Abstract

The social work profession is dedicated to the promotion of social and economic justice, but often has a limited appreciation of what economic justice actually looks like either in theory or practice. Economic justice, a form of distributive justice, assesses how fairly economic resources are distributed in a society. Currently, in Aotearoa New Zealand, both income and wealth inequality have reached historically high levels. Inequality research has demonstrated a causal link between inequality and a host of social and health issues that, while they impact society as a whole, affect the nation’s most marginalised populations to an increasingly greater degree. Social work literature in Aotearoa New Zealand has limited research in this area. This introductory article will begin with an overview of concepts related to economic justice, such as distributive justice, income inequality, and wealth inequality. Following this is an overview of the 2020 Economic Justice Online Forum and an exploration of the implications for social work.

Highlights

  • This article is intended as an overview for social workers on the concepts, history, and current opportunities for advancement of economic justice in Aotearoa New Zealand

  • The first section provides an overview of key concepts in economic justice, including distributive justice, income inequality, and wealth inequality

  • Inequality causes populationwide disparities, including: shorter life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher rates of obesity, HIV infection prevalence, increased property crime, increased rates of violence, increased teen pregnancy, decrease in women’s equality, decrease in child well-being, increase in school dropout rates, increases in mental illnesses such as depression and suicide, and a decrease in social capital and social cohesion (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2017). With such a widespread evidence base of the negative effects of income and wealth inequality, it is imperative that social workers have a working understanding of these terms and their application in Aotearoa New Zealand

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Summary

Introduction

This article is intended as an overview for social workers on the concepts, history, and current opportunities for advancement of economic justice in Aotearoa New Zealand. Inequality causes populationwide disparities, including: shorter life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher rates of obesity, HIV infection prevalence, increased property crime, increased rates of violence, increased teen pregnancy, decrease in women’s equality, decrease in child well-being, increase in school dropout rates, increases in mental illnesses such as depression and suicide, and a decrease in social capital and social cohesion (Wilkinson & Pickett, 2017) With such a widespread evidence base of the negative effects of income and wealth inequality, it is imperative that social workers have a working understanding of these terms and their application in Aotearoa New Zealand. The falling rates of homeownership and concentration of property in the upper wealth deciles has downstream impacts on myriad health and wellbeing issues that practising social workers see on a daily basis While these effects are often blamed on individual choices, this body of research strongly illustrates their relationships to structural inequities. These six themes comprise a first attempt at exploring a social work agenda for economic justice in Aotearoa, New Zealand that draws from multidisciplinary thinking on the topic

Aotearoa New Zealand’s specific context and diverse economies
The need for correct information on issues of economic justice
Making connections between diverse stakeholder groups
The role of hope in economic justice
The need to address urgent needs
Findings
Conclusion
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