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Professor Richard Wilkinson will be outlining the compelling evidence showing that large income inequalities within societies harm the social fabric and quality of life for everyone and asking, How ought we to act on this, and where will we find the remedies to these problems?
Great inequality is the scourge of modern societies. We provide the evidence on each of eleven different health and social problems: physical health, mental health, drug abuse, education, imprisonment, obesity, social mobility, trust and community life, violence, teenage births, and child well-being. For all eleven of these health and social problems, outcomes are very substantially worse in more unequal societies.
We have checked the relationships wherever possible in two independent test beds: internationally among the rich countries, and then again among the 50 states of the USA. In almost every case we find the same tendency for outcomes to be much worse in more unequal societies in both settings.
We also present evidence on four other important issues. One is how achieving greater equality within the rich countries may contribute to tackling the inequalities between rich and poor countries. Another is a discussion of both the compatibility and relative merits of greater equality and economic growth as sources of improvements in the quality of life among rich countries. There is a page discussing how greater equality may contribute to policies designed to tackle global warming, and lastly, a page (The Remedies) pointing out that there are many different ways of increasing equality in our societies.
The data we use comes from the most respected international sources including The World Bank, World Health Organisation, United Nations, UNICEF, and US Census Bureau. Much of this work has already been published in peer reviewed academic journals, and some of the relationships have been tested many times by different research groups using data for different societies.
http://www.equalitytrust.org.uk/why/evidence
Speaker(s): |
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Date and Time: |
31 January 2010 at 11:00 am |
Duration: | 2 hours |
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Venue: |
Conway Hall |
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Tickets: |
Free |
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Additional Information: |
What the press say about 'The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better' “A compass to rebuild our societies…..a shining vision†"Brave and imaginative ...a far-reaching analysis" "Has been making policy waves on both sides of the Atlantic" “Social status hierarchies are literally lethal†“A ground-breaking work and one that deserves the widest possible readership†“Compelling and shocking. All free marketers should be made to memorize it from cover to cover†“It’s impossible to overstate the implications of (this) thesis ...brave ...transformative ...its conclusion is simple: we do better when we're equal†“A remarkable new book ...the implications are profound†“….might be the most important book of the year†“In these gloomy times – this work should cheer you up no end†“This is a book with a big idea, big enough to change political thinking†“A powerful argument†“Graph after graph demonstrates cause and dire effect†“A profoundly important book†“This book communicates a relevant and powerful message for our times†“It is a sweeping claim, yet the evidence, here painstakingly marshalled, is hard to dispute†“They’re onto something here, aren’t they?†“A crucial contribution to the ideological argument ...it provides a vital part of the intellectual manifesto on which the battle for a better society can be fought†|
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