Social Inequality Week 1: Economic Inequality
Social Inequality
– Week 1: Economic Inequality –
Content
Inequality of Opportunities ........................................................................................................ 2
Inequality of Outcomes .............................................................................................................. 3
Purchasing Power Inequality/Parity ....................................................................................... 5
History of economic inequality .................................................................................................. 6
Long-term Perspective ........................................................................................................... 6
Mid-term Perspective (Firebaugh) ......................................................................................... 6
The aggregation paradox........................................................................................................ 7
Short-term perspective (Piketty) ............................................................................................ 8
Reasons for increase of within-country inequality ............................................................ 9
Which processes could contribute to more (within country, economic) equality? ............ 9
Why do we care about inequality? ........................................................................................... 11
What can we do about inequality? ........................................................................................... 11
Measures of Inequality ............................................................................................................. 12
Inequality of Outcomes ........................................................................................................ 12
Income Ratio .................................................................................................................... 12
GINI-coefficient ............................................................................................................... 13
Piketty .............................................................................................................................. 14
Inequality of Opportunities .................................................................................................. 15
Odds ratio ......................................................................................................................... 16
1
,Social Inequality Week 1: Economic Inequality
Inequality: The unequal distribution of resources, rights, power and opportunities (to obtain
resources, rights and power).
What and how?
What are we comparing and how do we measure it?
Income, wealth, health, etc
Who?
Who are we comparing?
Individuals
Groups: Men and women, rich and poor, social origin,
Institutions: Schools, Countries
When and where?
When (time period) and where (setting) do we make the comparison?
Inequality of Opportunities
The problem of social mobility – The potential to have or succeed
The association between a (socio-demographic) individual characteristic and an outcome in
a specific life domain.
Social Mobility (Social origin → Social Destination)
- Intergenerational mobility vs. Intragenerational mobility
- Upwards mobility vs. Stability vs. Downwards mobility
Social origin: Position of one’s parents in a hierarchy on the basis of power, privilege, status
and material resources.
2
, Social Inequality Week 1: Economic Inequality
- Measured by occupational class/status of the father
- Possible indicators for social origin
o Where people sit in church
o Socio-economic status
o Social class
o Occupation
o Income
o Educational level
- Possible measurements of social origin
o Social class of father (via EGP) when child was 15 (via surveys)
o Household income (via register data)
Social destination: Position of the child in a hierarchy on the basis of power, privilege, status
and material resources.
- Measured by occupational class/status of the son
Nowadays, sociologists are interested in many other associations: ethnicity, sex, social origin
<-> wealth, income, education, power, health
Inequality of Outcomes
The problem of social stratification – The haves and have nots.
Income Capital/Wealth
Income from labor: salary, bonus All resources that can be traded (in
(most income within a country constitutes of this principle) at a (legal) market: land,
type of income)
buildings, machines, financial products, (in
Income from capital/wealth: profit,
the past: slaves)
royalty’s, land/building rents, interest,
- Private capital (increased due to
dividends privatization)
- Public capital (decreased due to
National income: total income of all privatization)
residents of a country
- GDP (gross domestic product):
worth of all produced goods and
services within a country
3
Social Inequality
– Week 1: Economic Inequality –
Content
Inequality of Opportunities ........................................................................................................ 2
Inequality of Outcomes .............................................................................................................. 3
Purchasing Power Inequality/Parity ....................................................................................... 5
History of economic inequality .................................................................................................. 6
Long-term Perspective ........................................................................................................... 6
Mid-term Perspective (Firebaugh) ......................................................................................... 6
The aggregation paradox........................................................................................................ 7
Short-term perspective (Piketty) ............................................................................................ 8
Reasons for increase of within-country inequality ............................................................ 9
Which processes could contribute to more (within country, economic) equality? ............ 9
Why do we care about inequality? ........................................................................................... 11
What can we do about inequality? ........................................................................................... 11
Measures of Inequality ............................................................................................................. 12
Inequality of Outcomes ........................................................................................................ 12
Income Ratio .................................................................................................................... 12
GINI-coefficient ............................................................................................................... 13
Piketty .............................................................................................................................. 14
Inequality of Opportunities .................................................................................................. 15
Odds ratio ......................................................................................................................... 16
1
,Social Inequality Week 1: Economic Inequality
Inequality: The unequal distribution of resources, rights, power and opportunities (to obtain
resources, rights and power).
What and how?
What are we comparing and how do we measure it?
Income, wealth, health, etc
Who?
Who are we comparing?
Individuals
Groups: Men and women, rich and poor, social origin,
Institutions: Schools, Countries
When and where?
When (time period) and where (setting) do we make the comparison?
Inequality of Opportunities
The problem of social mobility – The potential to have or succeed
The association between a (socio-demographic) individual characteristic and an outcome in
a specific life domain.
Social Mobility (Social origin → Social Destination)
- Intergenerational mobility vs. Intragenerational mobility
- Upwards mobility vs. Stability vs. Downwards mobility
Social origin: Position of one’s parents in a hierarchy on the basis of power, privilege, status
and material resources.
2
, Social Inequality Week 1: Economic Inequality
- Measured by occupational class/status of the father
- Possible indicators for social origin
o Where people sit in church
o Socio-economic status
o Social class
o Occupation
o Income
o Educational level
- Possible measurements of social origin
o Social class of father (via EGP) when child was 15 (via surveys)
o Household income (via register data)
Social destination: Position of the child in a hierarchy on the basis of power, privilege, status
and material resources.
- Measured by occupational class/status of the son
Nowadays, sociologists are interested in many other associations: ethnicity, sex, social origin
<-> wealth, income, education, power, health
Inequality of Outcomes
The problem of social stratification – The haves and have nots.
Income Capital/Wealth
Income from labor: salary, bonus All resources that can be traded (in
(most income within a country constitutes of this principle) at a (legal) market: land,
type of income)
buildings, machines, financial products, (in
Income from capital/wealth: profit,
the past: slaves)
royalty’s, land/building rents, interest,
- Private capital (increased due to
dividends privatization)
- Public capital (decreased due to
National income: total income of all privatization)
residents of a country
- GDP (gross domestic product):
worth of all produced goods and
services within a country
3
