Abstract
BackgroundGlobalization describes processes of greater integration of the world economy through increased flows of goods, services, capital and people. Globalization has undergone significant transformation since the 1970s, entrenching neoliberal economics as the dominant model of global market integration. Although this transformation has generated some health gains, since the 1990s it has also increased health disparities.MethodsAs part of a larger project examining how contemporary globalization was affecting the health of Canadians, we undertook semi-structured interviews with 147 families living in low-income neighbourhoods in Canada’s three largest cities (Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver). Many of the families were recent immigrants, which was another focus of the study. Drawing on research syntheses undertaken by the Globalization Knowledge Network of the World Health Organization’s Commission on Social Determinants of Health, we examined respondents’ experiences of three globalization-related pathways known to influence health: labour markets (and the rise of precarious employment), housing markets (speculative investments and affordability) and social protection measures (changes in scope and redistributive aspects of social spending and taxation). Interviews took place between April 2009 and November 2011.ResultsFamilies experienced an erosion of labour markets (employment) attributed to outsourcing, discrimination in employment experienced by new immigrants, increased precarious employment, and high levels of stress and poor mental health; costly and poor quality housing, especially for new immigrants; and, despite evidence of declining social protection spending, appreciation for state-provided benefits, notably for new immigrants arriving as refugees. Job insecurity was the greatest worry for respondents and their families. Questions concerning the impact of these experiences on health and living standards produced mixed results, with a majority expressing greater difficulty ‘making ends meet,’ some experiencing deterioration in health and yet many also reporting improved living standards. We speculate on reasons for these counter-intuitive results.ConclusionsCurrent trends in the three globalization-related pathways in Canada are likely to worsen the health of families similar to those who participated in our study.
Highlights
The impact of globalization on the health of individuals and societies has received significant attention in academia since the onset of the contemporary phase of globalization in the early 1970s
We explore how relatively poor families with children living in conditions of personal and geographic deprivation are being affected by three globalization-related pathways: labour markets, housing markets, and social protection programs
We document that the re-shaping of working conditions and the rise of precarious employment is the dominant pathway by which globalization shapes lived experiences and health outcomes of low-income families living on the economic margins
Summary
The impact of globalization on the health of individuals and societies has received significant attention in academia since the onset of the contemporary phase of globalization in the early 1970s. Economic recessions, and anti-inflationary monetarist policies in the world’s economically dominant countries precipitated a developing world debt crisis This crisis combined with a neoconservative political backlash in the wealthier countries (primarily the USA, UK, and Germany) and the collapse of the Soviet Union led to entrenchment of neoliberal economic theory as the dominant global orthodoxy. Stated, this theory contends that the economy is too complex for governments to regulate, and that free markets, sovereign individuals, free trade, strong property rights, and minimal government interference are the best means to enhance human wellbeing. Neoliberal governance entails a restructuring rather than a weakening of states [28,29,30], giving rise to various national policy responses (c.f. [31,32])
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