1 / 61

Photo by kind permission of Matt Stuart

Towards A More Equal Europe Richard Wilkinson Emeritus Professor of Social Epidemiology. Photo by kind permission of Matt Stuart. Income share of richest 1% in Anglo-Saxon countries 1921-2002.

lestera
Download Presentation

Photo by kind permission of Matt Stuart

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Towards A More Equal EuropeRichard Wilkinson Emeritus Professor of Social Epidemiology Photo by kind permission of Matt Stuart

  2. Income share of richest 1% in Anglo-Saxon countries 1921-2002 Source: Atkinson AB, Leigh A. (2004) Understanding the Distribution of Top Incomes in Anglo-Saxon Countries over the Twentieth Century

  3. Trade Unions membership (% workforce) and Share of Income going to top 10% (USA, 1918-2008) Colin Gordon’s analysis of Historical Statistics for the US, unionstats.com, Piketty and Saez 2003, and World Top Incomes Database. Economic Policy Institute, Washington DC.

  4. Countries with stronger Trade Unions are less unequal (data for 16 OECD countries 1966-1994) Inequality (Gini ) % of labour force in trade unions Gustafsson B, Johansson M. In search for a smoking gun: what makes income inequality vary over time in different countries? LIS Working Paper 172; 1997.

  5. Income per head and life-expectancy: rich & poor countries www.equalitytrust.org.uk 5 Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)

  6. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Life expectancy in rich countries is no longer related to National Income per head Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  7. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Life expectancy is strongly related to income within rich countries RichestPoorest Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  8. Health and social problems are worse in more unequal countries www.equalitytrust.org.uk • Index of: • Life expectancy • Math & Literacy • Infant mortality • Homicides • Imprisonment • Teenage births • Trust • Obesity • Mental illness – incl. drug & alcohol addiction • Social mobility Index of health and social problems Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  9. Neither health nor social problems are related to national income per head • Index of: • Life expectancy • Math & Literacy • Infant mortality • Homicides • Imprisonment • Teenage births • Trust • Obesity • Mental illness – incl. drug & alcohol addiction • Social mobility Index of health and social problems Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk

  10. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Child well-being is better in more equal countries Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  11. www.equalitytrust.org.uk The UNICEF Index of Child Wellbeing is not related to National Income per head Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  12. “Poverty is not a certain small amount of goods, nor is it just a relation between means and ends; above all it is a relation between people. Poverty is a social status. As such it is an invention of civilization. It has grown with civilization...as an invidious distinction between classes….” Sahlins M.. 1974

  13. Absolute and relative poverty

  14. Income inequality & bullying in 37 countries Elgar FJ, Craig W, Boyce W, Morgan A, Vella-Zarb R. Income Inequality and School Bullying: Multilevel Study of Adolescents in 37 Countries. J. Adolescent Health 2009; 45(4): 351-359 .

  15. Social fabric and inequality • Less trust • Weaker community life • More violence • More status anxiety • Stronger class identification • Less willing to help others – incl elderly & disabled • More ‘self-enhancment’

  16. Johnson SL, Leedom LJ, Muhtadie L. The Dominance Behavioral System and Psychopathology: evidence from self-report, observational, and biological studies. Psychological Bulletin. 2012; 138(4): 692-743. ABSTRACT: “We begin by describing psychological, social, and biological correlates of the Dominance Behavioral System. Extensive research suggests that externalizing disorders, mania proneness, and narcissistic traits are related to heightened dominance motivation and behaviors. Mania and narcissistic traits also appear related to inflated self-perceptions of power. Anxiety and depression are related to subordination and submissiveness, as well as a desire to avoid subordination. Models of the DBS have received support from research with humans and animals; from self-report, observational, and biological methods; and use of naturalistic and experimental paradigms.”

  17. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Mental illness is more common in more unequal societies Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  18. Depression is more common in more unequal states Percent of population depressed in past 2 weeks Income Inequality (Gini) Messias E, Eaton WW, et al. . Economic grand rounds: Income inequality and depression across the United States: an ecological study." Psychiatric Services, 2011; 62(7): 710-2.

  19. Schizophrenia is more common in more unequal countries Burns JK, Tomita A, Kapadia AS. Income inequality and schizophrenia. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 2013

  20. What kind of stressful tasks raise stress hormones most? Cortisol response(effect size) Tasks with ‘social evaluative threat’ (uncontrollable) Other tasks Dickerson SS, Kemeny ME. Acute stressors and cortisol responses. Psychological Bulletin 2004; 130(3): 355-91.

  21. In more unequal countries people abandon modestyand emphasise their achievments Loughnan S, et al. Economic Inequality is linked to biased self-perception. Psychological Science, 2011; 22: 1254

  22. Consumerism • Social and environmental costs • The social deficit

  23. Changing ratio of CEO pay to average pay of production & non-supervisory workers in top 350 US companies • Between 1979-2007 the income of the:- • Top 0.1% increased by 362% • Top 1% increased by 156% • Bottom 90% increased by17% Mishel L, Sabadish N. Economic Policy Institute Brief #331. Washington, May 2012

  24. The bonus culture • Replaces intrinsic motivation with extrinsic motivation • It increases sense of superiority, narcissism, hubris and antisocial tendencies. (300:1 pay ratios) • The interests of the rich are an obstacle to economic and social progress

  25. Extending democracy into economic life has to be our central objective. • Companies have two functions: to make the goods and services we all use, and to concentrate power and wealth. We need the first but not the second! • Economic democracy turns companies from being pieces of property into communities • More democratic companies have much smaller pay differences • They transform the experience of work – sense of purpose, self-worth, valued contribution • Employee buyouts redistribute wealth and reduce unearned income • Boards can include community and consumer representative as well as employees • More democratic companies have higher productivity (see Blasi, Freeman & Kruse 2013)

  26. Life expectancy and CO2 emissions per head Life expectancy CO2 emissions per head (tonnes) Wilkinson, Pickett, De Vogli. BMJ 2010; 341:1138-1140

  27. Source: NASA-GISS, CDIAC, NOAA ESRL

  28. Annual rise in mean sea levels Millimetres rise per year Merrifield MA, Merrifield ST, Mitchum GT. An anomalous recent acceleration of global sea level rise. J. Climate, 2009, 22, 5772–81.

  29. Working hours are longer in more unequal countries Source: Bowles S, Park Y. Economic Journal 2005; 115 (507): F397–F412. 2005.

  30. Business leaders in more equal countries give a higher priority to complying with international environmental agreements With permission from R De Vogli & D Gimeno

  31. More equal countries recycle more waste Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)

  32. …Progress… • The rich world has reached the end of the real benefits of economic growth • But sustainability is not a belt-tightening sacrifice; instead it involves raising the real Quality of Life • We can tackle the social deficit and improve the real QoL by increasing equality. • We should Increase equality by extending democracy into economic sphere. • By taking this path we will:- • Transform social relations • Transform experience of work • Raise the real QoL by meeting social needs • Achieve Sustainability

  33. Photo by kind permission of Paula Geraghty

  34. 37

  35. www.equalitytrust.org.uk • Inequality... • How much richer are the richest 20% in each country than the poorest 20%? Income gaps How many times richer are the richest fifth than the poorest fifth? Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  36. Outcomes with social gradients • Life expectancy • Math & Literacy • Infant mortality • Homicides • Imprisonment • Teenage births • Trust • Obesity • Mental illness – incl. drug & alcohol addiction • Social mobility

  37. www.equalitytrust.org.uk People in more unequal countries trust each other less Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  38. www.equalitytrust.org.uk People in more unequal states of the USA trust each other less Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  39. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Infant Mortality Rates are Higher in More Unequal Countries 42 Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)

  40. USA states Canadian provinces Homicide rates are higher in more unequal US states and Canadian provinces Daly M, Wilson M, Vasdev S. Income inequality and homicide rates in Canada and the United States. Can J Crim 2001; 43: 219-36.

  41. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Imprisonment rates are higher in more unequal countries Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  42. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Teenage Birth Rates are Higher in More Unequal Rich Countries 45 Source: Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level (2009)

  43. www.equalitytrust.org.uk Social mobility is lower in more unequal countries Wilkinson & Pickett, The Spirit Level

  44. Bigger income gaps lead to deteriorations in:- • Health • Drug abuse • Infant mortality • Life expectancy • Mental illness • Obesity • Social Relations • Child conflict • Homicide • Imprisonment • Social capital • Trust • Human Capital • Child wellbeing • High school drop outs • Math & literacy scores • Social mobility • Teenage births …but not suicide

  45. Changes in income inequality affect mortality 3-12 years later Effect of a 0.01 unit increase in Gini coefficient on deaths 1986-2006 among 701,179 respondents. (125,391 deaths) Data from U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) 1986-2004 with mortality follow-up data 1986-2006. Zheng H. Do people die from income inequality of a decade ago? Social Science & Medicine 2012; 75: 36-45.

  46. The benefits of greater equality are not confined to the poor but extend to all social classes Infant mortality by class: Sweden compared with England & Wales Leon, D. A., D. Vagero, et al. (1992). "Social class differences in infant mortality in Sweden: comparison with England and Wales." Brit Med J 305(6855): 687-91.

  47. Literacy Scores of 16-25 year olds by Parents' Education 1 0.5 Sweden 0 Literacy score Canada -0.5 -1 United States -1.5 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Parents' Education (years) 50 Source: Willms JD. 1997. Data from OECD Programme for International Student Assessment.

More Related