1. Jonathan Bradshaw William Temple Association York 18 November 2018
Inequality gets to us
Jonathan Bradshaw
William Temple Association
York
18 November 2018

2. Outline How do we measure inequality Trends in inequality
Impact of inequality on society Pickett and Wilkinson
The Spirit Level
The Inner Level
Impact of redistribution
Impact of austerity

3. Lorenz curve – gini coefficient
Percentage of income
50%
30%
50%
Percentage of population

4. Trends in inequality 1961-2016/17

5. Shares of total gross income received by the top 20% and the bottom 40% 1977-2016/17.

6. Inequality in the OECD

7. Why does inequality matter
Social justice arguments - Rawls
Associated with poor outcomes

8. The Spirit Level
Income inequality is linked to a wide range of health and social problems
The effects are large – there are big differences between societies
Not only the poor are affected, inequality affects the whole population

10. Inequality and infant deaths

11. Inequality and crime

12. Inequality and child well-being

13. The Inner Level shows:
How income inequality strengthens the grip of class and status
How popular myths about human nature and capabilities are used to justify inequality
How we can tackle inequality and why it is vital we do so if we are to make the transition to sustainable wellbeing

14. Pyschology Social anxieties Feelings of self worth
Doubt, lack of self esteem, confidence
Withdrawal from social engagement
Depression, suicide
Reinforced by class and status
Delusions of grandeur of the better off
Justified by myths about meritocracy and genetics
Reinforced by consumption
Income inequality at the heart of it all

15. There is more mental illness in unequal societies

17. There is more depression…
Redrawn from data in: Messias E, Eaton WW, Grooms AN. Economic grand rounds: Income inequality and depression prevalence across the United States: an ecological study. Psychiatric Services. 2011;62(7):

18. …and more schizophrenia
Burns JK, et al.. Int J Soc Psychiatry, 2013; 60(2), 185–96.

20. More people exaggerate their self-importance…
Redrawn from data kindly provided by Peter Kuppens and Steve Loughnan et al . Economic inequality is linked to biased self-perception. Psychological science. 2011;22(10):

21. ….and become more narcissistic
College students’ Narcissistic Personality Inventory scores over time reflect the rise in US income inequality

22. There is more advertising in more unequal countries

23. Conspicuous consumption

25. Money and consumerism become more important
Redrawn from data kindly provided by Iacoviello M. Household Debt and Income Inequality, 1963–2003. Journal of Money, Credit and Banking. 2008;40(5):

26. Addictive behaviour increases: e.g., gambling

27. Inequality increases anxieties about status
Redrawn from data kindly provided by Richard Layte: Layte R, Whelan C. Who feels inferior? A test of the status anxiety hypothesis of social inequalities in health. European Sociological Review. 2014;30:

28. From inequality to insecure self-worth and mental illness
Income inequality
Decline in community life
Social evaluative threat, challenge to self-worth
Anxiety
consumerism
alcohol
drugs
Narcissism
Sociopathy
Psychoses
Schizophrenia
Low self-esteem, depression

29. Drivers of inequality The primary distribution of income and wealth
Especially recently what has been happening to top salaries.
This is mitigated by redistribution
Vertical, horizontal, gender, spatial, lifecycle, generational
Redistribution not very progressive

30. 2016-2017 Non retired households with children % of gross income paid in tax

31. Gini coefficients for the distribution of income at each stage of the tax-benefit system for all households, /17, UK Table 6

32. Summary of the effects of taxes and benefits on ALL households by quintile group, 2016/17

33. Combined impact of tax and welfare reforms as percentage of net household income according to family type Reed, H. and Portes, J. (2014) Cumulative Impact Assessment. A research report by Landman Economics and the National Institute of Economic and Social Research for the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Research report 94.

34. Austerity impact on children
£37 billion per year taken out of social security spending since 2010/11
Much of it given away in tax cuts
Losses mainly concentrated on children
Poverty rates and poverty gaps both increasing rapidly
Many outcomes already deteriorating: infant mortality, child homelessness, children in care, child mental health, child subjective well-being…
Much more to come – two child limit, benefit cap, roll-out of UC
Please read the UN Special Rapporteurs’s report published two days ago. Devastating!!!