Global Social Policy Environment - Notes PDF

**Key Points** The key points of the research paper are: 1\. The paper provides an overview of the different perspectives and approaches used to define and measure well-being. 2\. The traditional definition of poverty looks at whether individuals have sufficient resources or abilities to meet the...

**Key Points** The key points of the research paper are: 1\. The paper provides an overview of the different perspectives and approaches used to define and measure well-being. 2\. The traditional definition of poverty looks at whether individuals have sufficient resources or abilities to meet their current needs, typically measured through comparisons to defined thresholds for attributes like income, consumption, education, or access to clean water. 3\. The paper discusses inequality in the distribution of well-being attributes across the population, with the relative position of individuals or households in society considered an important aspect of their welfare. Measures like the Gini coefficient are used to summarize the overall level of inequality. 4\. The paper also discusses alternative approaches to defining and measuring well-being, such as the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) method used in Canada, which estimates the income threshold at which families are expected to spend a larger share of their income on necessities compared to the average family. 5\. The concept of well-being is typically associated with whether individuals have sufficient resources or abilities to meet their current needs, often measured through comparisons to defined thresholds. 6\. The paper highlights the multifaceted nature of well-being and the diverse perspectives and tools used to understand and measure it, including the key concepts around poverty, inequality, and alternative approaches to defining well-being thresholds and indicators. **Summary** The research paper discusses different ways to define and measure well-being. It looks at how traditional poverty is defined based on income, consumption, education, and access to clean water. It also covers inequality and alternative methods like the Low Income Cut-Off (LICO) used in Canada. The paper emphasizes the diverse perspectives and tools used to understand and measure well-being, including poverty, inequality, and alternative approaches to defining well-being thresholds and indicators. **Notes** **🌎 Global Social Policy Environment** **Human Well-being** Human well-being encompasses various aspects, including: - Poverty - Inequality - Health status - Education status - Access to vital services (clean water, adequate housing, internet, etc.) - Disability status - Social capital - Life satisfaction and happiness **Well-being, Poverty, and Inequality** *Well-being refers to the state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy.* There are various definitions and concepts of well-being, including: - Poverty: the state of having insufficient resources or abilities to meet current needs. - Inequality: the unequal distribution of attributes across the population. **Poverty Measures** **Measure** **Description** -------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Poverty Rate The share of the population whose income or consumption is below the poverty line. Poverty Gap The distance between the poverty line and the actual income or consumption of households. Poverty Severity A measure that takes into account the distance between the poverty line and the actual income or consumption of households, as well as the inequality among the poor. Poverty Duration The length of time a household remains in poverty. Vulnerability to Poverty The likelihood of a household falling into poverty. **Low Income Cut-Offs (LICO)** *LICO is an income threshold below which a family will likely devote a larger share of its income on necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing.* - LICO was first published in 1967 and is widely recognized as a measure of low income. - The approach is based on estimating an income threshold at which families are expected to spend 20 percentage points more than the average family on necessities. **Other Measures** - Low Income Measure (LIM): used for international comparisons of poverty. - Market Basket Measure (MBM): an absolute measure based on the cost of purchasing a set basket of goods. - Basic Needs Lines (BNL): relative vs. absolute lines. **Income Distribution and Inequality** - Poverty vs. Inequality: poverty refers to a benchmark (poverty line) and how many people live below it, while inequality is concerned with the differences in income distribution between individuals, families, and groups. - Quintiles, Quartiles, and the like: represent divisions of the population into equal parts (e.g., quintiles represent one-fifth of the population). **The Gini Coefficient** *The Gini coefficient measures the degree of inequality in income or wealth distribution.* - Values range from 0 to 1, where: - 0 corresponds to perfect equality (everyone having exactly the same income). - 1 corresponds to perfect inequality (one person having all the income, while everyone else has zero income). **Globalization** *Globalization is the growing integration of international markets for goods, services, and finance.* - Main Players of Globalization: - International Monetary Fund (IMF) - World Bank - World Trade Organization (WTO) - Transnational corporations (TNCs or MNCs) - United Nations (UN) agencies - Non-government organizations (NGOs) **Consequences of Globalization** - Diminished role of the state - Prioritization of deficit reduction and tax cuts over social welfare - Weakening of civil society - Loss of stable, well-paying jobs and emergence of part-time jobs **Ideology and Welfare States** - Conservatism: emphasizes individual responsibility and limited government intervention. - Liberalism: emphasizes individual freedom and social welfare. - Social Democracy: emphasizes social welfare and government intervention. - Marxism: emphasizes class struggle and the abolition of private property. **Video: Wealth Inequality in Canada** **Notes** **Wealth Inequality in Canada 📊** **Perceived vs. Actual Wealth Distribution** A recent study asked Canadians about their ideal distribution of wealth and how they think it is actually divided. The results are shocking. **Ideal Distribution of Wealth** If we break the total population of Canada down into a representative group of 100 people, with the richest on the right and the poorest on the left, the ideal distribution of wealth would look like this: - The middle 60% of Canadians would own roughly 60% of the wealth. - The richest group would be about three times richer than the poorest Canadians, who would still own a significant share of the pie. **Perceived Actual Distribution of Wealth** Canadians think the actual distribution of wealth is more unequal than their ideal. They believe: - The richest 20% own more than half the country\'s wealth. - The bottom 20% own only a little more than 5% of the wealth. - The wealthiest 20% are about ten times richer than the poorest Canadians. **Actual Wealth Distribution** However, the reality is much worse. In 2012: - Nearly 70% of all wealth belonged to the top 20% of Canadians. - The bottom 20% owned less than 1% of the country\'s wealth. - The bottom 10% had more debt than assets. - The bottom half of all Canadians owned less than 6% of the wealth. **Wealth Group** **Percentage of Wealth Owned** ------------------ -------------------------------- Top 20% 70% Bottom 20% \