The Atlas of Global Inequalities. Ben Crow
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Ben Crow is Professor of Sociology at the University of California Santa Cruz. He is the author of two books, Markets, Class and Social Change, and Sharing the Ganges, and co-author of four more, including The Third World Atlas, and The Food Question. His main research is currently on gender and access to water in the Global South. He was a political activist in what was then East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, before he became an academic. He has a BSc in Civil Engineering from Regent Street Polytechnic and a PhD from Edinburgh University. Suresh K. Lodha is Professor of Computer Science at the University of California Santa Cruz. He has published more than 100 articles in journals and conferences. His research interests include visualization, vision, and social entrepreneurship. He received an Excellence in Teaching Award at UCSC. He received an MSc from IIT, Kanpur (India), an MA from University of California, Berkeley, and a PhD in Computer Science from Rice University.
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THE ATLAS OF
Global
inequalitIES
Ben Crow and Suresh K. Lodha
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Oakland, California Copyright © Myriad Editions Limited 2011 All rights reserved The moral rights of the authors have been asserted Library of Congress Control Number: 2010934244 ISBN: 978-0-520-26822-7 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN (ebk): 978-0-520-96684-0 Produced for University of California Press by Myriad Editions, Brighton, UK www.MyriadEditions.com Edited and coordinated by Jannet King, Candida Lacey, and Dawn Sackett Designed by Isabelle Lewis and Corinne Pearlman Maps and graphics created by Isabelle Lewis This ebook edition has been created using CircularFLO from Circular Software This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Authors 1 Acknowledgments 8 Introduction 9 1 Economic Inequalities 14 Income 16 Income inequality both between and within countries has risen dramatically during the process of industrialization. Household Wealth 18 Household wealth is unevenly distributed across the world. A huge proportion is concentrated in the hands of a very few. Consumption 20 Poor households have to spend most of their income on food, with little left for other purposes. Work & Unemployment 22 Differences in livelihoods, remuneration, unemployment, and underemployment create considerable inequalities. Labor Migration 24 Labor migration can help address global inequalities. 2 Power Inequalities 26 International Trade 28 Globally determined commodity prices and high tariffs on imports from poorer nations create barriers to trade equality. Budget Priorities 30 The proportion of GDP that governments spend on the military, healthcare, education, and social security provides one measure of their social priorities. Government Action 32 In response to popular pressure, governments may attempt to reduce inequality through minimum wage laws, progressive taxation, and land reforms. Freedom & Democracy 34 While freedoms and democracy are hard to quantify, even rough measures indicate significant inequalities within and between nations. Incarceration & Execution 36 Rates of imprisonment vary widely around the world, and the use of execution is rare in industrialized countries. 3 Social Inequalities 38 Gender 40 Bias against women is reflected in their unequal political and economic participation and influence, their hours in unpaid work, and in the preference for sons over daughters. Age 42 Age distinctions can create inequalities by excluding age groups and undervaluing their work. Population structures provide impetus for looking beyond national boundaries.
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