Measuring Inequality Flashcards
Why are quality of life or standard of living not comparable?
They are not easy to measure
What can you measure instead of QOL?
Standardised and comparable measures of economic activity
What is GDP per capita?
Measures the total value of goods and services produced in a country over one year per person
what is the problem with single or composite indicators?
they can hide variations within a given population
what is an example of how single/ composite indicators can hide variations?
total economic output of a country may be rising (increased GDP per capita)
however, if rewards of growth are distributed unequally then the indicators will underestimate both the wealth of the wealthiest and the poverty of the poorest.
what else has to be considered for quality of life besides economic activity?
social and environmental factors must be considered
what is an example of a way in which quality of life in measured?
The UN’s Human Development Index
What does the UN’s Human development index measure?
average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development
long and healthy life
knowledge
decent standard of living
what type of indicator is the human development index?
a composite indicator
why is the human development index a composite indicator?
it measures more than one characteristic of country’s standard of living
what is the data range for the human development index?
numerical average between 0 and 1
what are some examples of countries on the Human development index?
Norway- 0.944
Niger- 0.337
was in 2015 so might be slightly dated
What is HDI?
Human development index
what other factors of QOL are there that aren’t easily measured?
Freedom of speech
impact of conflict or corruption
equality of opportunity (gender or racial discrimination)
individual perception (aspirations, future hopes)
Quality of environment
social, economic and environmental sustainability
religion and respect for tradition
why do traditional economic and social indicators of development omit factors such as freedom of speech?
that are hard to measure/ quantify
what did the UN place in the July 2011 development agenda?
happiness
what is the happiness index?
measures sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conservation of the natural environment and the establishment of good governance.
what country is ranked number one on the happiness scale?
Finland
what is the gender inequality index? (GII)
measures gender disparity: it is a composite measure which captures the loss of achievement within a country due to gender inequality.
What are the three dimensions of the Gender inequality index?
reproductive health
empowerment
labour market participation
what is reproductive health?
measures maternal morality and adolescent fertility rates
What do the UN consider to be a sign of women’s status in society?
Women’s’ health during pregnancy and childbearing
What are high rates of adolescent pregnancy considered to reflect?
low educational opportunities and poor life choices
what is empowerment?
measures female membership of parliament and participation in higher education
what is labour market participation?
accounts for paid work, unpaid work, and actively looking for work and is considered to measure economic aspects of gender inequality
what where the highest and lowest on the gender inequality index?
in 2014 Slovenia ranked highest (lowest in inequality)
Niger and Yemen had the greatest levels of inequality
what is the Lorenz curve used for?
it is used to graphically represent the distribution of income
what is plotted on the X and Y-axis of a Lorenz graph?
percentage of households on the X-axis
percentage of income on the Y-axis
what does the curve on a Lorenz graph represent?
income distribution
what does the line of equality show on a Lorenz graph?
what an equal distribution of wealth would look like while the curve shows actual distribution
what is the Gini coefficient?
a number between 0 and 1 that measures the degree of inequality in the distribution of income or wealth
what does 0 mean on the Gini Coefficient mean?
0 would be for a society in which each member received exactly the same amount
what would 1 mean on the Gini Coefficient?
this would mean that one member got everything and the rest of the population got nothing
How do you find the Gini coefficient from a Lorenz curve?
the ratio of the areas on the Lorenz diagram
A= area between the line of equality and Lorenz curve
B= area below the Lorenz curve
what is the equation for the Gini index?
A/(A+B)
What does a higher Gini coefficient mean?
the higher the coefficient the more unequal the distribution will be
What does egalitarian mean?
the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.
what do the USA and China put an emphasis on for equality?
put more emphasis on equality of opportunity
What is equality of opportunity?
provided people can move up the social ladder they believe that a society with wide income gaps can still be fair.
How have south Korea been a winner of globalisation?
1962-GDP was $1704
1990 - $12087
2014- 33,629 189% above the world average
went from agrarian to globalised economic leader
what is the majority of south Koreas economy reliant on?
Trade- especially the exports of ships, cars, integrated circuit semi-conductors, flat screens and mobile phones
how have exports from Korea been impacted?
the Asian financial crisis (1997/8)
global recession (2008)
How did south Korea recover from the recessions?
due to strong global links
what percentage of south Koreas GDP is trade (1962 and 2010)?
1962- 24.4%
2010- 54.8%
what happened in south Korea from 1994-2004?
moved from a ‘middle income country’ to an ‘advanced income country’
who aided south Korea in becoming an advanced country?
The USA
Japan
the EU
China
how has the environment been degraded due to globalisation?
biodiversity loss
loss of mangrove for aquaculture
cattle-ranching
air pollution
deforestation
cash-cropping
water pollution
habitat destruction
groundwater depletion, increasing drought
what divide is present in china?
east-west divide
where does mega city wealth come form in china? (Cities)
Beijing
shanghai
Guangzhou
What is wealth like in the west of china?
rural areas to the west have much lower incomes than urban dwellers in the east
where does most FDI end up in china?
in the large urban areas of the east where the TNC’s are located little investment reaches rural areas
where are most cities and industrial zones in china?
mostly/ all along the eastern coastline
where is white horse village located?
central/northeast china
what practice mainly occurs in Whitehorse village?
Agrarian practices
what is the saying in Whitehorse village?
face to the ground back to the sky
what was the problems faced with trying to urbanise Whitehorse village?
many locals do not want to leave their homes
access was limited only to river but now motorways are being constructed to go over/ through the mountains
what business sector is set to become very profitable in Whitehorse village?
the real estate market
Why do the people oh white horse village feel cheated by the communist party?
The new homes, shop fronts and jobs they were promised have not materialised
Do the people of white horse village have a say in the development?
In the early stages yes but now as the political leaders realise they wont get their way residents are being forcibly evicted and not being given any home to go to
What are the issues with the urbanised buildings in the white horse village valley?
Filling up with administrative buildings and real estate but not a single apartment block to rehouse the villagers nor a piece of land for them to build on themselves
Why is the political problem with white horse village and employment?
The government don’t want to give city jobs to hundreds of millions of farmers but doesn’t want local governments wasting farmland or bullying farmers
How much land is being defrosted in Indonesia?
1 million hectares (2.4million acres) is cleared each year
Why is it a problem that so much forest s being cleared in Indonesia? (Income and climate change)
30% of the exposed soil is is carbon-rich peat land with erosion and techniques like slash and burn this could lead to a massive release of carbon into the atmosphere driving the enhanced greenhouse effect
Many Indonesian people rely on the forest for income and food without it there way of life is lost
How is globalisation driving the deforestation in Indonesia?
The demand for pulp, paper, plywood and palm oil have skyrocketed these are products that are commodities and used in many western products meaning the clearing of forest is driven by western consumerism
How many Indonesians are dependant on ecosystem services?
99 million which is 21& of GDP
Who is Suharto?
Was the political leader of Indonesia
What did Suharto do?
Eliminated credit ceilings
Deregulation of credit interest
Private banks
Privatisation
Open door policy that allowed exploitation and TNCs to begin in Indonesia
