...(Week 4) “Why Is Income Inequality in America So Pronounced? Consider Education”, by TYLER COWEN – May 17, 2007. 1. The article states, "starting about 1950, the relative returns for schooling rose, and they skyrocketed after 1980. The reason is supply and demand….Those in need of skilled labor are bidding for a relatively stagnant supply [of educated workers] and so must pay more." U.S. trade as a fraction of the economy has also grown somewhat since about 1950. Compare the statement from the article with the prediction about the distribution of income from Heckscher-Ohlin model. The Heckscher-Ohlin model predicts that an economy will be relatively efficient in producing goods that intensively use factors of production, which are relatively abundant, and that owners of abundant factors of production will gain from trade and owners of scarce factors of production will lose from trade. From the article, it is not clear if the U.S. is abundant in educated workers relative to some other factor of production, like land, capital or unskilled workers, but it is arguable that the U.S. is relatively abundant in educated workers relative to unskilled workers compared to many countries that it trades with. In contrast, the statement from the article does not consider trade per se, but simply the supply and demand of educated workers, which can change due to trade or for other reasons. 2. What is wrong with claiming that changes in the distribution of income are associated...
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...Jeanette Cepin Power & Inequality In The Workplace Term: Summer 2015 Professor: Bonnie Johnson Final Reflection Essay Wouldn’t it be great if we lived in a society that with hard work, dedication, and discipline we can accomplish the so called “American Dream”? Some have been able to accomplish this dream, but many still struggle and continue to work non stop in order to reach a dream that is almost impossible to achieve. The United States of America, “the land of the free and opportunities”, hasn’t really been the land of the free, with opportunities for all. During my 7 week summer course, I was able to have a better and deep understanding of how the United States is structured to benefit a certain group while denying others opportunities. How those in power acquired their power, work to maintain it through inequality, how these inequalities can a lot of times be correlated, and how can we work together to make a difference. In order to understand inequality we must first identify what are the factors that contribute in creating it. Social class, which can define one’s position in society, contributes to a form of conflict. Social class divisions have always played a prominent role in America. These class distinctions inflict unfair on all Americans. The idea of social class has been a central concept in determining the opportunities a person is capable of having. People from different socioeconomic backgrounds live different lifestyles as well...
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...spoke to Haugen for hours about living in poverty; she described what it was like when "...the coals in the cooking fire finally just went completely cold. When the last drop of cooking oil finally ran out. When the last of the food, despite her best efforts, ran out. She had to watch her youngest son Peter, suffer from malnutrition..." According to Haugen, 35 years ago 40,000 children died everyday due to poverty. Now, however, the number has dropped to 17,000 children a day. The number of people in our world living in extreme poverty (defined as living off of a $1.25 or less a day) has fallen from 50 to 15 percent; although that massive drop is fantastic, there are still so many people dying everyday because they do not have enough money to support themselves or their families. "So why are so many billions still stuck in extreme poverty?" Through speaking with Venus, Haugen learned that the day after her husband died, their neighbor, Brutus, came into her house and kicked Venus's family out, took their land, and robbed them; Venus was thrown into destitution by...
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...Los Angeles: A critical essay looking into increasing inequality and its root causes in the metropolitan area across the last 50 years Los Angeles is one of the most economically developed cities in the world and it represents a beacon of technological advancement, social progression and equal opportunity for people all around the world. Los Angeles (L.A.) was recently ranked 9th on the Global Economic Power Index (Florida, 2012) and 20th on the Global Power City Index that included criteria such as “livability”, “cultural interaction”, “environment” and “accessibility” (Institute for Urban Strategies, 2014). These ideas may ring true for some; however there are many who live within the city limits that experience a very different reality. In the last 20 years there has been an increasing amount of academic literature examining rising economic, social, political and underlying racial inequality within L.A. This essay will attempt to evaluate this literature so as to examine what inequalities are occurring and identify possible causes underlying them. For future reference within this essay, I am going to be looking at L.A. as the Greater Los Angeles Area, which includes the city of L.A. and other interconnected urban areas so as to avoid confusion on where possible boundaries are drawn and also to have a greater area from which to draw comparison from. Socio-Economic History Leading to Contemporary Inequality The situation Los Angeles is currently in can be attributed...
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...SOCIAL PROBLEM Educational Inequality: A Social Problem in the U.S. SOCIAL PROBLEM Educational Inequality: A Social Problem In the U.S. Introduction: The goal of education is to make sure that every student has a chance to excel, both in school and in life. Increasingly, children's success in school determines their success as adults, determining whether and where they go to college, what professions that they enter, and how much they are paid. Why is that getting a good education is dependent upon a person’s socioeconomic status? Education is a right in the U.S, but it seems to be accessible for the privilege. Why do we have inequality in education? Let’s look at different views explaining some possible causes or contributors to this issue. “Social inequality is the expression of lack of access to housing, health care, education, employment opportunities, and status. It is the exclusion of people from full and equal participation in what we, the members of society, perceive as being valuable, important, personally worthwhile, and socially desirable. Economic inequality is expressed through the unequal distribution of wealth in society. This has obvious ramifications in terms of the unequal distribution of what that wealth may purchase; housing, health care, education, career prospects, status - in our society, access to all these things is largely dependent on wealth. Because of the nature of our society - post industrial, competitive, capitalist, commercially driven...
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...We mean business! Windesheim Business School 1st year (Major 1/2) [pic] First year English module M1 (CEF: B1) Windesheim Business School Authors: Dinand Warringa, Marianne van Vlierden, Ellen Keates August 2014, revised 1. Introduction For you, personally, the question is whether or not your English meets the requirements demanded of a student in Higher Education. In terms of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEF) this means this module aims at reaching the B1 level of proficiency in Business English. However, regardless of your previous field of study, no exemption will be granted for following the Start-Up English module as we thoroughly prepare you for all other Business English modules you may have in the future. The module consists of seven two-hour lessons in which you will be able to display your language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. Whether or not you have the necessary knowledge to meet the required level of proficiency will be tested in a written (multiple choice) examination during the exam period. The final grade must be at least 5.5 for you to be awarded the 2 credits available for this module. Again, this module serves as the starting point for all English courses at the Windesheim Business School, irrespective of your field of study. We believe it is of vital importance to not only acquire passive language skills but also practise and acquire active skills in English. Make sure that you...
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...The ideas of health care have changed tremendously in the past years. Health services are provided in many ways and the funding is now more accessible. Outstanding changes in public health have changed life over the past century. Health care became an area of concern as early as the 1900’s. It was during The Great Depression in the 1930’s when priorities changed with greater emphasis on unemployment insurance and “old age” benefits. Between 1940 and 1950 President Roosevelt asked Congress for “economic bill of rights,” including right to adequate medical care and later on President Truman would offer a national health program plan involving a single system that would include all of American society. Unfortunately, this agreement would be terminated by the American Medical Association (AMA), and is called a Communist plot by a House subcommittee. It wasn’t until the start of the decade during the 1950’s that national health care expenditures were 4.5 percent of the Gross National Product (PBS, 2010), and then later on in the 1970’s an effort brought forth by the World Health Organization planned to achieve “Health for All” by the year 2000. Declaration of Alma-Ata International Conference on Primary Health Care, Alma Ata, USSR, 6-12 September 1978 Governments have a responsibility for the heath of their people, which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures. A main social target of governments, international organizations and the whole...
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...and Rising Inequality in Australia Is Increasing Inequality Inevitable in Australia? Tom Conley Griffith University Introduction I want to dedicate my government to the maintenance of traditional Australian values. And they include those great values of mateship and egalitarianism.1 10 years ago a Mitsubishi type development would have flattened people psychologically. Now they take it in their stride … 2 Policy-makers and commentators have long been cajoling Australians into accepting that they are a part of the global economy, which means an acceptance of a whole range of ‘new realities’. One of the major themes of the pro-globalisation position is that Australia has accepted these new realities and adjusted well to globalisation by embracing economic liberalism. The results, it is argued, have been overwhelmingly beneficial. John Howard points out the Australian economy has grown for fourteen years straight – a remarkable achievement by any standards. This success story of growth has tended, however, to override more disaggregated, negative analyses of social outcomes in Australia. A less sanguine part of this new globalising ‘reality’ appears to be an acceptance of rising inequality. Indeed, it is often implied that rising inequality is a spur for growth. The argument is that everyone is better off, it’s just that some people are better off than others. While commentary is often not explicit about the association of globalisation and rising inequality, occasionally...
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...and who are unequal is a thorny issue, for the limited resources are much valuable and required by the various group of people and they have to be distributed justly and fairly. In the Indian constitutional scheme, it had been envisaged by the framers that there should be equality of opportunity is for all citizens in public employments and such equality of opportunity a fundamental right of the citizens’.At the same time, the need for some beneficial treatment to the weaker sections of the society was also enshrined with that right. What is the basis of distribution of societal resources to certain sections? The thrust of this Chapter goes with the following enquiry. Is there any jurisprudential foundation for protective discrimination? If so what is it? This aspect is assessed from the angle of different theories of justice viz., social justice, distributive justice, equality and equal opportunity and social engineering theory. The responses of Indian courts in this regard are also examined. Justice : Meaning and Content The concept of justice is even older than that of law. The maxim, fiat justicia ruat co'elum, i.e., let heavens fall, justice has to be done, is the quintessence of all philosophies the human beings have founded. Justice is considered...
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...interesting as these voyagers express their initial thoughts of arriving in Halifax as discouraging, as they witnessed land covered in rocks and unsatisfying for cultivation. Most voyagers who arrived in Halifax were quit poor in England and came to find prosperity in this new country. This unfavourable appearance made passengers onboard the ships looking for a new prospective life in Halifax, wishing to take the long trip back to their homes in England. Even though immigrants today face the similar discouragement upon arriving to Canada, their motives are further discouraged by discrimination faced in their daily lives. Immigrants from rural Bangladesh face different experiences than those of urban Bangladesh upon arriving in Canada. Even so, the initial time in Canada is quite difficult to adapt. Further ignorance by several Canadians leads to cultures and religions being grouped to a specific title or cause especially for Middle Eastern immigrants. Some Canadians fear to allow Syrian refugees in their country because of fear of facing the terrors the Syrians face in their everyday lives. Citizens of Canada are related to those who have come from parts of Europe in quest for a new life style centuries ago. Several Canadians do not realize that Canada had once belonged to the First Nations people, who were eventually tortured and forced to give up their land to those European settlers. Introduction The emotional response from arriving to a new country is not...
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...JOSÉ LUIS MACHINEA Executive Secretary ALICIA BÁRCENA Deputy Executive Secretary Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean economic commission for latin america and the caribbean C E P A L Review NUMBER 85 APRIL 2005 SANTIAGO, CHILE OSCAR ALTIMIR Director REYNALDO BAJRAJ Deputy Director The CEPAL Review was founded in 1976 and is published three times a year by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, which has its headquarters in Santiago, Chile. The Review, however, has full editorial independence and follows the usual academic procedures and criteria, including the review of articles by independent external referees. The Review is distributed to universities, research institutes and other international organizations, as well as to individual subscribers, and is also consulted extensively on the Internet. The purpose of the Review is to contribute to the discussion of socio-economic development issues in the region by offering analytical and policy approaches and articles by economists and other social scientists working both within and outside the United Nations. Accordingly, the editorial board of the Review extends its readers an open invitation to submit for publication articles analysing various aspects of economic and social development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The opinions expressed in the signed articles are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the...
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...societies are egalitarian. Material consumption varies little across the members. In contrast, inequality was pervasive in the agrarian economies that dominated the world in 1800. The Industrial Revolution deeply changed this trend, Income per person began to undergo sustained growth in a favored group of countries. The richest modern economy are now ten to twenty times wealthier than the 1800 average. For Clarks the biggest beneficiary of this revolution has been the unskilled workers, the poorest. Just as the Industrial Revolution reduced in come inequalities within societies, it has increased them between societies, in a process recently labeled the Great Divergence.1 For example African countries, in certain case, would have been better never discover the industrial revolution, because they remained trap in the Malthusian Era creating an higher divergence between population, and driving down standards to subsistence. * Why did the Malthusian Trap persist for so long? * Why did the initial escape from that trap in the Industrial Revolution occur on one tiny island, England, in 1800? * Why was there the consequent Great Divergence? "Thus I make no apologies for focusing on income. Over the long run in come is more powerful than any ideology or religion in shaping lives. No God has commanded worshippers to their pious duties more forcefully than income as it subtly directs the fabric of our lives " The Malthusian Trap: Life to 1800 The crucial...
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...chapter one Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method What sets human beings apart from all other forms of life? Why is sociology an important tool for your future? How should you respond to people whose way of life differs from your own? ISBN: 0-536-12116-8 Societ y: The Basics, Eighth Ed itio n by Jo hn J. Ma cio nis. Published b y Prentice -Hall. Co pyright © 2006 by Pear son Edu cation, In c. ISBN: 0-536-12116-8 L The sociological perspective shows us patterns of behavior common within a society. Here, a member of Brazil’s Pataxo tribe offers a traditional greeting to a visitor. Societ y: The Basics, Eighth Ed itio n by Jo hn J. Ma cio nis. Published b y Prentice -Hall. Co pyright © 2006 by Pear son Edu cation, In c. I f you were to ask 100 people, “Why do couples marry?” it is a safe bet that at least ninety would reply, “People marry because they fall in love.” Indeed, it is hard for us to imagine a happy marriage without love; likewise, when people fall in love, we expect them to think about marriage. But is the decision about whom to marry really so simple and so personal? There is plenty of evidence that if love is the key to marriage, Cupid’s arrow is carefully aimed by the society around us. In short, society has a number of “rules” about whom we should marry. What are they? Right off the bat, society rules out half the population because U.S. laws (despite recent actions in cities such as San Francisco and likely...
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...Licensed to: CengageBrain User Licensed to: CengageBrain User This is an electronic version of the print textbook. Due to electronic rights restrictions, some third party content may be suppressed. Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. The publisher reserves the right to remove content from this title at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. For valuable information on pricing, previous editions, changes to current editions, and alternate formats, please visit www.cengage.com/highered to search by ISBN#, author, title, or keyword for materials in your areas of interest. Copyright 2011 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it. Licensed to: CengageBrain User Sociology in Our Times: Ninth Edition Diana Kendall Sponsoring Editor: Erin Mitchell Developmental Editor: Renee Deljon/Kristin Makarewycz Freelance Development Editor: Tricia Louvar Assistant Editor: Linda Stewart Editorial Assistant: Mallory Ortberg Media Editor: Mary Noel Marketing Manager: Andrew Keay ...
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...Human Development Report 2014 Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience Empowered lives. Resilient nations. The 2014 Human Development Report is the latest in the series of global Human Development Reports published by UNDP since 1990 as independent, empirically grounded analyses of major development issues, trends and policies. Additional resources related to the 2014 Human Development Report can be found online at http://hdr.undp.org, including complete editions or summaries of the Report in more than 20 languages, a collection of papers commissioned for the 2014 Report, interactive maps and databases of national human development indicators, full explanations of the sources and methodologies employed in the Report’s human development indices, country profiles and other background materials as well as previous global, regional and national Human Development Reports. Human Development Report 2014 Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience Empowered lives. Resilient nations. Published for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Reports 1990–2014 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007/2008 2009 2010 2011 2013 2014 Concept and Measurement of Human Development Financing Human Development Global Dimensions of Human Development People’s Participation New Dimensions of Human Security Gender and Human Development Economic...
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