Do institutions, inequality and cultural differences affect cadaveric versus live-kidney harvesting

This paper empirically investigates the role of institutions, income inequality,  cultural differences and health expenditures on cadaveric versus total kidney  transplants scrutinizing information gathered from 63 countries over the period  1998-2002. We show that improvements in income equality and the rule of law encourage cadaveric kidney transplants in low-income countries. We find that cultural differences affect the number of cadaveric kidney transplants both in low- and high-income countries.

Does gender inequality reduce growth in sub-Saharan African and Arab countries?

This paper uses 1974 to 2001 panel data for 31 sub-Saharan African and 10 Arab countries and Arellano–Bond estimations to empirically assess the impact on growth of an important indicator associated with MDG 3; namely the ratio of 15–24-year-old literate females to males. Our findings indicate that gender inequalities in literacy have a statistically significant negative effect that is robust to changes in the specification. In addition, it seems that gender inequality has a stronger effect on growth in Arab countries. Interestingly, we find that the interaction between openness to trade and gender inequality has a positive impact. This result suggests that trade-induced growth may be accompanied by greater gender inequalities.

Global inequality in well-being dimensions

This paper contributes to the literature on global inequality in multidimensional well-being by examining inter-country disparities in the longevity, knowledge and standard of material living components of the well-known and widely-used Human Development Index for the years 1992-2004. It differs from previous studies by examining global inequality in each of the components of this index alongside that of the index as a whole, thus side-stepping ambiguities over weighting that are inherent to multidimensional well-being indices. The Gini coefficient, both population and non-population weighted, is used to measure the extent of inequality. Results indicate that the different components often provide very different information to the index as a whole, especially with respect to changes in global inequality over time. Most component variables show declines in global inequality, whereas the longevity component exhibits increased inequality since 1992.

The other side of social exclusion : interrogating the role of the privileged in reproducing inequality

As the chapters in this book demonstrate, social exclusion is a key concept used to understand various forms of inequality in contemporary capitalist societies. I argue in this chapter that while the concept of social exclusion has been important in illustrating the structural dimensions of unequal social relations and examining the costs of those relations for excluded groups, it has done little to address those of us who benefit most from existing social divisions and inequalities. Nor do most of the writings on social exclusion examine how these inequalities are reproduced by and through the daily practices and life-style pursuits of privileged groups.

In this chapter I will interrogate the concept of privilege as the other side of social exclusion and will argue that the lack of critical interrogation of the position of the privileged side of social divisions allows the privileged to reinforce their dominance. I aim to make privilege more visible and consider the extent to which those who are privileged can overcome their own self interest in the maintenance of dominance to enable them to challenge it.

Foreign aid, wage inequality and welfare for a small open economy with tourism

While the welfare effect of foreign aid has been extensively analyzed, the impact on the distribution of income has received less attention. At the same time, there has been recent work on tourism where it is complementary to aid in improving welfare.By combining these two strands, this paper concentrates on wage inequality in developing countries.We find that an increase in aid in the form of tied aid can lower the relative price of nontraded goods. The rent extracted from tourists declines, reducing welfare of domestic residents. In addition, the fall in the nontradable price can widen the wage inequality between skilled and unskilled workers.Thus, increased foreign aid may have detrimental effects on national welfare and the distribution of income. Rising wage inequality is confirmed by numerical simulations.

Demographic demand systems with application to equivalence scales estimation and inequality analysis : the Australian evidence

This paper proposes and applies an alternative demographic procedure for extending a demand system to allow for the effect of household size and composition changes, along with price changes, on expenditure allocation. The demographic procedure is applied to two recent demand functional forms to obtain their estimable demographic extensions. The estimation on pooled time series of Australian Household Expenditure Surveys yields sensible and robust estimates of the equivalence scale, and of its variation with relative prices. Further evidence on the usefulness of this procedure is provided by using it to evaluate the nature and magnitude of the inequality bias of relative price changes in Australia over a period from the late 1980s to the early part of the new millennium.

Fairness and freedom : the final report of the equalities review and starting the dialogue about addressing inequality in Australia

Anti-discrimination law in Britain has been in a state of flux for the last decade. The structure of the law, its enforcement and coverage are under review and due to this activity, there has been much discussion about how best to address disadvantage and promote equality. Fairness and Freedom: The Final Report of the Equalities Review1 is one voice in that discussion.The Report is an examination of the causes of disadvantage and persistent inequality in Britain, including recommendations for addressing inequality which move beyond traditional legal approaches. The first section of this note outlines the context in which the Report was commissioned and the second section sets out the contents of the Report, including key findings and recommendations, particularly in regard to anti-discrimination law. The final section briefly discusses the relevance of this project for Australia. The limitations British anti-discrimination law has faced in attempting to eliminate systemic discrimination and inequality are similar to the problems we have experienced. It is timely to consider the proposals contained in the Report and to begin the dialogue about the future of anti-discrimination law in Australia, particularly how it could be amended to effectively address disadvantage and promote equality.