Wilkinson Riots Oct 2011.ppt

8/14/2019 Wilkinson Riots Oct 2011.ppt

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Is there such a thing as the BigSociety?

or

Inequality: the enemy between us.

Richard Wilkinson

Emeritus Professor of Social Epidemiology



A society near breaking point

- if not broken

Compared to other rich countries,

the UK has:-

•High prison populations

• High teenbirth rates

• High mental illness

• Low trust• Low child wellbeing

• High child conflict





70

71

72

73

74

75

76

77

78

79

80

Local Neighbourhoods

(in England & Wales)

L i f e

e x p e c t a n c y

( y e a r s )

Richest Poorest

Wilkinso n & Pickett, The Spir i t Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk

Life expectancy is strongly related to

income with in rich countries



3.7 3.9 4.3 4.6 4.8

5.2 5.3 5.6 5.6 5.6 5.7 6.1 6.2 6.7 6.8 6.8

7.2

8.5

9.7

4.0

8.0

7.0

3.4

J a p a

n

F i n l a

n d

N o r w

a y

S w e d e n

D e n m a r k

B e l g i u m

A u s t r i a

G e r m a n y

N e t h e

r l a n d s

S p a i n

F r a n c e

C a n a d a

S w i z t e r l a

n d

I r e l a n d

G r e e c e

I t a l y

I s r a e l

N e w

Z e a l a

n d

A u s t r a l i a

U K

P o r t u g a l

U S A

S i n

g a p o r e

Income gaps

How many times richer

are the richest fifth than

the poorest fifth?

Wilkinso n & Pickett, The Spir i t Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk

Inequality...

How much richer are the richest 20% in

each country than the poorest 20%?



Wilkinso n & Pickett, The Spir i t Level

Index of:

• Life expectancy

• Math & Literacy

• Infant mortality

• Homicides

• Imprisonment• Teenage births

• Trust

• Obesity

• Mental illness

– incl. drug &

alcoholaddiction

• Social mobility

www.equalitytrust.org.uk

Health and social problems are worse

in more unequal countries

I n d e x o

f h e a l t h a n d s o c

i a l p r o b l e m s


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/wilkinson-riots-oct-2011ppt 7/25www.equalitytrust.org.ukWilkinso n & Pickett, The Spir i t Level

Child well-being is better in more equal countries



Child wellbeing is better in more equal US states – but

higher average income doesn’t make much difference



The UNICEF Index of Child Wellbeing is not

related to National Income per head


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/wilkinson-riots-oct-2011ppt 10/25Wilkinso n & Pickett, The Spir i t Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk

People in more unequal countries

trust each other less


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/wilkinson-riots-oct-2011ppt 11/25Wilkinso n & Pickett, The Spir i t Level www.equalitytrust.org.uk

People in more unequal states of

the USA trust each other less



Source: RD Putnam. Bowling Alone. Simon & Schuster 2000. (p.361)

Social capital is higher where incomes are more equal



0

30

60

90

120

150

180

Income Inequality

H

o m i c i d e s p e r m i l l i o n p e o p l e

Low High

Daly M, Wilson M, Vasdev S. Income inequality and homicide rates in Canada and the United States. Can J Crim 2001; 43: 219-36.

Homicide rates are higher in more unequal

US states and Canadian provinces

USA states

Canadian provinces



Imprisonment rates are higher in

more unequal countries



Child outcomes linked to inequality:

• Juvenile violence

• Juvenile obesity

•

Infant mortality• Child conflict

• Poor educational performance

• Teenage births



Child conflict & Inequality: rich countries11, 13 & 15 yr olds fighting, bullying, peers not kind & helpful

Pickett & Wilkinson. Child Well-Being & Income Inequality. BMJ 2007; 335: 1080-86.

Data from WHO, Health Behaviour in Scho ol-age Chi ldren study , 2001.



Income inequality & bullying in 37 countries (r = .61)

From: FJ Elgar, Carlton Univ, Canada. Social Science & Medicine, forthcoming



Source: Wilkinson and Pickett. Lancet 2006; 367:1126-8. Data from: OECD

(2004), Learning for Tomorrow’s World: first results for PISA 2003.

Maths & Literacy scores and Income Inequality



Social mobility is lower in more unequal countries



Australia

Austria

Belgium Canada

Denmark

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Israel

Italy

Japan

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Portugal

Spain

Sweden

UK

USA

Worse

Better

0 10 20 30Lone parents as % of all households with dependent children

Single parents and child wellbeing



The effects of inequality - a two stage process

1. adult experience of inequality

2. passed on to children – epigenetics?





Charlesworth SJ. The Phenomenology of Workingclass Life. CUP

2000. p.206-7

“It's just gettin' worse an' worse round here. Rotherham's just dog

rough now, it's fuckin' dog rough man. All you get…is people eyein' yerall time and a lot of 'em aren't hard at all, 'cos hard doesn't have to

bother. …who wants to live with every time yer go out of the door some

fucker’s lookin' at yer? There's this bloke on our street…, parks his

(car) there and he eyes me out all time. One of these days his goin’ t’

catch me in a bad mood and I'm gunna …ask him what his problem is.

… There's something wrong with 'em, they're not right in the head.

There's just more and more fuckin' weirdo's about. You’ve got to keep

yourself fit an' strong, and you’ve fuckin' got to be able to fight because

more an' more now it's comin' down to that 'cos it's the only thing these

wankers respect. I mean if they know yer 'andy and they know you've

got hard friends – John’s popular just cos he's fuckin' hard, he’s

respected and it's all there is for us now. They walk past yer and they

stare at yer and first to look away is the weaker one and once they see

you as weak, then you’re a target to 'em. Unless they know you've got

heavy friends. … It's fuckin' rough.”



Trends in income inequality 1979-2005/6

(Gini coefficient, Great Britain.)

Brewer M, Goodman A, Muriel A, Sibieta L. Poverty and

Inequality in the UK: 2007. Institute of Fiscal Studies, London.



25

Richard WilkinsonEmeritus Professor of

Social Epidemiology

University of Nottingham

&

Kate Pickett

Professor of EpidemiologyUniversity of York

Documents

Wilkinson Riots Oct 2011.ppt