Which Inequality Makes People Dissatisfied with Their Lives? Evidence of the Link Between Life Satisfaction and Inequalities

This paper aims at establishing a clear link between different types of inequality and life satisfaction in Europe. We analyse the relationship between life satisfaction and both income inequality and inequality of opportunity using seven waves of the European Social Survey. The results show that in Europe both income inequality and inequality of opportunity reduce people’s life satisfaction. Our main results suggest that all socio-economic groups are dissatisfied with income inequality, whereas primarily low socio-economic individuals worry about inequality of opportunity. We find that expected mobility is very important in explaining the link between inequality and life satisfaction for all socio-economic groups in Europe. We advance the hypothesis that life satisfaction is conditioned by a mix of normative arguments against inequality and by the fear/possibility to lose/gain a good social position. This result complements findings on the mediating role of social mobility in the relationship with subjective well-being.     

家庭中的性别平等问题与社会对策

我国坚持男女平等和计划生育基本国策,促进了家庭领域的性别平等。但是,当今家庭仍然存在一些性别不平等现象．一定程度上制约了女孩的成长和妇女的发展。要实现家庭中的性别平等与两性和谐发展必须发挥政府和社会组织的作用,进一步倡导社会性别平等意识、建设先进性别文化、推进社会政策的性别主流化,关心女孩成长、提高妇女社会经济地位。     

Who are Your Joneses? Socio-Specific Income Inequality and Trust

Trust is a good approach to explain the functioning of markets, institutions or society as a whole. It is a key element in almost every commercial transaction over time and might be one of the main explanations of economic success and development. Trust diminishes the more we perceive others to have economically different living realities. In most of the relevant contributions, scholars have taken a macro perspective on the inequality-trust linkage, with an aggregation of both trust and inequality on a country level. However, patterns of within-country inequality and possibly influential determinants, such as perception and socioeconomic reference, remained undetected. This paper offers the opportunity to look at the interplay between inequality and trust at a more refined level. A measure of (generalized) trust emerges from ESS 5 survey which asks “...generally speaking, would you say that most people can be trusted, or that you can’t be too careful in dealing with people?”. With the use of 2009 EU-SILC data, measurements of income inequality are developed for age-specific groups of society in 22 countries. A sizable variation in inequality measures can be noticed. Even in low inequality countries, like Sweden, income imbalances within certain age groups have the potential to undermine social trust.     

Economic inequality,status perceptions,and subjective well-being in China's transitional economy

Situated in the dynamic institutional environment of China's transitional economy, this study investigates the intricate relationships among economic inequality, status perceptions, and subjective well-being. Empirical evidence is drawn from national survey data collected from urban China. Statistical analyses show that multiple indicators of economic well-being exert a significant effect on self-perceived social status and status change and on subjective well-being. Positive status perceptions further enhance one's subjective well-being. Some of these effects are also moderated by contextual inequality. This study advances the literature by moving beyond income-based measures to examine the consequences of economic disparity. It also shows that status perceptions are the key nexus to probe the impacts of economic well-being and the sources of life satisfaction. Findings further direct our attention to important interplays between the individual-level socioeconomic conditions and the contextual inequality in achieving a deeper understanding of the consequences of socioeconomic inequality.     

Measuring Inequality of Opportunity for the Backward Communities: Regional Evidence from the Indian Labour Market

The affirmative action policy for socially and economically backward communities in employment has been a debated issue in India. In this context, this paper aims to analyze the level of inequality by distinguishing between ‘circumstance’ and ‘effort’ factors in the Roemer’s framework on equality of opportunity. We measure inequality of opportunities due to two circumstances: caste and religion. Our empirical analysis, at state-level, utilizes a recent household survey data, which provides information related to efforts as well as circumstances of workers. The paper estimated inequality in the labour market and then decomposed it to know the circumstances that cause income inequality. Our estimates indicated that inequality and inequality of opportunity is substantially higher in India. Specifically, the outcome of our analysis evidently indicated that the socially backward communities do have economically disadvantageous position in some of the Indian states. However, the degree of circumstances based on inequality varies to a great extent among the states. Therefore, we suggest that the country does not need a nation-level affirmative action policy instead a state-level policy could be more appropriate as the intensity of the problem differ significantly among the Indian states.     

中国三代直系家庭变迁:年龄、时期、队列视角的观察

发掘中国社会特有的家庭结构变迁模式是理解中国家庭变动特征的关键,也是许多研究所关注的焦点。本研究基于9期的中国营养追踪调查(1989-2011)数据,利用分层交叉年龄、时期和队列效应模型观察我国三代直系家庭在三个时间维度上的演变趋势。研究发现在年龄维度上婴幼儿以及老年阶段仍然拥有较高的三代直系家庭比例,这体现了直系家庭在抚幼和养老方面发挥的重要功能。在时期维度上三代直系家庭比例并没有展示出显著的变化趋势。相较于时期,嵌入社会变迁中的队列趋势是三代直系家庭结构变迁更为重要的驱动力。队列的三代直系家庭比例在整体上呈现出U型趋势,较老的队列处于直系家庭的可能性逐渐下降,而幼儿队列处于直系家庭的可能性不断上升。该趋势代表了老龄群体的"去直系化"与幼儿群体的"直系化"倾向。研究结果表明,在私人领域,经济的发展和观念的转变这些现代化因素仍然在促成家庭的小型化;在公共领域由于家庭职能(抚幼和养老)在向社会职能转变过程中的波折与分化,个体家庭会调整结构形态以应对不同阶段社会资源与风险的变化,从而塑造出了我国三代直系家庭结构的变迁模式。这不仅仅代表了传统和现代的博弈与融合,更是代表了一种家庭的实用主义倾向。     

Social Ills in Rich Countries: New Evidence on Levels,Causes, and Mediators

Social Indicators Research - The income inequality hypothesis claims that in rich societies inequality causes a range of health and social problems (henceforth: social ills), e.g. because economic...     

Is Inequality a Latent Construct? An Assessment of Economic Inequality Indicators and Their Relation with Social Cohesion in Europe

In this article, we analyse the relation between different economic inequality indicators and social cohesion. Previous research usually narrows down economic inequality to income inequality, or distinguishes several types of economic inequality. Little attention has until now been given to how different aspects of economic inequality might be related to each other and can have an effect on social cohesion. This article analyses several indicators of economic inequality and makes a distinction between indicators measuring income inequality, poverty, economic strain and unequal distributions of wealth. Arguing that these indicators represent different aspects of inequality, we hypothesise that they cannot be reduced to one latent concept of inequality and have specific relations with social cohesion. In order to test this hypothesis, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis. This resulted in two different factors: one associated with economic hardship, and one associated with imbalances in market outcomes. This would imply that inequality indicators can be classified into two underlying concepts. Secondly, we related the factor scores of the two latent concepts to the social cohesion indicators via regression analyses. This paper focuses on European countries and uses pooled data from the European Social Survey (period 2006–2012), in combination with macro-level data drawn from the OECD, Eurostat and the World Bank. The results demonstrate that the strength of the link between inequality and citizens’ attitudes depends on the type of inequality indicator we analyse: only the factor economic deprivation can be significantly linked to social cohesion.     

Population Dynamics: Poverty,Inequality, and Self-Regulating Fertility Rates

Population growth without a parallel increase in capital impoverishes any society and tends to deepen inequality. The system is dynamic because people who perceive or foresee contracting economic opportunity usually restrict family size. Worsening poverty feeds back into the loop to slow, then stop further population growth.     

Health,Quality of Homecare Services and Quality of Life: A Case of Frail Older Immigrant Adults

The theory about missing links of economic growth often lags behind the empirical estimations of such links. A consensus has emerged that ethnic fractionalization has a negative impact on growth, also when controlled for income inequality. Often, although implicitly, the assumed channel is social cohesion. We analyse the effect of fractionalization on social cohesion with a different inequality measure, namely a social measure of inequality: the Inclusion of Minorities Index. Our results indicate that it is social exclusion, which reduces social cohesion, rather than diversity as such. We conclude that future studies of social cohesion and its relation to growth may benefit from using measures of social exclusion next to ethnic diversity.     

Equity,Security and Fertility: A Reaction to Thomas

This paper assesses recent arguments that sustained fertility decline cannot occur in circumstances of inequality, insecurity, and injustice. Naturally, these conditions are to be abhorred. However, the empirical record suggests that none of them acts as an absolute barrier to mass adoption of birth control and subsequent fertility decline. Recent trends in Bangladesh illustrate this point most vividly. One of the greatest fallacies of many fertility theories has been the assumption that there is an economic or social imperative in underdeveloped countries for couples to have many children. To the contrary, the historic norm for all societies has been an average of only about two surviving children per woman, implying an adaptation to low, not high, net fertility.     

Health Implications of Socioeconomic Characteristics,Subjective Social Status,and Perceptions of Inequality: An Empirical Study of China

This study explores how health is associated with socioeconomic status, subjective social status, and perceptions of inequality simultaneously. Two health outcomes (self-reported health and psychological distress) are examined, and the subtlety of their relationships with each of the three dimensions of inequality is probed. Data used come from a nationally representative sample survey conducted in China. Several findings emerge from empirical analyses: (1) Overall, the three dimensions of social inequality are associated with self-reported health and psychological distress net of each other and other control variables; (2) among focal socioeconomic characteristics, income and Chinese Communist Party membership are significantly associated with both health outcomes, education exhibits a robust effect on self-reported health, and rural and migrant statuses are linked to less distress; (3) subjective social status in comparisons with both socially proximal and broad referents is associated with both health outcomes, and the association with downward comparisons is more salient than with upward comparisons; and (4) perceived degree and perceived sources of inequality in society show varying relationships with the two health outcomes. These findings add to our understanding of the multidimensionality and complexity of social inequality in relation to health.     

受教育程度与城镇居民收入不平等—基于基尼系数的分解研究

基于2008年中国综合社会调查的数据,本文运用基尼系数分解的方法研究城镇居民受教育程度对收入不平等的影响。基于回归的不平等分解研究发现受教育程度是导致城镇居民职业收入不平等的最主要因素。对基尼系数的亚组分解研究发现受教育程度不同的人群之闻的收入不平等对总体收入不平等的贡献率为8.65％,城镇居民职业收入不平等主要表现为各个受教育程度人群内部的收入不平等。分地区来看,中西部地区受教育程度较低的人群其组内差距的贡献率要远高于东部地区。实证研究的结果表明,提供平等的受教育机会、缩小受教育程度的不平等、加大对中西部地区义务教育的投入可以有效缩小收入不平等。     

Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien als Instrumente f��r Women��s Empowerment

This paper discusses conditions of ICT-use of women in sub-Saharan Africa with regard to possibilities for a shift of structures of social inequality and gender discrimination. In a first step, the concept of empowerment is defined. From a feminist understanding, women??s empowerment is a bottom-up process, challenging inequality, isolation and subordination of women. It entails understanding the dynamics of internalized social norms and societal structures. In a second step, the article criticizes technological determinism and reconsiders the concept of a digital divide. The concluding thesis of the paper is: Information and communication technologies (ICT) can not initiate processes of empowerment. For there to be sustainable change, women have to be agents of their own processes and grounded in their ??power within??.     

Social change,population policies,and fertility decline in Colombia and Venezuela

This paper takes a comparative case-study approach to examine the social and policy correlates of fertility decline. The analysis compares fertility behavior across a mature and young cohort of women in Colombia and Venezuela, two countries that experienced rapid demographic change under dissimilar socioeconomic and population policy conditions. Based on the distinction between birth-spacing and birth-stopping behavior the analysis tests several propositions derived from the adaptation and innovation explanations of fertility decline. Results show that fertility regulation at low parities was largely absent among mature women in both countries, representing an innovative behavior among younger women. The introduction of fertility control, however, was highly dependent on women's socioeconomic position, particularly their educational and occupational characteristics. The strong family planning programs in Colombia resulted in a more rapid extension of contraceptive use, particularly female sterilization, and stopping behavior after two children relative to Venezuela. Results highlight the diversity of conditions under which fertility can decline in developing countries and the importance of family planning and other policy initiatives to understanding the different pathways towards lower fertility.     

Educational Inequalities among Latin American Adolescents: Continuities and Changes over the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s

The goal of this paper is to examine recent trends in educational stratification for Latin American adolescents growing up in three distinct periods: the 1980s, during severe recession; the 1990s, a period of structural adjustments imposed by international organizations; and the late 2000s, when most countries in the region experienced positive and stable growth. In addition to school enrollment and educational transitions, we examine the quality of education through enrollment in private schools, an important aspect of inequality in education that most studies have neglected. We use nationally representative household survey data for the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s in Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Uruguay. Our overall findings confirm the importance of macroeconomic conditions for inequalities in educational opportunity, suggesting important benefits brought up by the favorable conditions of the 2000s. However, our findings also call attention to increasing disadvantages associated with the quality of the education adolescents receive, suggesting the significance of the EMI framework-Effectively Maintained Inequality-and highlighting the value of examining the quality in addition to the quantity of education in order to fully understand educational stratification in the Latin American context.     

Prek?rer Wohlstand und nachhaltiger Konsum

The article addresses a question that so far has been neglected in environmental sociology: How do social vulnerabilities and precarious situations affect opportunities for sustainable consumption? Firstly, I will show that both the sociology of inequality and environmental sociology have hardly made any systematic attempt to clarify the relation between the physical environment and social inequality. Subsequently, I will distinguish different dimensions in the physical use of the environment and ask whether and to what extent they are relevant to social inequality. I will then demonstrate that private households are the appropriate focus of research for a promising sociology of inequality approach to the distributive issues involved in using the environment. Finally, I propose that environmental research on sustainable consumption pay greater attention to the findings from recent research on precarization.     

居住空间、邻里交往与社会距离--基于CSS2011的城镇居民与农民社会距离的影响因素研究

利用CSS2011调查数据,探讨了当前我国城镇居民与农村居民社会距离的影响因素。研究发现：个人经济地位越高,与农民的社会距离越近,家庭经济地位与个人文化地位越高,与农民的社会距离越远;居住空间条件越好,与农民的社会距离越远;与邻居互惠性交往程度越高,与农民的社会距离越近。研究认为,在城镇现实的体制和制度环境下,以下两个方面的努力可以缩减城镇居民与农民的社会距离,提升他们对农民的心理接纳程度：一是通过制定各种政策措施,遏制并缩小目前城镇内部和城乡之间的住房不平等程度;二是创造理想的社会交往环境,促进城镇居民与包括邻居在内的社区其他居民和进城农民之间的互惠性交往。     

The Experience of Material and Emotional Hardship in Israel: Do Some Groups Cope Better than Others?

While official poverty measures tend to focus on income alone, measures of material hardship also incorporate aspects of need. Families experience material hardship when they have difficulty paying bills or buying things the household needs, such as food, medicine and medical care. The current study develops four measures of material and emotional hardship and focusses on two groups that have high risks of poverty in Israel, namely Israeli–Palestinians and Ultra-orthodox Jews—Haredim, and compares them with the non-Haredi Jewish majority. Comparing Israeli–Palestinians, Haredim and non-Haredi Jews provides an opportunity to study the intersection of poverty and group membership. Group membership may affect hardship because groups differ in living conditions, poverty histories, social networks, access to resources, and perceptions of needs. The study draws on Israel’s 2013 Social Survey, conducted by Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics (n = 7438). The findings point to substantial degrees of inequality among the disadvantaged. Although Haredim and Palestinians have similar levels of income-poverty, the study shows that the consequences of low-income in terms of deprivation and hardship are more severe among Israeli–Palestinians than among (Haredi and non-Haredi) Jews. Israeli–Palestinians experience higher levels of material and emotional hardship than Haredim after controlling for household income.