Prelims

Half Title

SDG10 – Reduce Inequality Within and Among Countries

Concise Guides to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Series Editors

Walter Leal Filho

World Sustainable Development Research and Transfer Centre, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences

Mark Mifsud

Centre for Environmental Education and Research, University of Malta

This series comprises 17 short books, each examining one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The series provides an integrated assessment of the SDGs from an economic, social, environmental and cultural perspective. Books in the series critically analyse and assess the SDGs from a multi-disciplinary and a multi-regional standpoint, with each title demonstrating innovation in theoretical and empirical analysis, methodology and application of the SDG concerned.

Titles in this series have a particular focus on the means to implement the SDGs, and each one includes a short introduction to the SDG in question along with a synopsis of their implications on the economic, social, environmental and cultural domains.

Title Page

SDG10 – Reduce Inequality Within and Among Countries

Umesh Chandra Pandey

Indira Gandhi National Open University, India

Chhabi Kumar

Rani Durgavati University, India

Martin Ayanore

University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana

Hany R. Shalaby

Independent Researcher and Consultant, Egypt

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2020

© 2020 Umesh Chandra Pandey, Chhabi Kumar, Martin Ayanore, Hany R Shalaby

Published under an exclusive license by Emerald Publishing Limited.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-78769-984-7 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-78769-981-6 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-78769-983-0 (Epub)

Contents

List of Figures

About the Authors

Umesh Chandra Pandey holds an M.Phil. in Environmental Science and PhD in Physics. Presently, he works as Regional Director of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) at Bhopal (India).During nearly three decades of professional career, he has performed several academic and administrative responsibilities in IGNOU where he joined initially as Lecturer in Physics in 1990 and subsequently rose to the level of Dy Director and Regional Director. He also worked as Director (Knowledge Management) in School of Good Governance and Policy Analysis (Bhopal, India), where he significantly contributed to the identification, compilation and dissemination of best practices in governance.His current research interests include the Open & Distance Learning and Sustainable Development.

Chhabi Kumar has done her Masters in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, with specialization in Family and Child Welfare. She has experience of working in a wide variety of agencies / institutions spanning around thirteen years, which includes special school, reproductive and child health setting, issue of community health and sanitation. She worked as a Senior Research Fellow with Rani Durgavati University (RDVV), Jabalpur and completed her Doctorate in Social Work from the same university. Her research interests include issues in Higher Education, Open and Distance Learning System of education, sustainable development, gender issues among others. Currently, she is working with the Department of Sociology and Social Work, RDVV, Jabalpur.

Dr. Martin Amogre Ayanore is a health economist and health policy/health systems Researcher. Dr Ayanore has worked previously areas related health and nutrition, food security, and water sanitation &hygiene (WASH) in Africa. He has strong skills in research and development, with over a decade of experience in projects design, implementation and evaluation. Dr Ayanore has been a visiting professor to Queen’s University, Canada; a two-time John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health fall fellow;a visitingresearch scientist to the Royal College of Physician of Ireland, Dublin, and, a onetime recipient of the American Society of Tropical Medicine Travel awards. Dr Ayanore lectures at the School of Public Health, University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ghana. He is actively engaged in teaching and research. His research interest spanshealth economics, community health and its determinants, Health Technology Assessment, health financing, Universal Health Coverage, care, maternal and child health and healthy ageing in lower middle income countries.Dr Ayanore is a co-founder of the Centre for Health Policy AdvocacyInnovation& Research in Africa (CHPAIR-Africa), a research think tank based in Accra, Ghana. His also a member, Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTMH), UK, member of WHO Health Financing Technical Network (HFTN Main Community), and collaborator to the Global Burden of Disease Network, University of Washington, USA.

Dr. Hany Shalaby has built a 20 -year career with Climate and Environmental Resources, the World Bank and the African Development Bank and currently as an International Development and Adaptation Consultant with IFAD, UNEP, and through international consortia, with the EU, the Adaptation Fund (AF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) around promoting sustainable development and harnessing knowledge, smart communication, tools, and information technology solutions for scalable green, impact investments and climate finance.He is currently focusing on broker-aging knowledge, initiatives, programs, and projects; bringing tools, technology, and information systems to the emerging and developing world, to the SS and North African ministries of environment and climate change, and particularly to the vulnerable and marginalized communities; disseminating Safeguards, Fiduciary elements and Sustainability Standards and streamlining green reporting (monitoring and evaluation) structures while mainstreaming green growth into economic and climate financial planning in selected countries.Dr. Shalaby is committed to amplifying the transformational and paradigm shift changes of strategies, programs,  projects, adaptation and mitigation practices and action plans and maximizing the development impact of energy, water, land, and ecosystem (natural,productive, and built) findings, through safeguarding, governance, and gender mainstreaming, stakeholder’s engagement and institutional strengthening, and better targeting, capacity building, promotion, and communication of research, education, entrepreneurship, insights and knowledge.

Preface

Throughout human history people have considered the reduction of inequality to be moral obligation. However, beyond being an ethical issue, the fight against inequality also promotes economic and social cohesion, the health of the population and democracy. The last few decades have seen unprecedented levels of inequality, which seriously impinge upon the socioeconomic fabric of society and jeopardise the sustainability of our planet. There is widespread acceptance that extreme inequalities harm every part of society and hinder the functioning of the economy because the productive potential of people living in poverty is under-utilised. Further, a high level of inequality tend to reduce worker’s productivity (as cited in SDG Watch Europe., 2018).

According to the latest Oxfam report, published in January 2018 before the Davos summit, 82 per cent of the world’s wealth created in 2017 went to the richest 1 per cent, while the income of half of the world’s population stagnated (Oxfam International, 2018). The report also pointed out that the number of billionaires had the highest increase in 2017, adding a new billionaire every other day. This report is revealing and shows the depth of inequality that we face today as a global community.

This book attempts to present the multi-faceted and multi-dimensional challenges of inequalities faced within and among countries. The situation is dynamically evolving and poses a defining challenge of our times. Inequalities directly or indirectly affect everyone and are often driven by social, cultural, ethnic, economic and political factors. It is now being increasingly recognised that inequalities are a serious threat for sustainable development. The post-Millennium Development Goal (MDG) development agenda of the United Nations included ‘Reducing Inequalities’ as a priority. Reducing inequality within and among countries, therefore, becomes a necessity rather than a choice. The complex nature of the problem makes the realisation of an equitable society a formidable challenge for the global community. It has become clear that no single policy change, group, organisation or government alone can reduce inequality. Efforts and strategies that work require broad stakeholder consensus, building support among multiple stakeholders. In addition, there is a clear call for countries to embrace inclusive and sustainable development practices that will not roll back the successes already made in advancing human growth and development.

The challenge of inequality not only affects individuals and economies, but has a wider implication for the environment and the current phenomenon of climate change (Boyce, 1994, p. 1). The degrading environment further aggravates inequalities as poor people are the principal victims of such environmental degradation. This scenario can jeopardise efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and initiate a vicious circle of widening the gaps between individuals, communities and countries as a whole (Boyce, 1994, p. 176). Apart from economic inequalities, those arising out of social factors like gender, age, disability, migrant or indigenous status, caste, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc., influence the level of access to productive assets, health and educational status which ultimately creates further inequalities. An individual’s capacity to confront these factors, which breed inequalities and limit chances of success, is significantly conditioned by group ascription. Disadvantaged social groups are often vulnerable due to their place of residence, lack of social capital or discrimination. Such groups receive lesser returns on investments as they have unequal access to resources. This adversely affects their well-being, diminishes their capacity to participate and ultimately prevents them from benefitting from development. It is therefore absolutely vital to address these group inequalities, the identities which form such groups, and understand how they interact with public institutions and the labour market. An effective course of intervention requires a multi-stakeholder approach at various levels, covering several dimensions. A strong commitment from national governments, along with sustained and well-coordinated policy implementations, would go a long way to addressing the current and future challenges of inequality.

This book provides an overview of the underlying driving factors, various manifestations and existing status of inequalities around the world. It explores the complex nature of various forms of inequality and the impact of this phenomenon on the realisation of the SDGs. It is divided into seven chapters. The first chapter introduces the concept of inequality and its major influence on economic growth, poverty reduction, social and economic stability and the sustainable development of any country. Furthermore, it illustrates the concerns related to the global rise in inequality across various dimensions and the repercussions for realising the sustainable development agenda. The second chapter focusses on explaining the conceptual framework of inequality and the philosophical, economic and sociological understanding of this complex phenomenon. A brief overview of prevalent inequalities in terms of opportunities, capabilities, consumption, income, liberty, security, participation, ownership and intergenerational transmission is also given. The third chapter describes the prevailing trends in inequalities across developing, middle income and developed countries. A comparative discussion on the variations and emerging trends based on the context and different situations within and across countries is made in order to develop an understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in, and influencing its manifestation. The fourth chapter highlights the major challenges faced by individuals, communities and countries as a result of the existing gaps in various dimensions of life and their impact on the sustainability of the development process. The fifth chapter describes the types and drivers of inequalities, outlining the various types of inequalities existing within and across countries and the different impacts they have on different individuals and communities in terms of further marginalisation and widening of existing gaps. The sixth chapter outlines the multi-dimensional implications of inequality on economic, social and environmental dimensions and their defining influence on the realisation of the global development pathway of SDGs as mandated by the United Nations, outlining its interrelationship and interdependence with all the other goals. The seventh chapter brings out the urgent need to make a coordinated and concerted effort to introduce various context specific measures and policy interventions in order to cover existing gaps.

Umesh Chandra Pandey, Chhabi Kumar, Martin Ayanore and Hany R. Shalaby