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Key Terms
Key Terms
Social Inequality - The unequal distribution of factors such as income, education or health across a population.
Structural Economic Change - the change in proportions of people working in various economic sectors, e.g. the change in ACs from secondary to tertiary employment.
Cyclical Economic Change - The concept that periods of financial strength will be followed by periods of decline.
Boom - A period of rapid economic growth.
Recession - A period of economic decline characterised by limited economic activity.
Global Shift - The movement of economic activity from ACs initially to EDCs and more recently to LIDCs (especially in SE Asia). Initially in the 1960s this was a movement of manufacturing activity, but since the 1990s, service sector activity has been involved.
Deindustrialisation - The decline in the importance of manufacturing in the economy of a country or region.
Austerity - difficult economic conditions created by government measures to reduce public expenditure.
Deficit - when a government spends more on public services than it receives in taxation of individuals and businesses
Social Inequality
Social Inequality
Pattern of Social Inequality:
North / South divide - post-industrial cities of the North of England suffering the legacy of deindustrialisation while the tertiary (service) sector grew in the South East of England centred around London.
Rural & Coastal areas - these areas of the UK often see high levels of social inequality owing to low pay and seasonal work in the tourist sector and under investment in services and infrastructure in these areas.
Variation within urban areas - all urban areas of the UK have a pattern of inequality. This is most apparent in the largest cities such as London were inequality is often compared across the 32 boroughs of the city.
Why it varies across UK
Below are some of the important reasons for why social inequality varies in the UK. Fundamentally there is no one set cause, but combined they have led to often stark differences in inequality.
The Role of Government
The Role of Government
Central Government uses money raised through taxation to delivery public services. Often this spending is aimed at the most vulnerable groups in society, although much benefits everyone.
The pie chart of public spending shows that social protection now accounts of the largest proportion of spending.
Healthcare
Free at the point of delivery to ensure everyone is able to access healthcare regardless of level of income.
State Pension
£164.35 per week. Provides a basic income for those (currently) 65 and over.
Minimum Wage/Living Wage
A set hourly rate (dependent on age) that all employers must pay. This is intended to prevent exploitation of workers.
Ofsted
Conducts inspections at schools,nurseries and other childcare providers to ensure minimum standards of education are delivered.
Social Housing
Housing with low rental costs for low income families. New housing developments must include a % of social or "affordable" housing.
Benefits
A range of benefits paid to support those on low incomes. These include:
Job seekers allowance
Disability living allowance
Housing benefit
Pupil Premium/Free School Meals
Payments made to schools to support students from low income families.
Some students are also be entitled to free meals each day at school.
Tax Allowance
The standard Personal Allowance is £11,850, which is the amount of income you don’t have to pay tax on.
This is designed to ensure the lowest earners do not pay tax on the majority of their income.
Methods for reducing inequality in the UK.docxMethods of reducing inequality
Methods of reducing inequality
Complete evaluation table.docxRole of government in social inequality
Role of government in social inequality
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