3a. Social Inequality Flashcards
Define inequality:
Extreme differences between poverty and wealth due to a variety of factors eg. age, ethnicity, gender, religion and education.
Define spatial inequality:
The unequal distribution of factors such as income, education, or health across geographic space at any scale
Define quality of life:
The extent to which peoples needs and desires are met eg does everyone have equal rights
Define standard of living:
The ability to access services and goods.
Eg food, water, clothes, housing and personal mobility
Indicators determining standard of living and quality of living:
Social -
Political -
Economic -
Environmental -
Describe examples of social factors that influence SOI and QOL:
Fear of crime, standard of health, standard of education, percentage on free school meals
Describe examples of political factors that influence SOI and QOL:
Opportunities to vote across all elections
Describe examples of economic factors that influence SOI and QOL:
Level of income, access to leisure services, access to employment, % of lone-parent families
Describe examples of environmental factors that influence SOI and QOL:
Vandalism, evidence of litter, level of pollution, quality of housing
What is the difference between poverty and deprivation?
Poverty refers to not having enough money to support a decent standard of living
Deprivation refers to a general lack of resources and opportunities
What is the cycle of deprivation?
Poverty (low wages/unemployment) - Poor living conditions - ill-health - poor education - poor skills
How does the UK government measure levels of deprivation?
Index of Multiple Deprivation to assess relative levels
What 7 factors are used to give Index of Multiple Deprivation?
Income Employment Health Education Crime Access to housing and services Living environment
What ways can social inequality be measured?
Income Housing Education Health care Employment
Income: What is the World Bank’s Definition of poverty?
US$1.25/day purchasing power parity
Income: why use PPP?
Allows global comparisons to be made between countries as costs vary considerably from one country to another
Income: how many citizens in UK fall below poverty threshold?
13 million citizens including 3.5 million children
Income: what technique can be used to measure levels of inequality in incomes within a country?
Gini coefficient - a ratio with values between 0 and 1.0
The lower the value the more equal the distribution of income
Housing: what in particular is an important indication of social inequality?
Housing tenure = the system under which housing is occupied
Housing: types of housing tenure
Owner-occupied
Rent from private landlords or local authorities
Education: why can education be underestimated in LIDCs?
If only formal qualifications are included then LIDCs are perceived to have lower levels of education
BUT
Informal education can be achieved eg milking a cow, learning to cook
Education: what gives a good indication of inequality in education?
Literacy rates - a measure of the ability to read and write at a basic level
Health care: what measure can be used to demonstrate social inequality?
Number of doctors per 1000 people
Health care: what factors affect health?
Access to clean water Effective sanitation Quality and quantity of diet Air quality Social behaviour eg attitudes towards HIV
Employment: why is this not always difficult to assess?
Employment doesn’t guarantee social equal eg might be receiving low wages
What factors explain why social inequality varies?
Wealth Housing Health Education Access to services
How does wealth explain why social inequalities vary?
- Low incomes are linked to factors such as ill-health, lower education attainment and poor access to services
- Particularly low educational attainment is a major factor in reducing social equality
- Disposable income is important: amount leftover after essentials have been bought
How does housing explain why social inequalities vary?
Poor quality housing can lead to ill-health
People resort to being homeless particularly in urban ACs
Housing inflation rates exceeding income can cause groups to be excluded from housing market
Second home-ownership increase has raised property prices in rural areas
How does health explain why social inequalities vary?
Sub-standard housing, poor diet, unhealthy lifestyles and stress of poverty impact health
Lack of access to medical services eg elderly can’t access due to limited mobility + health care is unequal in rural areas
How does education explain why social inequalities vary?
Achieving universal primary education was an MDG
Illiteracy excludes people from employment opportunities
Issue in rural LIDCs
How does access to services explain why social inequalities vary?
Influences quality of life and standard of living
What are two measure of how access to services can be measured?
- By assessing number of doctors per 1000 people - EG Norway = 4 Brazil = 2 Kenya = less than 2. Access to internet (digital divide) - possessing equipment and quality of the connection - enhanced by urban-rural divide Eg Internet access is severely controlled in China
Where is access to services concentrated?
In core regions ie cities, wealth and investment is high so there is access to good services
In peripheral regions access is poor
What is access to services influenced by?
Number of services
How easiy it is to access the service eg quantity and quality of transport
Social and economic factors eg age
