Basic Goods

If we summarise the statements on human rights within the United Nations system, it might be as follows: basic goods are basic rights. Goods have different characteristics and functions. Some are essential and others are peripheral. For example, most people can make do without a PS4, but no one can live without clothing, food, housing or travelling. Basic Goods include nutritious food, clean water, sanitation, health services, education services, housing, electricity, and transporting services. However, the consumption of basic goods are very unequal even if they are basic rights. Here are some harsh facts:

• Approximately 800 million people suffer from chronic hunger in the sense that they are not well nourished enough for an active life.

• More than 700 million people do not have access to an improved drinking-water source. 

• Approximately 6 million infants and children die each year, largely due to preventable causes. 

• At least 1 billion people lack access to adequate housing, with approximately 100 million of these being homeless.  

• Approximately 250 million of the 650 primary school-age children have not mastered basic literacy and numeracy, and there are more than 750 million illiterate adults.

Economists are usually criticised as cold blooded, because the poor are simply treated as the lower tail of the wealth distribution. In line with the Public Value strategy of Cardiff Business School, one of my research agenda is to study basic goods, especially for the poor. People are different, but should be equal in terms of basic goods and basic rights. My current research outputs focus on the four most important basic goods: clothing, food, housing, and travelling.

• Zhang, Bo; Yaozhong Zhang and Peng Zhou. 2021. "Consumer Attitude towards Sustainability of Fast Fashion Products in the UK." Sustainability, 13(4): 1646. DOI: 10.3390/su13041646.

• • White, Gareth; Anthony Samuel; Peng Zhou; Azley Razak and Simon Thomas. 2018. "Religious Heterogeneity of Food Consumers: The Impact of Global Markets upon Methods of Production." Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 17(1): 3-12. DOI: 10.1002/cb.1658.

  • Thomas, Angerlique M.; Gareth R.T. White; Eoin Plant and Peng Zhou. 2017. "Challenges and Practices in Halal Meat Preparation: A Case Study Investigation of a UK Slaughterhouse." Total Quality Management & Business Excellence, 28(1), 12-31. DOI: 10.1080/14783363.2015.1044892.

• • Zhang, Bo and Peng Zhou. 2020. "An Economic Evaluation Framework for Government-Funded Home Adaptation Schemes: A Quantitative Approach." Healthcare, 8(3), 345. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare8030345.

  • Dai, Li and Peng Zhou. 2020. "The Health Issues of the Homeless and the Homeless Issues of the Ill-health." Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 69: 1-7. DOI: 10.1016/j.seps.2018.12.004.

• Zhou, Bo; Ying Zhang and Peng Zhou. 2021. "Multilateral Political Effects on Outbound Tourism." Annals of Tourism Research, in press. DOI: 10.1016/j.annals.2021.103184.