Polarising Societies? Diverging Patterns of Income and Wealth

1. Polarising Societies? Diverging Patterns of Income and Wealth

2. Web address for information on poverty and deprivation in Bristol http://www.bristol-city.gov.uk/ccm/content/Council-Democracy/Statistics-Census-Information/deprivation.en

3. Globalization is more than a flow of money and commodities-it is the growing interdependence of the world`s peoples through shrinking space, shrinking times and disappearing borders. This offers great opportunities for enriching people`s lives and creating a global community based on shared values. But markets have been allowed to dominate the process and the benefits and opportunities have not been shared equally. (United Nations Human Development Report, 1999) Globalization and Inequality

4. During the second wave of globalization the rich countries diverged from the poor countries, a trend that persisted for a century. During the third wave the new globalizers have started to catch up with the rich countries, while the weak globalizers are falling further behind (World Bank-Poverty: Building an Inclusive World Economy) The main single cause of increases in poverty and inequality during the 1980s and 1990s was the retreat of the state (UN-Habitat, 2003)

5. On current trends 827 million people will be living in extreme poverty by 2015 The 24 countries at the bottom of the development rankings are all in Africa Over the last 20 years, 53 of the 73 countries for which data are available have recorded increased income inequalities 45 million US citizens had no basic health insurance in 2003 United Nations Human Development Report, 2005)

6. Even in the fastest-growing region in China, the Pearl River Delta, there was no increase in the real wages of unskilled labour during the whole of the 1990s. In other words, China`s emerging middle class, those who can afford to buy automobiles, will remain a ‘besieged’ minority among a sea of urban poor, who vastly outnumber them: the twenty-first century meet the eighteenth century at the window of Starbucks (Nolan, 2005)

7. One version emphasises decline of middle income jobs and expansion of high and low paid employment Associated with decline of manufacturing activity and service sector growth But …… need to think in terms of households rather than individuals need to think of growing inequalities within and between societies and in terms such as ‘knowledge rich’ and ‘knowledge poor’ Social polarization?

8. Dynamic global cities with bimodal labour markets Distinct employment patterns producing sharply divergent patterns of income and wealth Low paid service class to serve needs of professional elite/international tourists. Manufacturing activity may involve low paid, usually female labour, in informal sweatshop type conditions Polarised cities?

9. Ownership of residential property increasingly important in shaping the global landscape of opportunity and disadvantage For example, housing equity fuelled spending accounting for some two-thirds of US GDP growth in 2000-2003 (Brenner,2004) “It is almost certain that slum dwellers increased substantially during the 1990s. It is further projected that in the next 30 years, the global number of slum dwellers will increase to about 2 billion, if no firm concrete action is taken” (UNHSP) Inequalities and Housing

10. Income inequalities (after tax) appear to have increased slightly since 1997 The richest have got richer-richest 1 per cent share of income increased from 6.7% in 1981 to 13% in 1999 Wealth distribution more unequal than income distribution and is widening-wealthiest 10% share up from 47 to 54% over last decade Major regional inequalities remain Serious inequalities between neighbourhoods within cities Trends in the UK-Source: State of the Nation, IPPR,2005

11. Work rich and work poor householdsin the UK (Source:Williams and Windebank, 2005)

12. Source: Social Trends, 36,2006

13. Policy concerns with social cohesion and social conflict Ethnic dimensions Divergent opportunities between well education and less well educated Spatial inequality and rise of ‘gated’ communities Digital divides Financial exclusion So what?