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1 – 10 of over 19000Indra Indra, Suahasil Nazara, Djoni Hartono and Sudarno Sumarto
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inequality of opportunity among Indonesian school-age children from 2002 to 2012. It focuses on the possibilities of accessing basic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the inequality of opportunity among Indonesian school-age children from 2002 to 2012. It focuses on the possibilities of accessing basic needs, such as primary education, secondary education, electricity and clean water.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used three interrelated indicators, namely, coverage access rate, dissimilarity index and human opportunity index. It also applied Shapley decomposition to measure the contributions of each determinant of inequality opportunities. These data were obtained from the National Household Survey conducted in 2002-2012.
Findings
This study revealed that the level of access to all basic needs, except clean water, was likely to increase with even distribution during the observation period. Moreover, the decomposition results showed that the education of household heads, household income and region (rural-urban) were the main contributors to the total inequality of opportunity.
Originality/value
This study on the inequality of opportunity is interesting, for it is tightly related to inequality of outcome, i.e. income, expenditure and wealth. It is arguable that the inequality of outcome, nowadays, is a reflection of the past inequality in basic opportunities. Thus, the exploration of potential inequality drivers begins to be increasingly important, as it can assist the policymakers in drawing effective policies to repress the increasing trend of future inequality.
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Willian Boschetti Adamczyk and Adelar Fochezatto
This article aims to measure inequality of income and opportunities at the national and state levels in Brazil, highlighting their acceptable and unacceptable components.
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims to measure inequality of income and opportunities at the national and state levels in Brazil, highlighting their acceptable and unacceptable components.
Design/methodology/approach
To this end, a lower-bound estimate of income inequality (MLD) and inequality of opportunity (IOp) was developed using data from the National Household Sample Survey between 2001 and 2014.
Findings
It shows that the disparity of income measured by the MLD decreased 26.7 percent, while IOp measured by the IOp decreased 25.6 percent during that period. The decline in total inequality can be attributed to a 48.5 percent decrease of its unfair component and 51.5 percent decrease of its fair component. The average income of the most disadvantaged group (non-white women working in the informal sector) is shown to be only 29.5 percent of the income of the most advantaged group (formally employed white men). The groups at the greatest disadvantage were most benefited by the increase in income.
Originality/value
Beyond comparisons among countries, analysis at the subnational level make it possible to identify how the process that generates inequality acts in each state, revealing patterns undetected in the aggregate analysis. Its decomposition generates two products that are useful to policy-makers. The first is a base estimate of the degree of IOp present in society, which may be expressed as an indicator of the degree of IOp. The second examines the portion of total inequality attributable to IOp.
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The purpose of this paper is to evaluate opportunities for early childhood development (ECD) regarding children’s prenatal care, access to nutrition, health, parental care and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate opportunities for early childhood development (ECD) regarding children’s prenatal care, access to nutrition, health, parental care and cognitive-developmental activities, in 33 surveys from 13 countries. A total of 15 indicators for children’s opportunities are assessed including their typical level, inequality across demographic groups, and factors responsible.
Design/methodology/approach
Probability regressions estimate the effects of various household circumstances on children’s engagement in development opportunities. Dissimilarity indexes and human opportunity indexes are computed for each ECD dimension. To understand the impact of each household characteristic, Shorrocks-Shapley decomposition is performed.
Findings
ECD opportunities are poor but improving and becoming more equal across many countries. Progress is uneven. As may be expected, household wealth affects inequality for ECD opportunities facilitated by markets or governments, but not non-market opportunities. For preventive healthcare and preschool enrollment, access is deteriorating, reflecting low priority given to them in public policy. Children’s height falls behind in the first two years of children’s life, suggesting the need for targeted institutional interventions. Surprisingly, countries experiencing uprisings see conditions improving, while other Arab countries see them stagnating or deteriorating.
Originality/value
Local and national policy should tackle the identified opportunity gaps. Policymakers should allocate proper investment in medical and educational infrastructure and better coordinate support for disadvantaged families to ensure proper prenatal and ECD. International organizations should provide assistance with these programs.
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Hyun Kyung Lee and Hyeok Yong Kwon
The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how the individual perceptions on income inequality and the inequality of opportunities affect two different modes of political…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore whether and how the individual perceptions on income inequality and the inequality of opportunities affect two different modes of political participation, institutional and non-institutional, in South Korea.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper analyzes the Korean General Social Survey 2009 and 2014 and estimates logit and OLS models.
Findings
The authors find that neither the perceived inequality of income distribution nor the perceived inequality of opportunities affects the likelihood of individuals’ vote participation. The authors, however, find that the perceptions of inequality, both in terms of outcomes and opportunities affect citizens’ engagement in non-institutional forms of political participation.
Originality/value
This study provides a new discussion point about the political consequences of inequality in Korea. This paper distinguishes and analyzes the relative importance of perceived inequality of the outcomes and opportunities in democratic engagements. By considering various types of participation, institutional and non-institutional, this study contributes to deepen our understanding of the factors that drive citizens’ democratic political engagements.
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Srinivas Goli, Nagendra Kumar Maurya and Manoj Kumar Sharma
A continuous mixed opinion on the relevance of caste-based reservations and caste as a factor of socioeconomic disparity in the recent period demands update of evidence on…
Abstract
Purpose
A continuous mixed opinion on the relevance of caste-based reservations and caste as a factor of socioeconomic disparity in the recent period demands update of evidence on socioeconomic inequalities among caste groups for effective policy making. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether the caste inequalities in terms of socioeconomic opportunities and poverty are still persisting in rural Uttar Pradesh based on village census surveys?
Design/methodology/approach
This study used data primarily collected from four village census surveys under the project rural transformation in Uttar Pradesh, 2013. Bivariate analyses, human opportunity index (HOI), multidimensional poverty index (MPI) and inequality decomposition analyses used as methods of analyses.
Findings
The authors findings suggest that in spite of more than six decades of welfare policies and major political mobilization movements among lower castes in the state, the huge inequalities in terms of critical socioeconomic indicators such as landholding, higher education and wealth distribution and multi-dimensional poverty across the castes are still persisting in the state. Decomposition results suggest that between group inequalities contribute more to the total inequality in landholding whereas within group inequalities contribute maximum to total inequality in education and wealth status of different castes in rural Uttar Pradesh. However, within inequalities much less in general castes compared to SCs/OBCs.
Originality/value
Based on its latest empirical evidence, this study strengthens the argument that caste still matters in socioeconomic achievements of the population in India even after decades of planning and financing of social welfare schemes to uplift the lower castes in India. Thus, provides critical inputs to current debates on the relevance of caste as a determinant of socioeconomic status in India.
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The purpose of this paper is to apply a spatial approach to organizational inequality to explore why unequal opportunity structures persist in an organization despite its…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to apply a spatial approach to organizational inequality to explore why unequal opportunity structures persist in an organization despite its commitment to diversity and employing highly skilled ethnic minority employees.
Design/methodology/approach
The (re)production of inequality is explored by linking research on organizational space with HRM diversity management. Data from an ethnographic study undertaken in a Danish municipal center illustrates how a substructure of inequality is spatially upheld alongside a formal diversity policy. Archer’s distinction between structure and agency informs the analysis of how minority agency not only reproduces but also challenges organizational opportunity structures.
Findings
The analysis demonstrates how substructures of inequality stabilize in spatial routines enacted in an ethnic zoning of the workplace and ethnification of job categories. However, the same spatial structures allows for a variety of opposition and conciliation strategies among minority employees, even though the latter tend to prevail in a reproduction rather than a transformation of the organizational opportunity structures.
Research limitations/implications
The reliance on a single case study restricts the generalizability of the findings but highlights fruitful areas for future research.
Practical implications
The study sensitizes HRM practitioners to the situated quality of workplace diversity and to develop a broader scope of HRM practices to address the more subtle, spatially embedded forms of inequality.
Originality/value
Theoretical and empirical connections between research on organizational space and HRM diversity management have thus far not been systematically studied. This combination might advance knowledge on the persistence of micro-inequality even in organizations formally committed to diversity.
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The purpose of this paper is to explain the difference between social inequality and identity.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explain the difference between social inequality and identity.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a conceptual view.
Findings
The paper notes that the concepts are often confused, as in arguments that equality is impossible because everyone is different. It is pointed out that equality and inequality are not opposites; that equality is simply the zero point on the infinite range of inequality. The existence of inequality depends on socially recognised difference. The difference may often be simply a basis for socially imposed inequalities, as with ethnicity and gender, or it may be a real cause of inequality as with health differences. Nine important inter‐related bases of inequality are considered. Equality does not require zero inequality on all aspects but merely a balance of inequalities. However, the complexity means it is difficult to define or recognise total equality. The nearest would be that all individuals are regarded and treated as equally important. The zero point of inequality may be unattainable, but the real issue is the actual extent of inequality, which could be very substantially reduced.
Originality/value
This original paper is of value in correcting some misconceptions and improving understanding of an important subject.
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Rumiana Stoilova and Petya Ilieva-Trichkova
The focus of this article is on gender justice with respect to opportunities (educational) and outcome (earnings). The main research question is whether educational opportunities…
Abstract
Purpose
The focus of this article is on gender justice with respect to opportunities (educational) and outcome (earnings). The main research question is whether educational opportunities are positively converted into fairness of income, and for whom and where this is the case. The importance of this study lies in the understanding that the subjective feeling of justice is a significant measure of quality of life, of the individual's subjective feeling of happiness and of the fulfilment of the goals people have reason to value.
Design/methodology/approach
The study takes a micro-macro approach, combining macro-level data taken from official statistics and micro-data from the 2018 European Social Survey for 25 European countries; the authors also apply multilevel modelling to the data analysis.
Findings
At individual level the authors found gender differences in the associations between education and fairness of educational opportunities. With regard to the scope of fairness, the authors emphasise that fairness of educational opportunities and net pay in European countries is less likely to be felt by someone who has a lower educational level. Higher educational expenditures are positively correlated with fairness of educational opportunities but not with fairness of net pay.
Originality/value
This article contributes to theoretical, empirical and policy-relevant gender justice research on the link between inequalities and justice perceptions. The authors have expanded the theoretical understanding of the concept of gender justice by taking into account the role of a specific gender norm on fairness perceptions. The norm, when asked about in a gender-neutral way, is not associated with fairness of pay, but when posed as a question specifically to women, has a negative relationship with perceptions of fair pay. The empirical contribution consists in the evaluation of individual and country mechanisms from a gender justice perspective. The policy contribution consists in questioning the belief that longer paid maternity leave is beneficial for women. In countries with long paid leave available to mothers, women reported even lower levels of fairness of net pay than men.
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Marco Guerci, Sven Hauff, Nazareno Panichella and Giovanni Radaelli
This paper points out that common human resource manageement (HRM) research and practice have overlooked employee's class of origin. Workers' class of origin can be seen as “the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper points out that common human resource manageement (HRM) research and practice have overlooked employee's class of origin. Workers' class of origin can be seen as “the elephant in the room” in current HRM, being that it significantly affects organizational decision-making with negative social (increased class-based inequality) and organizational (inefficient allocation of human re-sources) effects.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper summarizes the partial, fragmented and multi-disciplinary literature on HRM and employees’ social class of origin.
Findings
The paper shows how recruiting, selection, training and development practices systematically reinforce class-based inequality by providing high-class employees with more resources and opportunities compared to low-class employees.
Practical implications
The paper provides sustainable HR practitioners, educators and researchers with recommendations on how to address employees' social class of origin, improving organizational competitive advantage and reducing class-based inequality at the societal level.
Originality/value
The paper focuses on a topic which, in diversity management, is an elephant in the room (i.e. workers social class of origin).
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The purpose of this study is to explore and compare the perceptions of workers in the tourism industry in Thailand in foreign-owned and locally owned firms to provide an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore and compare the perceptions of workers in the tourism industry in Thailand in foreign-owned and locally owned firms to provide an underrepresented perspective in the debate over whether international trade and tourism primarily exploits workers or provides valuable opportunities.
Design/methodology/approach
A matched-pairs comparative analysis was used.
Findings
Workers at foreign-owned companies showed slightly, although statistically insignificant, more positive attitudes toward tourism as a means of creating opportunities for themselves. Workers in foreign-owned companies showed a statistically significant more positive attitude toward the impact of tourism on the country. It appears the vast majority of the workers interviewed did not feel exploited, but empowered by opportunities to engage in employment in the tourism industry.
Research limitations/implications
The use of self-reported measures has been acknowledged to be problematic and the size and composition of the sample limit the ability to generalize the findings to a broader population.
Practical implications
Understanding the perspectives of the workers in an industry can be useful in policy development and implementing corporate social responsibility programs. The results suggest workers would support programs which encourage increases in tourism and foreign investment in the industry. Social implications reflect the perceptions of an under-represented segment of society.
Originality/value
The intention is to help bring into the debate the perspectives of individuals who are most directly affected by these activities.
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