Horizontal Inequality, wellbeing, and conflict

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Horizontal Inequality, well-being, and conflict

• by
• Frances Stewart

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Perspectives on inequality

• Most economists measure and evaluate VERTICAL
  inequality among individuals or households.
  
• And most attention paid to income inequality.
• Policies (efficiency/poverty) all in terms of
  individuals.
  
• Welfare (utilitarians) or wellbeing and
  capabilities focus on individuals.

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Horizontal Inequality

• HI is inequality between groups as against
  vertical inequality between individuals or
  households.
  
• What groups? groups with meaning to members,
  viewed by people themselves, or others as
  important aspect of identity.
  
• Group boundaries vary in different societies (and
  over time)
  
• Examples of salient identities
• Ethnic/tribe African
• Religious most regions notable N.Ireland
  Middle East
  
• Race e.g. South Africa Malaysia Fiji
• Regional (overlaps with other identities)
• Caste (India)
• Class

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Role of class

• In some places, LA especially, class more of
  identity historically than ethnicity.
  
• Performs same role as mobiliser.
• Often coincides with other differences
  (indigenous race)
  
• Where class is group identity, sharp HI
  inevitable.
  
• Diminishing role of class post-cold war rising
  role of ethnicity

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HIs are Multidimensional

• Dimensions are those that matter to members
  affect well-being, sense of injustice, actions.
  
• Salient dimensions vary according to nature of
  society/economy
  
• Important dimensions include
• Politics (political participation, power, at all
  levels).
  
• Economic resources and outcomes (access to
  assets, employment, incomes).
  
• Social, including services (health/education/water
  .. and social networks).
  
• Should also be true of vertical, but despite lip
  service rarely included.
  

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Why does group inequality matter?

• Instrumental reasons
• group inequality holds back individuals impedes
  growth, efficiency
  
• targeting group inequality can be efficient
• Direct impact on well-being
• individual unhappiness being black and feeling
  blue Akerlof.
  
• social stability

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Affects political stability

• HIs can lead to group mobilisation
• Ethnic or religious boundaries powerful source of
  mobilisation in general, but
  
• Especially where there are blatent HIs. Used by
  ethnic entrepreneurs. May be worse if growing.
  Many examples
  
• Rwanda
• N.Ireland
• Kosova.
• Sri Lanka
• Also riots
• US cities in 1970s
• Sporadic, cities in UK
• Many examples in developing countries India.
• Also applies internationally.

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Important question what determines group
boundaries?

• Primordial view deep historic, even biological
  origins boundaries rigid and unchangeable.
  
• But group boundaries are formed socially
  (constructed often for instrumental reasons)
  

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Social construction of group boundaries.

• Groups are generally socially constructed common
  identities but real to participants.
  
• Depend on perceptions by group members and others
  
  
• But develop historically.
• Generally for instrumental reasons. (Economics
  politics mobilisation for conflict).
  
• Affected by history, media, politicsColonial
  policy.
  
• Boundaries arbitrary. Multiple identities. Which
  do we/others emphasise? E.g. white black
  classification, Brazil/US
  
• Fluid. Mestijahe in Latin America.
• Salient groups can change over time. (Moslems in
  Sri Lanka Iwerri in Biafra).

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Instrumental view of ethnicity. Constructed for
particular reasons. 1. Colonial powers

• Weak historic base for many ethnicities
• Often constructed by Colonial power, categorised
  people into distinct groups
  
• Modern Central Africa tribes are not so much
  survivals from a pre-colonial past but rather
  colonial creations by colonial officers and
  African intellectuals.. (Wim van Binsbergen)
• In nineteenth century far from there being a
  single tribal identity, most Africans moved in
  and out of multiple identities, defining
  themselves at one moment as subject to this
  chief, at another moment as a member of that
  cult, at another moment as part of this clan, and
  at yet another moment as an initiate in that
  professional guild. (Ranger).

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2. Use and emphasis of identity for economic
purposes

• Identities increase trust. Reduce transactions
  costs. Identities developed for economic reasons
  E.g.
  
• Hausa in Nigeria trading networks
• Lebanese in East and West Africa
• Jews throughout Europe. 16-19th century.
• Immigrant groups in US

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3. Use of identities for mobilising support for
conflict

• May be constructed or emphasised by leaders to
  get support.
  
• Powerful mobilising agent. Ethnicity or religion.
  E.g. Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan. N.Ireland.
  
• But not plucked from air constrained by
  history, language etc. Those with perceptions of
  common identity share some markers (language,
  behaviour, rituals, religious practices).
• Differences seem real to participants. Turton
  the very effectiveness of ethnicity as a
  means of advancing group interests depends upon
  its being seen as primordial by those who
  make claims in its name
• Sometimes defined by the other Barth
  persecuted groups, eg Jews in Hitlers
  Germany.
  

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Group identity, inequality and conflict some
hypotheses

• Identities are multiple and fluid.
• Yet they can be effective for binding people
  together for common purposes.
  
• Many groups live together peacefully vast
  majority
  
• Cultural/group differences only become salient
  or potentially a means of political mobilisation,
  especially for violence, when OTHER factors
  present.
• Cohen AMen may and do certainly joke about or
  ridicule the strange and bizarre customs of men
  from other ethnic groups, because these customs
  are different from their own. But they do not
  fight over such differences alone. When men do
  fight across ethnic lines it is nearly always
  the case that they fight over some fundamental
  issues concerning the distribution and exercise
  of power, whether economic, political, or both_at_
• I.e. cultural differences do not lead to
  violent conflict unless there are also major
  economic and/or political causes.
  

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Examples of types of HI-provoked conflict
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Does intra-group inequality reduce salience of
inter-group?

• Intra-group inequality often large (larger than
  inter-group) and cited as a reason not to worry
  about intra-group. Statistically this is
  probable.
• But intra-group inequality can increase use of
  ethnicity for political mobilisation because
  leaders (elite) use inequalities to mobilise and
  politicise ethnicity (eg Nigeria Sri Lanka.
  Horowitz).
• And reasons for concern with HIs remain
  (wellbeing, growth, poverty, conflict)

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Measurement issues

• Not so well worked out as vertical measures.
• Particular problems
• Selecting groups fuzzy boundaries.
• Selecting dimensions and finding indicators.
• Perceptions of inequalities important.
• Aggregating
• Description or evaluation? (Anand and Sen include
  evaluation, in gender index ).
  
• Measure of inequality?
• Variance of group performance on each indicator
• Ratios of performance of each group in relation
  to average, or to each other or to particular
  reference group.
  
• Gini/Theil of group performance not enough
  observations and too complex to make much sense.
  
  

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Issues concerning size and number of groups

• Range possible from totally homogeneous society
  (group inequality irrelevant) to one where many
  small groups (group inequality approaches
  individual inequality, and may become
  irrelevant).
• Many other possibilities with different welfare,
  policy and political implications. Each has
  different implications
  
• A few (2-4) large groups of roughly equal size.
• A few (or one ) large groups and many small.
• One large group, and one or several small.
• Measurement issues here too.
• Fragmentation indices measures the probability
  that two randomly selected individuals will
  belong to different ethnolinguistic groups.
  
• Polarisation indices. Larger more distribution
  approaches bimodal distribution.
  

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Solutions?

• Depend on why we want measures. Need aggregation
  etc. for cross-country comparisons. Not for one
  country study.
  
• Despite data problems, usually can get some
  (imperfect) data from a variety of sources.
  
• For country study complex measures unnecessary.
• But unusual indicators are important e.g.
  police/army social networks
  
• And specific indicators, rather than incomes
  education access government jobs.

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Some examples of major HIs.
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Chiapas, Mexico
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Fiji a mixed picture
Inverse
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Policy conclusions

• HIs can be serious policy needs to address them,
  in all economies with marked inequalities.
  
• NOT included in normal economic or political
  policies.
  
• Policies similar to those towards exclusion

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Policies can

• Relate to process. V. important where processes
  previously biassed N.Ireland. (I.e. equal
  opportunities) But generally insufficient.
  
• Focus on public sector (investment and
  employment) which is most visible and possibly
  provocative and ultimately affects private
  incomes. But impact on private opportunities slow
  and possibly ineffective.
• Use regional policy, where groups are regionally
  concentrated or even district or neighbourhood
  policies.

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Categories of policy

• Assets
• Land (Malaysia Zimbabwe Fiji Namibia)
• Financial capital (Malaysia S.Africa)
• Terms of privatisation
• Credit (Fiji Malaysia)
• Education (Malaysia Sri Lanka).
• Skills and training (Brazil, New Zealand)
• Public sector infrastructure (S.Africa).
• Housing (N.Ireland).
• Social capital? neighbourhoods clubs
• Incomes
• Employment policies
• Public sector (Malaysia Sri Lanka)
• Private sector (S.Africa)
• Transfer payments (often for age or gender, not
  for ethnic group)
  
• Terms of trade

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Policies towards political HIs

• Structures that ensure each group participates in
  political decision-making and power. Where one
  group dominates in population, Westminster
  majoritarian political system means minorities
  are excluded politically. Power sharing is NOT
  natural consequence of the way many understand
  democracy.
• NB Participation can be at many levels (central,
  regional, local) and in different types of
  decision (defence, economic, social) and in
  different activities (army, police, civil
  service).
• And participation can simply mean information
  sharing or involve initiation and control.
  

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Policies towards political HIs

• Constitution
• Federal or unitary (and design)
• Voting system majoritarian PR alternative
  vote.
  
• Voting system within assemblies.
• Job allocation (and numbers). Three Presidents in
  Bosnia-Herzogovinia.
  
• Political parties
• Multiparty?
• Restrictions on parties
• Citizenship rights. Who is a citizen?
• Extent and nature of decentralisation

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Policies towards political HIs (cont).

• Formal or informal provisions for fair share of
  political posts at every level
  
• Presidential
• Cabinet
• Senior civil service
• Military
• Police
• Nigeria Federal character (formal) EU formal
  and informal Ghana, Bolivia, informal.
  

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Experience with affirmative action economic and
social

• Used quite frequently.
• Major examples
• Fiji
• India
• Malaysia
• N.Ireland
• S.Africa
• Sri Lanka
• US

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Main consequences of economic and social action

• Positive
• Mostly successful in reducing gaps, but rarely
  eliminates them. (But N.Ireland educ. Sri
  Lanka).
  
• Does not seem to reduce efficiency. May increase
  it.
  
• Negative
• May reduce inter-group inequality, but increase
  intra-group. (But intra-group decreased in
  Malaysia more evidence needed).
  
• It entrenches ethnicity as a category. But with
  sharp HIs these may be entrenched anyway
  (N.Ireland, US). If changes ethnic division of
  labour may reduce ethnic salience.
• It can provoke political protest, Sri Lanka
  clearest example. But elsewhere reduces political
  violence Malaysia, N. Ireland, US
  

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Experience with political action

• On gaining independence many countries inherited
  Westminster model.
  
• Divided countries often adopted new structures to
  protect minorities after problems
  (Bosnia-Herzogovinia, Ethiopia, Malaysia,
  Nigeria) , or because clearly only way of
  agreeing on common state (Belgium, Switzerland).
• Currently quite large no. of cases.

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Apparently successful types of action towards
political HIs

• PR. But can still mean permanent minority.
• Two chambers, one representing geographical
  areas. India, Nigeria.
  
• Federal constitution. Belgium, Ethiopia, Nigeria,
  India, Switzerland. Consequences depend on nature
  of federalism and power of provinces Biafra
  Yugoslavia. Ethiopia .
• Decentralisation in unitary state? (Bolivia).
• Vetos of minorities in government. Belgium,
  Switzerland.
  
• Seat reservations. India. Not enough to prevent
  domination.
  
• Job reservations/quotas. Govt., civil service,
  police, army (N.Ireland).
  
• Strong, ethnically balanced judiciary, plus
  constitutionally guaranteed human rights.
  
• Many of these more an outcome than a cause of
  success in multiethnic government. Cf Fiji.
  

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N.Ireland a success?

• His large, persistent and consistent over all
  dimensions over a long time period
  
• By the end of the nineteenth century Protestants
  controlled the vast bulk of the economic
  resources of east Ulster - the best of its land,
  its industrial and financial capital, commercial
  and business networks, industrial skills.(Ruane
  and Todd 1996)
• no narrowing of the gap between the communities
  from 1901 to 1970s, with Catholics disadvantaged
  at every level.
  
• u/e gap widened
• New policies to reduce gaps from late 1970s Fair
  Employment Acts, 1976 1989 housing policy.
  Police Acts 1998,2000, 2003 50 recruitment
  aim.

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But Protestant discontent

• Case shows that action on HIs may need to precede
  peace.
  
• It is unusual to find such a rate of social
  change within a generation. It is quite dramatic.
  In many areas Catholics have caught up with or
  surpassed Protestants (Osborne)
• Most Ps in public sector older age group most
  younger entrants Cs.
  
• Exodus of young Protestants to GB.
• New report says Ps. perceive themselves
  disadvantaged. 39 believe they are worse off
  than six years ago.
  
• 1996, 44 of Ps and 47 Cs thought
  inter-community relationships were better than
  five years previously.
  
• 2003, 25 Ps and 33 Cs.

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Political sensitivity Sri Lanka case
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In conclusion

• Where HIs a source of conflict, important to
  address them in post-conflict policies.
  
• Range of policies available, economic and
  political, which can be effective without
  sacrifice of efficiency.
  
• Many indirect and informal policies too.
• Mostly have had peace-promoting political
  consequences, but political caution needed.
  
• Policies needed in ANY society with sharp
  divisions, not only those with recent conflict.
  
• Policies NOT part of many policy agendas.

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Some policy implications

• Policy should not be group blind, in political
  or economic terms.
  
• But SAPs are.
• Political conditionality/democracy often is.
• Ethnic/group considerations in in aid, government
  expenditure, aim to correct inequalities.
  
• Need to go beyond abolishing discrimination
  difficult to define because initial conditions
  may depend on past discrimination.
  
• Affirmative action in employment, investment,
  assets policies.
  
• Structured democracy.
• Policies towards law, army, police.
• Social capital (bridging) Varshney.
• Support for human rights.

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Politics of policy-making

• Affirmative action can provoke conflict (Sri
  Lanka).
  
• Difficult to get accepted where one group
  dominates politically or minority is politically
  weak.
  
• Market policies can constrain policies
  (S.Africa).
  
• Fairness between groups needs to become accepted
  norm, with implications for monitoring/data and
  policy.
  
• Internationally as well as nationally.