Inequality Flashcards
(22 cards)
What are the aims of the lecture on inequality?
To examine the winners and losers of globalisation and capitalism, understand the causes and measurement of inequality, and link inequalities to firms, production, and global value chains.
What does David Harvey’s concept of ‘accumulation by dispossession’ refer to?
The process by which wealth is extracted from the poor and accumulated by the rich through commodification of public goods, financialisation, deregulation, and structural adjustment programs.
How can inequality coexist with economic growth?
Inequality can rise while general living conditions improve; it depends on factors like savings, education, and public institutions.
What are the three dimensions of inequality discussed in the lecture?
Economic inequalities (income/wealth), social inequalities (gender/race/class), and territorial inequalities (spatial differences).
What is the Gini coefficient and what does it measure?
A statistical measure of income or wealth inequality, ranging from 0 (perfect equality) to 100 (perfect inequality).
Why is Namibia an interesting case in terms of inequality?
Despite being an upper middle-income country, it has one of the highest Gini coefficients, highlighting disparities hidden by GDP data.
What is the middle income trap?
A situation where countries that have transitioned from low to middle income stagnate due to a lack of productivity, innovation, and competitiveness.
How does wealth differ from income?
Wealth refers to the total value of assets, while income refers to the flow of money earned; wealth influences innovation and risk-taking.
How does gender relate to economic development?
Gendered divisions of labour and discrimination affect economic processes; reducing discrimination can boost GDP significantly.
What is the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI)?
A measure by the OECD that evaluates formal/informal laws, norms, and practices that restrict women’s rights in 160 countries.
How is inequality both a cause and consequence of capitalism?
Capitalism’s profit-maximisation leads to labour exploitation and capital accumulation, which generates class-based inequalities.
What characterises territorial inequalities?
Uneven development across and within countries or regions — national, international, interregional, intraregional, and local.
How do global value chains (GVCs) relate to inequality?
GVCs locate different production stages in areas with cheap labour or lax regulation, reinforcing existing global inequalities.
What is the concept of upgrading in GVCs?
The process by which firms improve value through better processes, products, added functions, or sector diversification.
What is social upgrading in global production?
Improving labour conditions and workers’ rights in value chains, including fair wages, social protection, and collective agency.
How do global production networks (GPNs) differ from GVCs?
GPNs view value creation as networked and embedded in geographic/institutional contexts, not just linear firm-led chains.
What is strategic coupling in GPN theory?
The interaction between global firms and local assets or institutions, determining how regions benefit from global production.
What does GPN theory say about value?
Value includes creation, enhancement, and capture — where value depends on firms’ power and regions’ ability to retain value.
How does Marxian theory explain value?
Value is created through labour; uneven development arises when value creation or capture is missing or unequal.
What does it mean to say GVCs are ‘constitutive of global inequalities’?
GVCs structure economic activities in a way that generates and reinforces global inequality through spatial organisation.
What is meant by the ‘race to the bottom’ in global production?
Countries deregulate labour and reduce taxes to attract investment, often lowering standards and worsening inequality.
What are the two policy approaches to reducing inequality in global production?
A people-centred (Marxist) approach focusing on grassroots and social upgrading, and a firm-centred (GVC/GPN) approach focused on economic upgrading.
