorating social indicators and declining levels of public satisfaction with the status quo. After 15 years, attempts to stimulate the economy through fiscal policy and to address exclusion through social grants have failed to achieve their goals. Instead, they have sacrificed the country's investment grade, increasing the cost of capital to the whole economy, with little social progress to show for it. The underlying capabilities to achieve sustained growth by leveraging the full capability of its people, companies, assets, and knowhow remain underutilized. Three decades after the end of apartheid, the economy is defined by stagnation and exclusion, and current strategies are not achieving inclusion and empowerment in practice. This report asks the question of why. Why is the economy growing far slower than any reasonable comparator countries? Why is exclusion so extraordinarily high, even after decades of various policies that have aimed to support socio-economic transformation? What would it take for South Africa to include more of its people, capabilities, assets, and ideas in the functioning of the economy, and why aren’t such actions being undertaken already? The Growth Lab has completed a deep diagnostic of potential causes of South Africa’s prolonged underperformance over a two-year research project. Building on the findings of nine papers and widespread collaboration with government, academics, business and NGOs, this report documents the project’s central findings. Bluntly speaking, the report finds that South Africa is not accomplishing its goals of inclusion, empowerment and transformation, and new strategies and instruments will be needed to do so. We found two broad classes of problems that undermine inclusive growth in the Rainbow Nation: collapsing state capacity and spatial exclusion.
Topic:: Inequality, Economic Growth, Unemployment, and Inclusion
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

67. Cuban Privilege: The Making of Immigrant Inequality in America

Author:: Susan Eckstein
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: About the speaker: Susan Eckstein is a Professor in the Pardee School of Global Studies and in the Sociology Department at Boston University. She has written numerous books and articles on Mexican urban poor, political-economic developments in Cuba, Cuban immigrants, immigration policy, impacts of Latin American revolutions, and edited books on Latin American social movements and social rights, and on immigrant impacts in their homelands.
Topic:: Poverty, Inequality, and Immigrants
Political Geography:: Cuba, North America, and United States of America

68. Starr Forum: Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity

Author:: Daron Acemoglu and Fotini Christia
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: MIT Center for International Studies
Abstract:: A thousand years of history and contemporary evidence make one thing clear: progress depends on the choices we make about technology. New ways of organizing production and communication can either serve the narrow interests of an elite or become the foundation for widespread prosperity. Today, digital technologies and artificial intelligence threaten jobs and democracy through excessive automation, massive data collection, and intrusive surveillance. Will the next decades bring shared prosperity or a further move in the direction of two-tiered societies? Join us for this important discussion with Daron Acemoglu, the co-author of Power and Progress.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Communications, Inequality, Elites, Prosperity, and Production
Political Geography:: Global Focus

69. Barriers or catalysts? Traditional institutions and social mobility in rural India

Author:: Vegard Iversen, Anustup Kundu, Rahul Lahoti, and Kunal Sen
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: We examine how village-level social group dominance affects the educational and occupational mobility of minority and other social groups in rural India across multiple generations. We distinguish between upper caste and own-group dominance and examine the mechanisms underpinning inequality in mobility outcomes. We find inequality in upward educational mobility to have significantly narrowed over time, with Scheduled Castes doing better in upper caste- and own-dominated villages, while Scheduled Tribes and Muslims do worse in own-dominated villages. In contrast, for occupational mobility we find no evidence of minority groups catching up with upper castes; Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are particularly disadvantaged, but Scheduled Castes, again, do comparatively better in their own-dominated villages. Exploring the mechanisms that explain the relationships between land dominance regimes and mobility, we find that a combination of agroecological and natural resource base and social cohesion of villages underpins the differences observed more than public goods provision. Our findings suggest a new pattern of inequality where historically disadvantaged groups appear less able to convert educational gains into labour market and occupational progress.
Topic:: Education, Inequality, Rural, Social Mobility, and Traditional Institutions
Political Geography:: South Asia and India

70. Wage inequality, firm characteristics, and firm wage premia in South Africa

Author:: Shakeba Foster
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This paper investigates the role of firm characteristics in driving wage inequality and firm wage premia in the South African labour market. The Abowd, Kramarz, and Margolis (AKM) and Kline, Saggio, and Sølvsten (KSS) regression-based decomposition methods are applied to matched employer–employee administrative tax data for the period 2011–19. Additionally, the Theil index is used as a comparative tool for estimating wage inequality, given that the variance of logarithms applied in the regression-based decomposition methods has been established as an imprecise measure of inequality. The results show significantly high dispersion in wages, as estimated by both the AKM and the KSS methods as well as the Theil index, reaffirming the extent of high inequality in the country. Worker and firm characteristics account for 35 per cent and 18 per cent of wage dispersion, respectively, with a positive worker–firm covariance accounting for 11 per cent. Firm size, industry, profits, geographical location, and whether firms are locally or foreign-owned are found to be important in driving firm wage premia.
Topic:: Labor Issues, Inequality, Economy, and Wages
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

71. Construction productivity and global inequality

Author:: Saumik Paul and Kunal Sen
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: Two well established stylized facts of economic development are a strong correlation between investment and income, and large differences in investment rates across countries. Construction is the largest component of investment. This paper examines the implications of heterogeneity in construction productivity on cross-country income disparity. We estimate the 10:1 spread in construction productivity among 145 countries in 2005 as a factor of 61.7-fold. Based on a general equilibrium model with input–output linkages, we find that the 10:1 spread in income per capita declines by 45 per cent when the construction productivity gap is eliminated. Sectoral characterization of the aggregate effect of a change in construction productivity shows heterogeneous sectoral contributions to income convergence. Electrical equipment, metals, and transport equipment play stronger roles in transforming the effect of a change in construction productivity to the aggregate level in China compared with other countries.
Topic:: Inequality, Investment, Productivity, Construction, and Income
Political Geography:: China and Global Focus

72. Degrees of disadvantage

Author:: Chinmayi Srikanth
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: This study is positioned in two strands of literature—intersectionality and social mobility. It is the first to measure (dis)advantage at the individual level as an outcome of the intersectionality of identities and parental circumstances. By linking circumstances at the parental level with (dis)advantage at the individual level, this study uses fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) in an unprecedented application, i.e. to study social mobility or generational persistence. By accounting for intersectional ascribed identities, this study is also the first to analyse social mobility for the intersectionality of caste, religion, and gender identities. Using data from the India Human Development Survey 2011–12, the study finds that, in a given generation, Hindu women can observe high outcomes only if they are born into advantageous parental circumstances. This is further tempered by their position in the social hierarchy. For men, advantageous circumstances are not a necessary precondition for upward mobility. By building epistemological arguments, this paper also makes a contribution by being the first to contend that fsQCA is the ideal method to study overdeterministic social science phenomena.
Topic:: Development, Women, Inequality, Identity, and Social Mobility
Political Geography:: South Asia and India

73. Pandemic Responses in the MENA Region: Lessons learned for an inclusive economic recovery

Author:: Salma Jrad, Amine Bouzaine, Nadine Mezher, and Anna Chernova
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing inequalities and poor governance practices in the MENA region and had a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable people. These persistent and structural issues also threaten a post-COVID inclusive recovery process. Austerity steers from institutions like the IMF risk further inequality and social exclusion, as evidenced by diverse and gendered impacts on the most vulnerable, including through low public spending on health and social protection. Economic and fiscal justice through progressive taxation and inclusive, crisis-resilient public spending are two key policy solutions to prevent future crises impoverishing the most vulnerable in the region. As the world recovers from the pandemic, now is the time for national and global policymakers – including international financial institutions – to take stock and seek policy alternatives that take a rights-based, inclusive, holistic and resilience-focused approach to recovery efforts, resourced through progressive taxation.
Topic:: Governance, Inequality, Finance, COVID-19, Inclusion, and Economic Recovery
Political Geography:: Middle East and North Africa

74. Towards caring and safeguarding research practices – A trauma-informed approach to violence-related qualitative research

Author:: Gugu Resha and Amina Mwaikambo
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:: IIn recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the importance of understanding vicarious trauma among practitioners and researchers of sexual and gender-based violence as well as other forms of violence. Mental health practitioners and organisations working with people affected by violence are framing the provision of resources and tools to prevent vicarious trauma as a crucial ethical and institutional obligation. This comes from the understanding that trauma exposure can affect both the research participants and the researcher and can have lingering effects well beyond the duration of the study in the form of re-experiencing thoughts, feelings and sensations that were experienced during a traumatic event or the re-telling of that event. Among these risks faced by researchers, scholars have included the challenge of blurred boundaries between interviews and therapy during qualitative research, the spillover effects of traumatic experiences and emotional collateral experienced by research staff, and countertransference of trauma which has mostly been described in the context of therapists and clients but also extends to researchers. Research has also shown that plans for researcher safety and well-being are a necessary strategy for building researcher resilience and preventing vicarious trauma. The growing literature on this topic reveals the centrality of this issue to the area on qualitative research, violence and trauma. The work that the Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) has done on violence and how it impacts communities over the past few decades has highlighted the importance of support mechanisms and systems to ensure the well-being of the staff who carry out research with participants who have witnessed or experienced violence. Our own reflections from CSVR researchers, fieldworkers, and mental health practitioners have shown the need to establish a rigorous and consistent framework to adequately capacitate staff to understand the risks that come with designing and carrying out research with participants on their experiences of violence. More specifically, these reflections have highlighted the reality of how trauma from these experiences affects research participants in their engagement with researchers, and how the repeated exposure to people recounting their traumatic experiences can inadvertently affect researchers too. These reflections indicate the need for research frameworks that take the effects of trauma into account, to guide researchers in their research design in order to safeguard their own well-being as well as that of their participants during the project. This practice brief consolidates the feedback of researchers, data collectors, and mental health practitioners about the challenges they face in the field and offers practical strategies on how to use a trauma-informed approach in research to provide adequate support, training, and measures to ensure that these adverse effects are limited with appropriate planning and implementation. The objective of this practice brief is to promote a trauma-informed research practice that ensures that research projects: Address research participants in a manner that is sensitive to traumatic experiences of violence and its effects; Avoid re-traumatising participants; Avoid second-hand traumatisation of researchers and data collectors; and, Contain any adverse effects on the researchers and data collectors that may emerge from the context and exposure to people who have witnessed and experienced violence. This brief seeks to improve and consolidate the existing tools within CSVR’s own research methods and operationalise trauma-informed approach into the research design process and distress protocol. Furthermore, this brief seeks to provide guidance for CSVR’s partners, as well as other research and nonprofit organisations, social intervention projects, and practitioners who conduct research in areas such as gender-based violence, conflict, and other forms of violence that may result in traumatic effects on individuals, families, and communities.
Topic:: Inequality, Trauma, Mental Health, Social Cohesion, Qualitative Research, and Safeguarding
Political Geography:: Global Focus

75. The Last Hurdle? Unyielding Motherhood Effects in the Context of Declining Gender Inequality in Latin America

Author:: Mariana Marchionni and Julian Pedrazzi
Publication Date:: 11-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: We assess whether motherhood could be the last hurdle to achieving gender equality in developing countries by exploring the link between motherhood and the overall gender gap in the labor market for 14 Latin American countries over the last two decades. Using pseudo- panels built from harmonized household surveys and an event study approach around the birth of the first child, we find that the arrival of the first child leads to a sharp and persistent 35% decline in mothers’ earnings. This result is explained by a reduction in employment and a prompting shift towards occupations that favor more flexible work arrangements, including part-time and informal jobs. These effects are pervasive across countries and population groups. Furthermore, using an extended version of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, we identify motherhood as the primary source of income inequality between men and women. Motherhood explains 42% of the remaining gender gap and has progressively gained relative importance over the last two decades while other contributing factors, such as education and its associated returns, have shown a waning impact. Moreover, we find no clear cross- country association between the motherhood-related gap and per capita GDP or gender norms, while the contribution of other factors to the gender gap in earnings diminishes with higher per capita GDP and more gender-egalitarian social norms. This suggests that gender gaps stemming from the motherhood effect exhibit greater rigidity than other drivers of gender inequality.
Topic:: Development, Inequality, Gender, Decomposition, Motherhood, and Child Penalty
Political Geography:: Latin America

76. Assessment of the economic inclusiveness of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP): The case of Luwero,Wakiso, Mpigi, Mukono and Kampala districts

Author:: Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Publication Date:: 12-2023
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE)
Abstract:: This study aims to assess the economic inclusiveness of the Uganda Women Entrepreneurship Programme (UWEP). UWEP, a flagship program initiated by the government in the fiscal year 2015/2016, is specifically dedicated to women’s economic empowerment and enhancing their contribution to economic development.
Topic:: Women, Inequality, Entrepreneurship, Assessment, and Economic Inclusion
Political Geography:: Uganda and Africa

77. 100 more by 2030! How to create a more gender-balanced democracy

Author:: Frances Scott, Rainbow Murray, Kiran Mahil, and Emma Best
Publication Date:: 03-2023
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Mile End Institute, Queen Mary University of London
Abstract:: While there are currently 225 women in the House of Commons, an all-time high, women continue to be underrepresented in Parliament, local government, and public life. To rectify this, ‪@Parliament-cc8sw‬ has set an ambitious target to have 100 more women in Parliament by 2030. On Thursday 23 March, as the UK's major political parties ramp up their efforts to select candidates for next year's general election, this discussion took stock of their efforts. Frances Scott (the founder and director of 50:50 Parliament), Professor Rainbow Murray (QMUL), Kiran Mahil (Labour Women's Network) and Emma Best (Conservative member of the London Assembly) reflected on the success of leading pressure groups and evaluated how much progress has been made in recent years to create a better, more gender-balanced democracy.
Topic:: Women, Inequality, Domestic Politics, Representation, and Gender
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

78. Three frontlines in Africa's resource conflicts

Author:: Peter Albrecht and Marie Ladekjær Gravesen
Publication Date:: 09-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: Conflicts over land and resources are nothing new on the African continent. However, as global attention has turned towards environmental issues – as well as Africa’s rich renewable energy sources and precious minerals – the nature of these conflicts has changed. Research shows three frontlines that investors, humanitarian actors, and policymakers need to be aware of as they invest or engage in green initiatives in Africa.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, Migration, Water, Food, Non State Actors, Governance, Inequality, and Land Rights
Political Geography:: Africa

79. How the International Monetary Fund Is Squeezing Pakistan

Author:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research
Abstract:: To understand the unprecedented contraction of Pakistan’s economy, causing the poor to become significantly poorer, greater scrutiny of how IMF policies undermine economic independence is urgently needed.
Topic:: Poverty, Inequality, Economy, and IMF
Political Geography:: Pakistan and South America

80. The Wage Effect of Workplace Sexual Harassment: Evidence for Women in Europe

Author:: Giulia Zacchia and Izaskun Zuazu
Publication Date:: 06-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:: This article contributes to the literature on wage discrimination by examining the consequences of sexual harassment in the workplace on wages for women in Europe. We model the empirical relationship between sexual harassment risk and wages for European women employees using individual-level data provided by the European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS, Eurostat). We find that sexual harassment risk has a negative and statistically significant effect on wages of -0.03% on average for women in Europe. However, our empirical analysis uncovers the importance of considering the dynamics of workplace power relations: analyzing individual-level data, we find evidence of a higher negative impact of sexual harassment risk on wages for women working in counter-stereotypical occupations. We conclude that the wage effect of hostile working conditions, mainly in terms of sexual harassment risk in the workplace, should be considered and monitored as a first critical step in making women be less vulnerable at work and increasing their bargaining power, thereby reducing inequalities in working conditions and pay in Europe.
Topic:: Labor Issues, Inequality, Gender, Wages, and Sexual Harassment
Political Geography:: Europe

81. Inequality, Current Account Imbalances and Middle Incomes

Author:: Océane Blomme and Jérôme Héricourt
Publication Date:: 04-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre d'Etudes Prospectives et d'Informations Internationales (CEPII)
Abstract:: This paper investigates the complex relationship between current account balance and income inequality, putting specific emphasis on the potential sources of non-linearities in the latter. Based on a dataset for 52 developed and developing countries over the period 1990-2019, we first show a one-standard-deviation increase in various income inequality indicators generates a decrease in the ratio of current account over GDP by -0.5 to -0.9 percentage points in developed countries, but no significant impact when the sample is expanded to include emerging and developing countries. We then show those average impacts are distorted along the distribution of economic and financial development variables: for those countries displaying low GDP per capita, low levels of financial deregulation and of capital account openness, additional income inequality actually improves the current account balance. Conversely, the impact of income inequality on current account is all the more negative that financial markets are bigger, more deregulated and more open. In addition, the decrease in the current account balance is 1.2 to 1.4 times more important in countries with higher financial development or more open capital account when the increase in inequality is driven by the income of top earners relative to the middle class rather than by the increase in top earners' incomes at the expense of the lowest percentiles of the distribution. Those results are robust to various robustness checks for endogeneity concerns, possible impact of the Great Financial Crisis, and variable definitions.
Topic:: Inequality, Finance, Middle Class, and Income
Political Geography:: Global Focus

82. The Post-COVID Consensus

Author:: Shahid Yusuf
Publication Date:: 10-2023
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:: Development economics is turning a full circle with a difference. This paper addresses the circling back to the policies in vogue during the 1980s and earlier, including industrial policies, coupled with protectionism; accounts for the regression to earlier certitudes after an extended spell of globalization underpinned by market fundamentalism; and indicates how a transforming global environment has enlarged the policy agenda. There is a new policy consensus in the making, which borrows some elements of the Washington Consensus but goes beyond to encompass a broader policy agenda.
Topic:: Development, Markets, Poverty, Inequality, Economic Development, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Global Focus

83. Informe Iberoamérica 2023

Author:: Marcos Criado De Diego, Daniel Gayo Lafée, Marisa Ramos Rollon, Erika Rodríguez Pinzón, Loreno Ruano, and José Antonio Sanahuja
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:: Hoy la realidad de los países que conforman la Asociación Estratégica entre la UE y la CELAC es completamente diferente. Si bien tomaron contacto en la última Cumbre Iberoamericana en República Dominicana, prevalecieron las fracturas y las diferencias entre países y posturas. Ambas regiones enfrentan un contexto desafiante. Ha aumentado el riesgo de fragmentación en bloques geopolíticos y económicos. América Latina y el Caribe están ante el dilema de pertenecer al hemisferio occidental o fortalecer su integración intrarregional. Europa con desafíos inéditos, ante una agenda influída totalmente por el conflicto entre Ucrania y Rusia con una fuerte desaceleración de su crecimiento a un magro 0,1% para 2023, con gastos militares crecientes para apoyar a Ucrania lo que implica dejar atrás otras prioridades de desarrollo y con dilemas sociales para preservar su sociedad de bienestar. América Latina y el Caribe por su parte, es hoy una región más desigual, más pobre, más endeudada, más polarizada y más desconfiada. Enfrenta múltiples crisis sufriendo los impactos del conflicto de Ucrania con altos niveles de inflación (7,7% en promedio) a pesar de que los precios de combustibles y alimentos parecen haber llegado a su límite. El impacto de la pandemia, la crisis climática, las disrupciones en las cadenas de suministro, el endurecimiento de las políticas monetarias y el financiamiento internacional y la deuda pública y privada y baja recaudación fiscal agobian hoy día a esta región. Los riesgos económicos han aumentado junto con la incertidumbre y el desencanto social generando mayor polarización política.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Climate Change, Inequality, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Europe and Latin America

84. Crisis alimentarias en el norte de África

Author:: Laurence Thieux
Publication Date:: 04-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Fundación Alternativas
Abstract:: La guerra en Ucrania, sumándose a las crisis anteriores, ha tenido un fuerte impacto sobre los países de Norte de África dependientes de los mercados mundiales para alimentar a su población. La inflación y la perturbación de las cadenas de suministro han agudizado las crisis económicas y sociales y los riesgos de inseguridad alimentaria de las franjas más vulnerables de la población de esta región incrementando las fracturas territoriales y las desigualdades. Este documento, a cargo de Laurence Thieux, profesora ayudante doctor del Departamento de Relaciones Internacionales e Historia Global de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid, trata de arrojar luz sobre las causas estructurales de las crisis de los sistemas alimentarios y agrícolas de algunos países del norte de África (Marruecos, Argelia, Túnez, Libia y Egipto). Se analiza también sus consecuencias y la contestación de unos modelos de desarrollo agrícola cuya sostenibilidad es cada vez más cuestionada por las injusticias sociales que conllevan y el uso desmedido de recursos naturales cada vez más exiguos por el cambio climático.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Food Security, Inequality, and Crisis Management
Political Geography:: Africa, Europe, Spain, North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa

85. Keeping up with the Dlaminis: Perceived inequalities and satisfaction with democracy in Africa

Author:: Thomas Isbell
Publication Date:: 05-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Afrobarometer
Abstract:: Does perceived inequality shape how satisfied ordinary Africans are with how democracy is functioning in their countries? I use nationally representative Afrobarometer survey data (collected in 2016-2018 in 34 countries, N=45,811) to test whether satisfaction with democracy (SWD) is higher among people who (1) feel that their living conditions are equal to others’ or (2) feel that they are better off than other people. Controlling for both individual- and country-level effects, I show that feeling better off than other people increases satisfaction, and feeling worse off than other people decreases satisfaction, with how democracy is functioning in the respondent’s country. People who feel equal to others are more satisfied than those who feel relatively deprived, but less satisfied than people who say they are better off than others. These results suggest egocentric expectations of the functioning of democracy among ordinary Africans. I demonstrate that these relative assessments are significant and comparable in effect size to widely used predictors of satisfaction with democracy found in the literature, such as economic country-level evaluations, partisanship, and political interest. These results therefore should encourage future research to include individual-level comparative assessments as predictors of SWD. Our results represent the most recent cross-national re-examination of predictors of SWD in Africa. My regression results are widely in line with past empirical research – both in and outside of Africa – and suggest that SWD is primarily shaped by political and economic performance evaluations. This points to the explanatory model of SWD in Africa being relatively stable across time.
Topic:: Development, Democracy, Inequality, and Economy
Political Geography:: Africa

86. A Brief History of Equality

Author:: Melek Aylin Özoflu and Samet Yılmaz
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Is neoliberalism in a deep crisis or not? If yes, what are the dynamics of this crisis? Does this crisis promise social, political, and economic transformations? If it does, what are the prerequisites? Will global levels of inequality continue to be dispersed? If one desperately searches for an answer to these questions, Thomas Piketty’s latest book, A Brief History of Equality, might offer a possible starting point. Piketty is known for his valuable r>g theory. He explains that return to capital exceeds the rate of economic growth, and it, in return, increases the concentration of wealth. This time, he does not put forward a new theoretical frame. Instead, building upon his r>g theory, he elaborates on his argument for the deepening of inequality in a multi-dimensional and multi-faceted way within a large time frame between 1780 and 2020. As for the primary source of data, he utilises the World Inequality Database (WID.world), which contains evidence about the distribution of income and wealth over the years. It provides the author with a multidisciplinary approach, while interpreting the progress in economic, political, and social developments.
Topic:: Inequality, Economic Growth, Neoliberalism, and Book Review
Political Geography:: Global Focus

87. The Impact of Carbon Taxation and Revenue Redistribution on Poverty and Inequality

Author:: Daniele Malerba, Xiangjie Chen, Kuishang Feng, Klaus Hubacek, and Yannick Oswald
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: The global policy debate on just transitions is concerned with how to achieve a socially just and acceptable transition toward a climate-neutral and climate-resilient global economy. At the core of this debate is the assumption that efforts to combat environmental threats will not succeed unless combined with measures to reduce poverty and inequality. Our research explores the potential of carbon fiscal reforms, combining a carbon tax of levels deemed appropriate to achieve climate targets and the transfer of the revenues raised to vulnerable households. The current energy and cost-of-living crisis shows the importance of protecting the poorest and most vulnerable households from price increases. It also shows the difficulty of achieving short- and long-term policy priorities. Despite the current spikes in energy prices, carbon fiscal reforms can achieve both social and environmental goals through simultaneously decreasing emissions and reducing poverty and inequality. They should act as an effective enabler of just transitions. Carbon fiscal reform can avoid some environmental impacts by incentivising reductions in emissions. Carbon pricing has been increasingly advocated and is now at the centre of policy debates, including the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) and the recent German presidency of the world’s leading industrial nations (G7). But carbon fiscal reforms can also be used to raise revenue from carbon pricing instruments to offset the negative effects of higher prices on poorer households as well as further reaching distributional targets and poverty alleviation. Climate targets are negotiated every year, including at COP, hence it is critical to re-evaluate and improve estimates of the distributional impacts of climate policies such as carbon pricing. Public acceptability of climate policies is key to their implementation, but it depends to a large extent on the perceived fairness of such policies. Recycling revenues from carbon taxes directly back to vulnerable households is likely to gain the approval of a large number of people, especially in low-income countries where the high proportion of the population involved in the informal economy means that lowering income tax does not benefit the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society. But the targeting of these direct transfers needs careful consideration. Here, we assess the impact on poverty and inequality of a global carbon tax and national redistribution of revenues to vulnerable households. We look at different options for such redistribution, including a lump sum payment, the use of current social assistance programmes, and an expansion of social assistance following COVID-19. We find that a carbon tax of US$50/tCO2 without revenue redistribution could increase global extreme poverty, but the redistribution of revenue from such a carbon tax could substantially reduce poverty by between 16% and 27% (110 to 190 million people), and reduce inequality (the average Gini coefficient would decline by between 4% and 8%), depending on the scenario. This shows that the way in which revenue from a carbon tax is redistributed greatly affects its impact, underlining the importance of policy design and targeting mechanisms. The recycling of revenues should also take into account the specific political economy of a country and consider international transfers. These findings provide policy makers with a strong basis for informing discussions, starting off with those at COP27, in which ambitious climate targets and just transition should both remain central goals in the context of the ongoing international energy crisis.
Topic:: Climate Change, Poverty, Inequality, Economy, Carbon Tax, Carbon Emissions, and Revenue Management
Political Geography:: Global Focus

88. Industrial Feudalism and Wealth Inequalities

Author:: Hanna Szymborska and Jan Toporowski
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)
Abstract:: The possibility, first raised by Rudolf Hilferding, of stabilizing a capitalist economy through the operations of a ‘general cartel’, leaving only social and political ‘contradictions’ to disturb the functioning of the system, gave rise to a discussion among Marxists not only on whether such a stabilization was at all possible, but also on the nature and scope of those contradictions. This discussion had been anticipated in the 1890s in the work of the Polish Marxist Ludwik Krzywicki (1859 – 1941). He put forward the idea that, in a capitalist economy stabilized in this way, a state of ‘industrial feudalism’ would prevail, in which society would become stratified into social classes without the possibility of mobility between those classes. This analysis was extended in 1940s by Oskar Lange (1904-1965) as he attempted to make sense of the American New Deal and rediscovered in the 1950s by Tadeusz Kowalik (1926-2012). This paper explains the concept of industrial feudalism and argues that the main mechanism for such a stratification today is the unequal distribution of wealth, in the context of declining welfare provision.
Topic:: Industrial Policy, Inequality, Feudalism, Industry, and Wealth
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

89. Why Turkey’s Gender Inequality Matters

Author:: Dimitris Tsarouhas
Publication Date:: 06-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:: Women’s underrepresentation in Turkey’s public life is a persistent and long-lasting phenomenon, despite the socio-economic progress achieved over the last two decades. Some indicators suggest that the problem has been getting worse in recent years, and Turkey’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention in 2021 has compounded fears of a further deterioration. Discrimination against women is not only normatively wrong, it is also practically self-defeating, since it deprives the country of resources, talent and expertise it needs to raise prosperity levels. However, women’s organizations in Turkey are numerous, visible and persistent in their demands for genuine equality and an end to discrimination. To address key aspects of the problem, such as record low female employment rates, Turkey needs to return to high-level, sustainable growth and promote female entrepreneurship.
Topic:: Women, Inequality, Discrimination, Representation, and Gender
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

90. Levelling up: what England thinks

Author:: Suzanne Hall, Will Jennings, Lawrence McKay, Sophie Stowers, Paula Surridge, and Alan Wager
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
Abstract:: For all the discussion there has been about ‘levelling up’ and the problem of regional inequality in the UK, little energy has been expended in finding out how people feel about their areas, what could and should be done to improve them, and who they trust to actually do it. The following report aims to fill this gap. UK in a Changing Europe partnered with YouGov to carry out a survey of over 20,000 people from across England. This was the first survey of its kind on levelling up and regional inequality, and the first to assess the impact of changes to how England is governed, including the effect of the introduction of Metro Mayors. This survey was accompanied by a series of focus groups conducted by NatCen and King’s College London’s Policy Institute in Barking and Dagenham, Blackpool, Nottingham, Blyth and Barnsley – designed to capture the views of metropolitan boroughs, rural towns and coastal communities. The aim was to find out how people in England feel about their local communities, what policies they feel would be most effective when it comes to ‘levelling up’ the country, how they would like these policies to be delivered, and who they trust to deliver them.
Topic:: Public Opinion, Inequality, Economy, and Public Policy
Political Geography:: United Kingdom and Europe

91. Inequality in Education Among Turkish Young Individuals, 1988-2020.

Author:: Nursel Aydıner Avşar and Bengi Yanık İlhan
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: This paper studies the changes in education inequality in the youth population (15-29 age group) in Turkey using the Household Labour Force Survey data for the 1988-2020 period. The average year of schooling is calculated to investigate the changes in the level of educational attainment, and standard deviation in years of schooling and education Gini coefficient are calculated to examine how within-group education inequality changes over time. These statistics are calculated for young men and young women separately to also find out how gender inequality in educational attainment and education inequality changes over time. The findings of this study show that the average years of schooling increases for both young men and young women in Turkey while education inequality measured by the Gini coefficient decreases for both groups between 1988 and 2020. This seems to reflect the positive implications of the expansion in compulsory education for both average years of schooling and education inequality. Average years of schooling is higher for young men while education Gini is higher among young women despite the closing of the gender gap in both measures over time.
Topic:: Education, Inequality, Youth, Labor Market, and Gender
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

92. Türkiye’de Bölgelerarası Sosyo-Ekonomik Gelişmişlik Farklarının Azaltılmasına Yönelik Politikalar: Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesinin (GAP) İncelenmesi (Policies for Reducing Inter-Regional Disparities of Socio-Economic Development in Turkey: An Investigation of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP))

Author:: M. Kemal Aydın and Alptegin Albayraktaroğlu
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: Bir ülkedeki gelişmişlik düzeyinin ülke genelinde dengeli bir şekilde dağılması ve bölgeler arası farkın az olması önemlidir. Bunu gerçekleştirmek amacıyla hazırlanan bölgesel kalkınma planlarında, ülkeler bölgelere, bölgeler türlere ayrılmıştır. Bu bağlamda homojen, polarize ve plan bölge şeklinde üç farklı bölge türü vardır. Bölgesel kalkınma, bölgeler arası dengesizliklerin giderilmesi ve bölgede bulunan iktisadi ve toplumsal potansiyellerin faaliyete geçirilmesiyle refah düzeyinin yükseltilmesini ifade etmektedir. Türkiye’de özellikle 1950’li yıllardan itibaren bölgesel politikalar önem kazanmış ve ülkenin kalkınması için çok önemli bir politika olarak görülmüştür. Bu kapsamda ülkedeki bölgeler için birçok proje hayata geçirilmiştir. Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi’nin sahip olduğu kaynaklardan faydalanılması fikriyle, bütünleşik ve çok sektörlü bir kalkınma projesi olarak Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi (GAP), 6 Kasım 1989’da Resmî Gazete’de yayımlanan Kanun Hükmünde Kararname (KHK) ile başlatılmıştır. Bu proje 9 ili kapsamaktadır ve Cumhuriyet tarihinin en etkin şekilde uygulanan projesidir. Proje kapsamında master plan, bölge kalkınma planı, eylem planları ve kalkınma programları uygulanmaktadır. Günümüzde GAP bölgesindeki illerde başta tarım, enerji ve sanayi olmak üzere birçok sektör için iyileştirme süreçleri devam etmektedir. Bu çalışmada 2000’li yıllardan itibaren GAP kapsamındaki gelişmeler resmi veriler üzerinden incelenmiştir. Ardından seçilen sektörlerdeki gelişmeler ele alınmıştır.
Topic:: Development, Inequality, Economy, Domestic Policy, and Socioeconomics
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

93. A gender perspective on artificial intelligence and jobs: The vicious cycle of digital inequality

Author:: Estrella Gomez-Herrera and Sabine Köszegi
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Bruegel
Abstract:: The worldwide artificial intelligence market is expected to increase enormously in the next few years. Because of AI’s immense potential, virtually all industries will be affected by the implementation of AI systems, resulting in the digitalisation and automation of work processes. This will cause disruptive shifts in labour markets, in terms of the number and profiles of jobs in industries as well as worker skill requirements. We take a gender perspective and analyse how gender stereotypes and gendered work segregation on the one hand, and digitalisation and automation (as a consequence of AI implementation) on the other hand, are entangled and result in a vicious cycle of digital gender inequality. We provide insights into the gender-specific impact of AI technologies, which is relevant for the mitigation of the potential risk of the creation of social inequality and exclusion. We show that existing empirical evidence already indicates that AI will not increase gender equality but will somewhat further exacerbate the gender inequality in labour markets, ranging from further horizontal and vertical occupational gender segregation to an increase in the gender pay gap. We summarise policy guidance and measures to decrease gender inequality in the future.
Topic:: Inequality, Digital Economy, Artificial Intelligence, Gender, and Work
Political Geography:: Global Focus

94. Intergenerational Mobility of Economic Well-being in Latin America

Author:: Guido Neidhöfer, Matias Ciaschi, and Leonardo Gasparini
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
Abstract:: We estimate, for the first time, long-run trends in intergenerational economic mobility for a multitude of countries in Latin America going beyond parent-child correlations in educational attainment. We use several indicators of well-being, such as the socio-economic situation of individuals, job stability, homeownership and assets. Unlike estimates based on education, which mostly show increasing social mobility trends, we find that opportunities to achieve a certain level of economic well-being and climb up the social ladder are rather unequally distributed and have not changed much over time in Latin America.
Topic:: Inequality, Economy, Economic Mobility, and Well-Being
Political Geography:: Latin America

95. The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2022

Author:: Jo Walker, Matthew Martin, Emma Seery, Nabil Abdo, Anthony Kamande, and Max Lawson
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:: The 2022 Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index is the first detailed analysis published looking at governments’ policies and actions to fight inequality during the first two years of the pandemic. This fourth edition of the CRI Index reviews the spending, tax and labour policies and actions of 161 governments during 2020–2022. COVID-19 has increased inequality worldwide, as the poorest people were hit hardest by both the disease and its profound economic impacts. Yet the CRI 2022 Index shows clearly that most of the world’s governments failed to mitigate this dangerous rise in inequality. Despite the biggest global health emergency in a century, half of low-and lower-middle-income countries saw the share of health spending fall during the pandemic, half of the countries tracked by the CRI Index cut the share of social protection spending, 70% cut the share of education spending, while two-thirds of countries failed to increase their minimum wage in line with gross domestic product (GDP). Ninety-five percent of countries failed to increase taxation of the richest people and corporations. At the same time, a small group of governments from across the world bucked this trend, taking clear actions to combat inequality, putting the rest of the world to shame.
Topic:: GDP, Inequality, Tax Systems, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Global Focus

96. Our climate future depends on conflict dynamics in Congo

Author:: Peer Schouten, Judith Verweijen, and Fergus Simpson
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: The Congo Basin rainforest – the second largest on earth – absorbs four percent of global CO2 emissions and constitutes a crucial line of defense against cataclysmic climate change. However, a complex mix of illegal resource exploitation and conflict is currently threatening the rainforest. To curb these threats and their global consequenses, we need to understand the interplay between resources, conflict and environmental protection in Congo.
Topic:: Agriculture, Climate Change, Development, Environment, Poverty, Food, Non State Actors, Armed Forces, Inequality, Fragile States, Violence, Police, and Justice
Political Geography:: Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

97. Characterisation of Danish agricultural investments in Tanzania and Uganda

Author:: Rikke Broegaard, Helle Monk Ravnborg, Evelyne Lazaro, Teddy Nakanwagi, and David Tumusiime
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: This DIIS Working Paper presents key characteristics of each of the six cases including main crop focus, size and business model, as well as types of investors, their investment approach and the factors that motivate them. It also presents the different objectives that the investors have expressed wanting to achieve. As most of the investments involve private funds, it is reasonable to expect that one important goal is to ensure a viable economy in the investment. However, in addition to an economically sound investment, all of the investors behind these six cases have ambitions regarding ways in which they see themselves - through the investment - as contributors towards a positive societal development in the area of the investment. Thus, the paper presents the different ways the investors see their investments contributing to development in the area. The paper is based on interviews with the investors and field work in the areas of investments.
Topic:: Agriculture, Development, Environment, Poverty, Natural Resources, Food, Inequality, Investment, and Land Rights
Political Geography:: Europe, Denmark, Tanzania, and Africa

98. How renewable energy transitions impact power structures in local communities

Author:: Maria-Louise Clausen
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:: International donors often see renewable energy transitions in fragile and conflict-affected states as a building block for peace and development. But donor-supported transitions to small-scale renewable energy generation can both mitigate and exacerbate local conflict dynamics and undermine the central state. In fragile and conflict-affected states, it is often difficult for the central authorities to protect large-scale energy infrastructure from attacks and sabotage, and thus guarantee long-term stability. Moreover, local communities often use fuel-driven generators to supplement the state-driven national grid, but national diesel supply lines are also vulnerable to disruptions. Consequently, international donors increasingly support small-scale renewable energy generation as a climate friendly alternative to centralised and state-led energy generation. Solar photovoltaic (PV) in particular has become a widely promoted, affordable and accessible technology for local energy generation.
Topic:: Security, Climate Change, Development, Water, Non State Actors, Governance, Inequality, Renewable Energy, and Energy Transition
Political Geography:: Global Focus

99. Economic and Social Impacts of FDI in Central, East and Southeast Europe

Author:: Doris Hanzl-Weiss and Branimir Jovanovic
Publication Date:: 11-2022
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: The Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (WIIW)
Abstract:: This study assesses the economic and social impacts of foreign direct investment (FDI) in 17 economies in Central, East and Southeast Europe (CESEE). More precisely, we investigate how different FDI inflows have affected various economic and social indicators, such as GDP growth, labour market outcomes, and poverty and inequality, for the period since the fall of communism until 2020. We pay particular attention to FDI that originates from the EU, as well as FDI from Germany and Austria, in order to evaluate whether their effects are different from the effects of FDI from other places of origin. We also examine whether there are differences in the impacts of different types of FDI – equity capital, reinvested earnings and intra-company debt, as well as of FDI that goes to different sectors of the economy – the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors. We find that FDI inflows have had, in general, a positive effect on economic growth in CESEE, and that this effect has been particularly strong for German and Austrian FDI. For total FDI, higher inflows of 1 percentage point (pp) of GDP are associated with 0.19 pp higher GDP growth. For FDI from Germany and Austria, this effect is five times higher – FDI inflows of 1 pp of GDP have led to 0.9 pp higher GDP growth. The positive GDP effects have come from the higher consumption and exports that the FDI has induced. FDI inflows have also reduced unemployment and increased wages, but have had no effects on labour productivity. Total FDI has had only limited effects on inequality and poverty, but FDI from Germany and Austria has been found to reduce both inequality and poverty, likely because they have benefitted mainly lower-income persons. There are differences in the effects of the different types of FDI, with reinvested earnings and equity capital having in general more beneficial effects than intra-company loans. Also, FDI in different sectors of the economy has had different effects, with inflows to the secondary and tertiary sectors having greater effects than inflows to the primary sector. The policy implications of these results are that CESEE economies should not give up on their efforts to attract more FDI, but also that their endeavours should be more targeted, focusing on investments that have greater economic and social impacts. Moreover, foreign investment should not be criticised for the perhaps unsatisfactory economic and social performances of the economies from this region. Instead, the reasons for this should be sought in domestic factors and in the modest growth of the European Union during the past two decades.
Topic:: Development, International Trade and Finance, Poverty, Foreign Direct Investment, Inequality, Economic Growth, and Unemployment
Political Geography:: Europe, Eastern Europe, Germany, and Austria

100. Ten Recommendations for Germany’s Feminist Development Policy

Author:: Ina Friesen and Alma Wisskirchen
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS)
Abstract:: In early 2022, Germany’s development minister Svenja Schulze announced the adoption of a feminist development policy. With this announcement, Germany joins a growing group of governments that have adopted or declared the adoption of an explicitly feminist perspective in their external policies. Drawing on these governments’ policies and the observations and recommendations by civil society and researchers, this Discussion Paper outlines ten key recommendations for Germany’s first feminist development policy. The first three recommendations focus on the conceptual foundation of the policy and lay out the importance of 1) an inclusive definition of gender, 2) a clarification of the feminist approach and the policy’s overall goal as well as 3) the need for an intersectional approach. The second set of recommendations concerns the implementation of the policy and stresses the importance of 4) a permanent cooperation with gender-focused and feminist organisations and 5) the necessity to increase funding for gender-related objectives in general and 6) for feminist organisations in particular. Further recommendations include 7) widening the range of sectors that target gender equality through a transformative approach and context-sensitive programming and by providing mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the strategy’s goals, objectives and activities. The last three recommendations emphasise institutional aspects and the importance of 8) creating an institutional environment that best supports gender equality within the development ministry and its main implementing organisations, 9) the necessity of a coherent feminist approach between the different ministries, and 10) the importance of addressing possible challenges the ministry might face in the implementation of its feminist development policy.
Topic:: Development, Inequality, Feminism, and Gender
Political Geography:: Europe and Germany

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS