Inequality
and poverty aren’t a matter of fact; earth provides enough for everyone yet individuals
are not equal on both social and economic levels. Wealth and often the
opportunities associated with wealth are limited to the top proportion of
society particularly in the developing world. We live in a world were equality
and equality of opportunity is believed to be a universal right but more often than not isn’t granted. This blog entry was an aspect of my
work experience with the ISSR and I decided to research the implications of
poverty and inequality on the developing world particularly on the BRICS (Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa) and Africa. So I started with a few
questions that I wanted to see if I could answer about poverty and inequality: Are
individual’s lives controlled by inequality of opportunities? Will this have an
effect on future economic growth of developing economies? Finally is inequality
sustainable or do we need to create sustainable solutions to inequality?
I wanted to
explore the reasons for inequality as this is the starting point for the creation of solutions. I focused on three reasons: Government policy, access to opportunity (education and employment and how those may differ by gender or race) and access to basic services (electricity, the internet and health services).
Often
government policy in the BRICS countries and developing countries can impact on
the levels of inequality between different groups in society. 50.3% [1] of China’s mainland population live in rural areas but China’s household
registration system often results in the rural population being excluded from
social benefits such as medical care and education. This is because urban populations by that designation receive access to better education and health care services. Rural-urban migrants are
often unable to access the benefits experienced by urban residents. This
severely restricts an individual’s ability to improve their standard of living
and escape poverty. However, changes in social policy for the rural population
are beginning to be implemented by the Chinese government and could help reduce
inequalities between the rural and urban populations. Government policy is key
to ensuring that no area of society is excluded from gaining access to
opportunities such as healthcare and education. One of the ways that inequality
can be reduced is by ensuring that all areas of a society have access to basic
services. However, often inequalities between different groups arise because
the government doesn’t have the funds to supply basic services. This could be
due to corruption, low economic output or debt.
For example, in Pakistan in 2010 it was revealed that 61% of policy
makers in their year of election hadn’t paid income tax. [2] Only 2.5 million out of 10 million pay tax which results in one of the lowest
ratio of tax to GDP in the world. This limits expenditure on social services
such as healthcare and education. Corruption within government policy limits a
country’s ability to reduced inequality and poverty; often only leading to
increases in inequality.
"If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are
planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate
people." Chinese Proverb, Undated
Having
been in school from the age of 5 and now coming up to year 13 I have always
considered education to be something to which I should have access (I will
admit taken for granted occasionally) and I see it as my way of achieving
things in life. In the UK, 47% of young people are expected to graduate from
tertiary (academic) programs before the age of 30 and 93% of people will
complete upper secondary education in their lifetime. In Uganda only 22.34% of
children will reach 6th grade or complete 6 years of schooling.
Students in the UK are more likely to gain a degree than students in Uganda are
likely to finish primary school education. In Tanzania gross secondary school
enrolment is 35% and tertiary school enrolment is 3.9% (2012) [3]. The likelihood that students in the UK will finish secondary education is greater than the likelihood that students in Tanzania will even enrol in secondary school. The inequality in access to education in developing nations is something that
we all know about yet upon seeing the figures still tends to shock. I wanted to
explore these inequalities in access to education by looking at regional,
gender and ethnic differences in school enrolment in numerous developing
nations to access the scale of the issue.
Solving
inequality in education is the starting point to reducing inequality
particularly income inequality. However, underlying issues of geographical
disparities, gender and ethnic discrimination can limit educational
opportunities. For example, in Laos the percentage of female heads of households without an education is 70% compared to 20% of women overall. [4] This shows the link between education and
gender inequality which can result in girls becoming trapped in a cycle of
poverty. This is also evident in Uganda; a study undertaken by Action Aid [5] found that in both the Nakasongola and Buvuma districts girls had dropped out
of primary school due to pregnancies often resulting from gender based violence
(GBV) or parental preference to fund a boy’s education. Also, unemployment for
females (18-24) in Uganda is 27% compared to 9% for males. Gender inequality in education could be a contributing factor to inequality within
employment which prevents girls from escaping poverty.
Does
having equal opportunities to attend school for all income groups lead to equal
educational attainment?
Country
|
Circumstance 1
Income
|
Circumstance 2
Area of residence
|
Finished Primary
School
|
Brazil
|
Poorest
|
Rural
|
29.67%
|
|
Richest
|
Rural
|
59.07%
|
|
Poorest
|
Urban
|
32.79%
|
|
Richest
|
Urban
|
70.36%
|
Figure 1 shows how factors outside a
child’s control affect their likelihood of gaining an education. In Brazil, in the
bottom 40% income group 97.98% of children aged 10 to 14 attend school compared
to 99.64% in the top 20%. However, only 34.95% in bottom 40% finish primary
school or achieve 6 years of school compared to 69.68% in the top 20%. [6] The percentage difference between children in different income groups finishing
primary school (12 year olds) or achieving 6 years of schooling (13-15 year
olds) shows almost equal opportunities to attend school doesn’t result in
similar educational outcomes. This could be due to differences in the quality of
the education, circumstances (eg. Parent’s educational background), area of
residence and family income.
In
Africa, 29 million children of primary school age are out of school and only 1/3
children in school will come out of primary school with basic literacy and
numeracy skills [7]. Figure
2 shows the coverage of children finishing school (achieving 6 years or more
years of schooling or reaching 6th grade) in selected Sub-Saharan
countries. This shows that a large majority of countries have a low primary
school completion rate. From this I decided
to explore the issues of inequality of opportunities in education in Uganda
where there are high enrolment in schools but very low completion rates. In
Uganda the number of 12-15 year olds attending school is 89.22% for females and
90.57% for males [8]. These figures suggest education is readily available to most children. The
percentage of children attending school up to 6th grade or
completing 6 or more years of education shows a different story with only
22.34% of children finishing school. This drives both poverty and inequality
particularly income inequality because it limits an individual’s ability to
enter the formal job market. Moreover, the likelihood of being trapped in
poverty declines the higher level of education a person achieves [9]. The high dropout rates often mean that children don’t gain the required skills
needed in the workplace which limits their future employment opportunities and
ability to escape poverty. 78% of Uganda’s population is below the age of 30 [10] and ½ of the population is below 24 [11]. This could be beneficial to Uganda and aid economic growth particularly if they
use education to create a skilled workforce out of their large youthful
population. However, both education and the opening up of skilled employment
opportunities needs to be addressed before Uganda is able to reduce poverty and
inequality.
Unequal
educational opportunities often results in individuals achieving limited
qualifications which can result in them becoming trapped in a cycle of poverty
as it limits opportunities to work within the formal economy, particularly the
tertiary sector. This leads to a growth in the informal sector or in low
skilled, low paid jobs often with limited social protection, thereby increasing the gap between the poorest and richest in a society resulting in increased
inequality. Education and equal educational opportunities are vital to a child’s
future prospects as it enables those of the lowest income groups to access
formal employment which can help reduce inequality between the top and bottom
income groups.
"...
none of us should tolerate a world in which over 1 million children are, in a
perversely literal sense, dying for a glass of water and a toilet." Kevin Watkins, 2006
Basic
services: running water, electricity, the internet, transport infrastructure,
education, health services, and toilets. Can you imagine living even a day
without access to these services? However much we might complain about the getting stuck on the M5 or the education system or the NHS, they are services that we need and believe we have the right
to. They enable us to take opportunities, stay healthy and expand the choices
we have in life. In India 4.1% of GDP is spent on health (2010) this amounts to
$132 per person with only 29.2% funded by the government. In the UK health
spending is 9.6% of GDP which is $3.480 per person and 83.9% is government
funded [12]. Health inequalities in India have meant that access to basic health care is
often unavailable to the poorest. Malnutrition affects 43% of India’s children
with children under 5 in rural areas more likely to suffer from malnutrition
than urban children, low-caste children more likely than those of a higher
caste [13]. If an individual is unable to access healthcare then educational achievements
and income can suffer causing growing inequalities between the poorest and the
wealthy. "The health
industry focuses on people with the greatest ability to pay rather than the
greatest need for care." Phineas Baxandall, 2001
“Have
you ever thought about what you would have to give up or how much work and
effort you would have to dedicate to daily activities if electricity did not
help you?” Prazká Energetika, 2005 Living
without a phone or the internet is something most of us dread to think about.
Whether you have ever considered the importance of having access to a phone,
the internet or electricity or not, the huge part it plays in our everyday
lives is incredible. In Sub-Saharan Africa, electricity access is 30.5%
and in Tanzania the figure is only 13.9% (2009). Access to electricity means that you can
easily work into the evening and use the internet which allows people to make
connections and communicate, imagine the disadvantage you would have without
it.
“For
prosperity to be sustained, it must be shared” Seoul Development Consensus for
Shared Growth. Inequality isn’t
sustainable; it creates social/political tensions and damages economic growth.
Evidence presented by Oxfam suggests that if South Africa continues with a
poverty reduction strategy based mainly on economic growth then between 2010
and 2020 more than a million additional people will be pushed into poverty [15]Countries
with low income inequality were able to reduce poverty by 4% with every 1% of
economic growth.
For future economic growth to be effective in reducing poverty then underlying
inequalities need to be tackled. Inequality also triggers social and political
tensions that can lead to widespread protests and conflict; as has been seen in
Brazil with the protests that surrounded the World Cup. On Monday 17th
June, 100,000 people across Brazil took to the streets to protest about poorly
funded public services despite the high government spending on the World Cup.
Climate
Change and a predicted temperature rise of 1-2.5⁰C by 2100 are going to have the
greatest impact on the poorest as many depend on natural resources for their
livelihoods. They have a limited ability to adapt making the poorest people
most vulnerable which could only lead to an increase in inequality and poverty.
Therefore, solving inequality and helping the poorest escape poverty is essential
to limit the impact of climate change. Also, reducing inequality can help the
poorest people and countries in the transition to more sustainable management
of the earth’s natural resources.
I don’t
have the space to be able to explore all the possible solutions to inequality
and poverty. I believe that the starting point is to reduce inequalities in
education as this helps improve a child’s future employment opportunities.
There also needs to be the job availability otherwise solving income inequality
is almost impossible. The other two solutions I explore briefly are farming in
Africa and investment in SMEs (Small-to-Medium Enterprises).
...
illiteracy is essentially a manifestation of social inequality, the unequal
distribution of power and resources in society." Bharati Silawal-Giri, 2003 Regional disparities in education are one of
the greatest issues when it comes to inequality of opportunity. For example, in
India the ability of pupils aged 8 to 11 to read basic texts in government run
schools vary enormously from region to region. In Jammu and Kashmir only 26%
could read but in Kerala the figure was 80%.
How does a government solve this problem? Poor quality public school
education can cause an increase in private school attendance (often better
schools). However, regional, income and ethnic disparities often results in
poorer children become trapped in poor government run schools. How does a
Government ensure that an increase in private school attendance (often better
schools that cater for the wealthier) doesn't cause an increase in inequality between the rich and poor? I think that a strong and good quality public
education system that is available to all children regardless of ethnicity,
wealth, place of residence or gender needs to be created. If the basis for good
quality and equal education is set up then this can be sustained for future
generations. How does a developing country’s government fund state schools
that provide good quality education? This I don’t know the answer to but
finding a solution could be the starting point to ensure equal educational opportunities
for all children.
Where
can education lead or not lead? Improving
education so that every child has access to a school and a good quality
education is all well and good but unless there is a link between the skills
learnt in school and the skills needed to enter the job market of that country
then the improvements to education will do very little to help reduce poverty
and inequality. In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh unemployment of educated
young people is 7.3% compared to the 6.7% for ordinary adults. Governments need to ensure that there is a
link between the curriculum taught in schools and the needs of employers and
the job market. Another issue I found
was discrimination based on gender and race within employment. In 2008 in Brazil, women earned 2/3 of men’s
real wages and in South Africa between 1993-2008 women earned 60% less than men
and in 2008 Africans were typically paid four times less than white people.
Government policy that bans racial, gender or ethnic discrimination within
employment in many developing nations needs to be implemented to see a
reduction in income inequality.
Africa-
Is farming the solution to inequality? 2/3 of Africans depend on agriculture for their livelihood
yet in 2011 Africa imported US$35 billion in food.
This market if opened up to local farmers could help boost economic growth and
reduce inequality and poverty. The International Food Policy Research Institute
has found that economic growth in agriculture reduces poverty twice as much as
growth in other areas. If support bases for small holder farmers are set up to
provide advice and help farmers increase their output of crops. This could help
farmers escape poverty and also if output was increased by a big enough margin
some African countries could become huge players in the global food market. The
threat of climate change on agriculture particularly in Africa means that
increased investment in smallholder farmers also needs to be matched with investment
in climate smart technology for agricultural growth to be sustained.
Could
investment in SMEs be the solution? Could it solve regional disparities in income
inequality? Typically
SMEs can be more geographically spread out compared to big organisations, which
in developing countries are usually positioned in large urban areas. In China about 40% of manufacturing employment
is in SMEs compared to 5% in India. China has reduced poverty at a much greater
rate than India. However, other factors
have contributed to this and the effect of SMEs on reducing inequality is still
unclear.
"Trickle-down
theory - the less than elegant metaphor that if one feeds the horse enough
oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows." John Kenneth Galbraith, undated
Reducing inequality
isn’t about letting the rich get richer and hoping the wealth trickles down to
poorer parts of society. For economic and social development to be sustainable
inequality needs to be tackled in way that ensures equality of opportunity for
all groups in society. It gives everyone the same footing to be able to improve
their own standards of living and escape poverty without being controlled by
factors outside their own personal control. To end with here is quote that I
think summarises my main point and that is the importance of equality of
opportunity:
"I am somehow
less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the
near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields
and sweatshops." Stephen
Jay Gould, 1980
Written by Milly Atkinson Handley, A-level student at Plymouth High School for Girls. This blog is the product of my work experience with the ISSR over the summer of 2014.
