Causes Of Inequality Research Articles

COVID-19 Pandemic and Vaccine Imperialism

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed and exacerbated the global inequalities regarding the availability and access to vaccines. Many terms have appeared in the academic literature (“vaccine colonialism,” “vaccine nationalism,” “vaccine apartheid”) trying to capture and interpret these inequalities, failing in most cases to realistically explain the upstream causes of the observed injustices. A Marxist perspective on the contrary emphasizes the structural causes of inequalities in capitalism and attributes them to the existence of economic exploitation. “Vaccine imperialism,” which refers to the control that advanced industrialized countries exert on the development, production, and distribution of vaccines at the expense of less-developed economies, can describe and explain in a more realistic way the observed inequalities during the pandemic. Our study proposes a circuit of vaccine imperialism that explains how economic imperialist exploitation takes place via transfers of value from less-developed economies (vaccine recipient countries) to imperialist economies (vaccine producing and patent holder countries) using four different channels: (a) protection of intellectual property (IP) rights (patents), (b) earnings from royalty payments for the use of vaccines (monopolistic prices and profits), (c) exercise of monopoly power on the production and distribution of vaccines (control over the quantity of vaccines supplied, exclusion of competitors through vaccine licensing), and (d) public debt servicing. JEL Classification: I14, I18, D43, F54, F55, H51

Brain Health Outcomes in Sexual and Gender Minority Groups: Results From the All of Us Research Program.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups have been historically underrepresented in neurologic research, and their brain health disparities are unknown. We aim to evaluate whether SGM persons are at higher risk of adverse brain health outcomes compared with cisgender straight (non-SGM) individuals. We conducted a cross-sectional study in the All of Us Research Program, a US population-based study, including all participants with information on gender identity and sexual orientation. We used baseline questionnaires to identify sexual minority (lesbian, gay, bisexual, diverse sexual orientation; nonstraight sexual orientation) and gender minority (gender diverse and transgender; gender identity different from sex assigned at birth) participants. The primary outcome was a composite of stroke, dementia, and late-life depression, assessed using electronic health record data and self-report. Secondarily, we evaluated each disease separately. Furthermore, we evaluated all subgroups of gender and sexual minorities stratified by sex assigned at birth. We used multivariable logistic regression (adjusted for age, sex assigned at birth, race/ethnicity, cardiovascular risk factors, other relevant comorbidities, and neighborhood deprivation index) to assess the relationship between SGM groups and the outcomes. Of 413,457 US adults enrolled between May 31, 2017, and June 30, 2022, we included 393,041 participants with available information on sexual orientation and gender identity (mean age 51 [SD 17] years), of whom 39,632 (10%) belonged to SGM groups. Of them, 38,528 (97%) belonged to a sexual minority and 4,431 (11%) to a gender minority. Compared with non-SGM, SGM persons had 15% higher odds of the brain health composite outcome (odds ratio [OR] 1.15, 95% CI 1.08-1.22). In secondary analyses, these results persisted across sexual and gender minorities separately (all 95% CIs > 1). Assessing individual diseases, all SGM groups had higher odds of dementia (SGM vs non-SGM: OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.00-1.29) and late-life depression (SGM vs non-SGM: OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.17-1.38) and transgender women had higher odds of stroke (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.04-2.70). In a large US population study, SGM persons had higher odds of adverse brain health outcomes. Further research should explore structural causes of inequity to advance inclusive and diverse neurologic care.

Biased career choices? It depends what you believe: Trainee teachers’ aversions to working in low‐income schools are moderated by beliefs about inequality, meritocracy, and growth mindsets

AbstractSchools serving diverse and low‐income communities tend to have disproportionately high numbers of low‐quality or inexperienced teachers, thereby creating an inequality of access to high‐quality teaching. Across two pre‐registered experiments and one exploratory survey (Ntotal = 956), we investigated the factors associated with trainee teachers’ bias in school choices, and the role of teacher education in mitigating this issue. In Studies 1 and 3, trainee teachers demonstrated a preference for working in a school with average (vs. diverse/low‐income) demographics, even though all other aspects of the school were equal. These disparities were most pronounced when trainees more strongly believed that (a) educational inequality can be attributed to external factors; (b) intelligence is fixed, and (c) schooling is truly meritocratic. Study 2 revealed that levels of equity‐related input during initial teacher education vary hugely, but that, where implemented, it may better prepare trainees for the challenges associated with teaching in diverse and low‐income communities. Finally, Study 3 revealed tentative evidence to suggest that a brief intervention that challenges teachers to think beyond the internal causes of inequality could reduce some of these troubling disparities.

Building Recognition, Redistribution, and Representation in Disadvantaged Neighbourhoods: Exploring the Potential of Youth Activism in Scotland

This is a time of intersecting crises for young people in Scotland. More than a decade of austerity, the Covid‐19 pandemic, cost‐of‐living crisis, climate emergency, and ongoing global conflict all threaten youth security and create barriers to economic and civic participation. Alongside this, youth non‐participation is often framed as an individualised moral problem, diverting focus away from its structural causes. Evidence on youth activism suggests that young people are seeking new, creative spaces and modes of expression to challenge stigma, express dissent, and challenge inequalities in their communities. With support from grassroots youth and community organisations, youth activists can build trust, critical thinking skills, and solidarity. However, the extent to which youth activism can succeed in challenging structural causes of inequality, especially in disadvantaged neighbourhoods, requires further scrutiny. We draw on Nancy Fraser’s theory of participatory parity to explore how redistribution, recognition, and representation play out in the lives of young people, and how grassroots youth and community organisations support their development as activists. Based on a research study on the barriers and enablers to youth activism in Scotland, we seek to understand how neighbourhood‐based efforts to challenge stigma and economic inequality build dignity and hope, how relationship‐building between young people and the adults in their communities can support status recognition, and how these both contribute to emergent youth political representation.

Structural and dynamic analysis of green investments in Russia

«Green» investments are an important tool for solving environmental problems, increasing the competitiveness of the economy and improving the quality of life. One of the key aspects in the study of «green» investments is structural and dynamic analysis, which allows you to get a description of the space-time aspect of «green» investments. The findings play an important role in shaping the targeted state investment policy. This aspect determines the relevance of this study, which purpose is to conduct a structural and dynamic analysis of green investments in Russia. The practical significance of the findings is determined by a comprehensive approach to assessing the homogeneity of the green investments’ distribution in Russia. The article studied the concentration of «green» investments in federal districts and by areas of their use in order to identify the causes of inequality in the distribution of «green» investments. Analysis of structural differences in the volume of «green» investments in dynamics for the period from 2013 to 2022 was carried out in the article. Special statistical methods are used in the article, such as typological groupings, index method, construction and analysis of structural series, analysis of dynamic series, comparison of parallel series, etc. The results obtained during the study are also significant in matters of international cooperation in the field of ecology and sustainable development of the country. Managing a green investment structure allows a country to meet international standards and requirements.

Global value chain participation and income inequality within enterprises: An empirical study based on Chinese-listed companies

In the debate about the causes of inequality, a growing strand of research focuses on the effects of globalization on income inequality. This study focuses on Chinese-listed companies from 2000–2016, examining the influence of GVC participation on intra-firm wage disparities. It finds a significant, non-linear inverted U-shaped relationship between GVC participation and wage inequality, which remains robust across various empirical specifications. The results also show that global value chain embedding has a more significant impact on income inequality within non-state-owned enterprises, larger enterprises, and enterprises with higher bargaining power among employees. This finding is qualitatively robust across various different empirical specifications.

Women and men in library and information science scholarship: Authorship trends from 2003 to 2021

Library and information science (LIS) has long consisted of more women than men, at least in sheer numbers of library employees, but men are the primary authors of library literature. This study explores LIS literature published between 2003 and 2021 to identify if there are differences in the publishing patterns of women and men. The authors used content analysis to code the entire sample to identify overall subject trends after authors were categorized as women or men by mainly automated methods, using two R packages, genderize and ssa. The results show that there are overall inequities when compared to the profession as whole between the publishing rates of women and men in LIS, as well as differences in publication patterns by subjects and within specific journals. Shifts in subjects over the period under investigation did not increase the percentage of women publishing in the selected LIS journals. The authors conclude more research needs to be conducted to determine the cause of inequities in publishing not just among women and men, but all underrepresented voices in LIS.

Decomposing socioeconomic inequality in household out of pocket health expenditures in Pakistan (2010-11–2018-19)

BackgroundThe increased socioeconomic inequality in catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) disproportionately affects disadvantaged populations, subjecting them to financial hardships, limiting their access to healthcare, and exacerbating their vulnerability to morbidity.ObjectivesThis study examines changes in socioeconomic inequality related to CHE and analyzes the contributing factors responsible for these changes in Pakistan between 2010-11 and 2018-19.MethodsThis paper extracted the data on out-of-pocket health expenditures from the National Health Accounts for 2009-10 and 2017-18. Sociodemographic information was gathered from the Household Integrated Economic Surveys of 2010-11 and 2018-19. CHE was calculated using budget share and the ability-to-pay approaches. To assess socioeconomic inequality in CHE in 2010-11 and 2018-19, both generalized and standard concentration indices were used, and Wagstaff inequality decomposition analysis was employed to explore the causes of socioeconomic inequality in each year. Further, an Oaxaca-type decomposition was applied to assess changes in socioeconomic inequality in CHE over time.ResultsThe concentration index reveals that socioeconomic inequality in CHE decreased in 2018-19 compared to 2010-11 in Pakistan. Despite the reduction in inequality, CHE was concentrated among the poor in Pakistan in 2010-11 and 2018-19. The inequality decomposition analysis revealed that wealth status was the main cause of inequality in CHE over time. The upper wealth quantiles indicated a positive contribution, whereas lower quantiles showed a negative contribution to inequality in CHE. Furthermore, urban residence contributed to pro-rich inequality, whereas employed household heads, private healthcare provider, and inpatient healthcare utilization contributed to pro-poor inequality. A noticeable decline in socioeconomic inequality in CHE was observed between 2010 and 2018. However, inequality remained predominantly concentrated among the lower socio-economic strata.ConclusionThese results underscore the need to improve the outreach of subsidized healthcare and expand social safety nets.

Explaining inequity in knowledge, attitude, and services related to HIV/AIDS: a systematic review

BackgroundEquitable service provision and coverage are important responses to end the threat of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Understanding inequity supports policies and programmes to deliver tailored interventions. There is continuous evidence generation on inequity in HIV/AIDS services. However, there was a lack of evidence on the global picture of inequity in behavioural and biomedical services related to HIV/AIDS. This systematic review assessed inequities in knowledge, attitude, HIV testing, and ART coverage across individual-level social groups and multiple (dis)advantage categories.MethodsThis review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guideline, with a PROSPERO registration number CRD42024521247. The risk of bias was assessed by using Hoy et al’s and Joanna Brigg’s quality appraisal checklists for cross-sectional quantitative and qualitative studies, respectively. The search date was from inception to the final database search date (May 29, 2023). The included articles were either quantitative or qualitative studies. We used mixed-methods approach to analyse the data from the review articles. Quantitative descriptive analysis was conducted to estimate frequency of articles published from different countries around the world. Qualitative content analysis of the findings from the original studies was conducted using the PROGRESS plus framework which stands for: place of residence, occupation or employment status, gender, religion, education status, socioeconomic status, and social capital.ResultsOut of 6,029 articles that were accessed and screened, only 72 articles met the inclusion criteria. More articles on HIV-related equity in knowledge, attitude, testing, and ART were published in developed countries than in developing countries. Individuals from higher-income households had better knowledge about HIV/AIDS. Unfavourable attitudes towards people living with HIV and HIV/AIDS-associated stigma were common among women. HIV/AIDS service coverage (HIV testing or ART coverage) was higher among richer and urban residents. HIV/AIDS-associated stigma and lower levels of knowledge about HIV/AIDS were observed among multiple disadvantageous groups due to the intersection of two or more identities.ConclusionsThe current review revealed that there have been disparities in HIV/AIDS services between social classes. Ending service disparity towards the global threat of HIV/AIDS demands tailored interventions based on socially disadvantaged groups (e.g., poor, rural dwellers, and women) and intersectional determinants. There is a need to understand the deep-rooted causes of inequity and the challenges that an equity-oriented system faces over time. More studies on inequity are needed, including intersectional inequity, which has been rarely studied in developing countries.

Inequalities in sexual and reproductive outcomes among women aged 16–24 in England (2012–2019)

BackgroundWomen aged 16–24 in England have a high burden of sexual and reproductive morbidity, with particularly poor outcomes among people living in more deprived areas (including racially minoritised populations). This...

Naming racism as a root cause of inequities in palliative care research: a scoping review

BackgroundRacial and ethnic inequities in palliative care are well-established. The way researchers design and interpret studies investigating race- and ethnicity-based disparities has future implications on the interventions aimed to reduce these inequities. If racism is not discussed when contextualizing findings, it is less likely to be addressed and inequities will persist.ObjectiveTo summarize the characteristics of 12 years of academic literature that investigates race- or ethnicity-based disparities in palliative care access, outcomes and experiences, and determine the extent to which racism is discussed when interpreting findings.MethodsFollowing Arksey & O’Malley’s methodology for scoping reviews, we searched bibliographic databases for primary, peer reviewed studies globally, in all languages, that collected race or ethnicity variables in a palliative care context (January 1, 2011 to October 17, 2023). We recorded study characteristics and categorized citations based on their research focus—whether race or ethnicity were examined as a major focus (analyzed as a primary independent variable or population of interest) or minor focus (analyzed as a secondary variable) of the research purpose, and the interpretation of findings—whether authors directly or indirectly discussed racism when contextualizing the study results.ResultsWe identified 3000 citations and included 181 in our review. Of these, most were from the United States (88.95%) and examined race or ethnicity as a major focus (71.27%). When interpreting findings, authors directly named racism in 7.18% of publications. They were more likely to use words closely associated with racism (20.44%) or describe systemic or individual factors (41.44%). Racism was directly named in 33.33% of articles published since 2021 versus 3.92% in the 10 years prior, suggesting it is becoming more common.ConclusionWhile the focus on race and ethnicity in palliative care research is increasing, there is room for improvement when acknowledging systemic factors – including racism – during data analysis. Researchers must be purposeful when investigating race and ethnicity, and identify how racism shapes palliative care access, outcomes and experiences of racially and ethnically minoritized patients.

Exploring the influence of driver’s presence on passengers’ willingness level to take autonomous taxis – Evidence from Seattle metropolitan area

This study aims to identify the potential determinants of people's willingness to adopt autonomous vehicle (AV) taxis, with or without a backup driver, using Binary Logistic Regression in combination with the enhanced Random Forest attribute selection method. The results indicate that young men with frequent use of ride-sharing services, walk frequently, and have household incomes of approximately $150,000 − $200,000 are more likely to be interested in using AV taxis regardless of the presence of a backup driver. The study finds that previous travel habits (use of different modes) can greatly influence individuals' interest levels in using AV taxis. The study points AV taxi service providers should address female passengers' concerns to pursue a larger market. This study innovatively uses individuals’ preferences for their residential locations, such as proximity to workplace, walkability, and affordability. Through the inclusion of these variables in the analysis, this study offers a more comprehensive insight into the potential users of AV taxis, thus enabling policymakers and planners to pursue a transportation system that is sustainable, equitable, and responsive to the diverse needs and preferences of different populations. The study has limitations in that it lacks users' perceived benefits and their specific needs pertaining to AVs. Finally, the study emphasizes the importance of examining the causes of inequality and promoting equitable access to AV technology, particularly for vulnerable groups.

Undergraduate Learning Assistants’ Understanding and Practices of Equity

Undergraduate learning assistants (LAs) are near-peer instructors that facilitate learning by engaging in student-centered, active pedagogies, and often engage in more direct contact with students than faculty. Despite their important role in STEM classes, little is known about how ULAs understand and practice equity. Instructors’ understanding of ‘equity’ directly impacts their teaching practices. Instructors with ‘equality’ based conceptions of equity that prioritize fairness and treating each student the same are more likely to adopt didactic, instructor-centered teaching practices that have been shown to less effective than other approaches, with disproportionate impacts on students from minoritized backgrounds. Further, in making sense of racial disparities in their classes or disciplines, STEM faculty often draw on color-evasive narratives that explain racial phenomena without explicitly naming race or racism as a cause of oppression and these beliefs are associated with a reduced ability to notice racist events in the classroom and with the adoption of harmful equality-based approached to teaching and mentoring. STEM faculty are not alone in drawing on color-evasive narratives. Undergraduates also hold these beliefs, and those that do are less likely to recognize microaggressions or to find them problematic. Thus, we ask (a) How do STEM ULAs at a Mid-Western primarily white institution conceptualize equity in their role as educators? (b) How do ULAs conceptions of equity influence their self-reported teaching practices? We hypothesized that a majority of LAs will draw on color-evasive ideologies, and those that do will be less likely to notice racist events in classes, more likely to perpetuate inaccurate descriptions of their classes as neutral and objective and more likely to endorse teacher-centered practices. Drawing on frameworks of color-evasive racism, Haynes’ White Racial Consciousness and Faculty Behavior model and the four approaches to equity proposed by NASEM, we qualitatively coded the data from surveys and interviews to assess LAs’ understanding and practices of equity. We find that LAs engage with color-evasive in several ways: They explain racist classroom events without naming race or racism, ascribe to equality-based understandings and practices of equity or inclusion-based understandings and practices that focus on individuals’ characteristics and needs while ignoring historical, sociopolitical and systemic causes of inequities. By delving deeply into how STEM ULAs perceive and implement equity, our work informs future interventions and training programs to enhance equitable teaching practices in STEM education. This work is supported by a Creating Inclusive Excellent Grant from Michigan State University. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Comment on "Sexism in Academia is Bad for Science and a Waste of Public Funding".

A recent comment by Boivin et al. urges academia and governments to address sexism and fight bias at higher education and research institutions as losing female academics is costing science and society too much. Herein, I discuss further underlying reasons of sexism in academia and the importance of a deep dive into the causes of inequity at individual faculty and school levels to develop bespoke and enforceable gender equity plans, the importance of not using basic statistic as the only tool to measure equity/inequity as well as how key performance indicators could be better used to advance gender equity and end sexism in academia.

What makes the provincial inequality of natural gas consumption in China? Evidence from Gini-coefficient approach

Many researchers have focused on inequalities in income and energy consumption, but research on the regional disparities in natural gas consumption (NGC) is insufficient, which presents a gap about the development of informed policies for sustainable consumption. Increasing provincial NGC is a substantial measure to improve environmental protection, clean production, and the living standards of local citizens. It is necessary to determine the leading causes of inequality in gas consumption to improve the NGC in China’s provinces. To fill this research gap, we use the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve to measure NGC inequality and apply hierarchical cluster analysis and a regression model with Partial R2 to estimate the factors of provincial NGC. The empirical results show a consistently increasing trend in China’s NGC over 1997–2019, which has not been accompanied by a steady decrease in inequality, and low inequality is mainly caused by several major natural gas-consuming provinces. Further, the NGC in coastal provinces is more significantly affected by GDP, foreign direct investment, and financial liberation, and the impact of urbanization level and population on provincial NGC has different patterns.

Causal Mediation of Neighborhood-Level Pediatric Hospitalization Inequities.

Population-wide racial inequities in child health outcomes are well documented. Less is known about causal pathways linking inequities and social, economic, and environmental exposures. Here, we sought to estimate the total inequities in population-level hospitalization rates and determine how much is mediated by place-based exposures and community characteristics. We employed a population-wide, neighborhood-level study that included youth <18 years hospitalized between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2022. We defined a causal directed acyclic graph a priori to estimate the mediating pathways by which marginalized population composition causes census tract-level hospitalization rates. We used negative binomial regression models to estimate hospitalization rate inequities and how much of these inequities were mediated indirectly through place-based social, economic, and environmental exposures. We analyzed 50 719 hospitalizations experienced by 28 390 patients. We calculated census tract-level hospitalization rates per 1000 children, which ranged from 10.9 to 143.0 (median 45.1; interquartile range 34.5 to 60.1) across included tracts. For every 10% increase in the marginalized population, the tract-level hospitalization rate increased by 6.2% (95% confidence interval: 4.5 to 8.0). After adjustment for tract-level community material deprivation, crime risk, English usage, housing tenure, family composition, hospital access, greenspace, traffic-related air pollution, and housing conditions, no inequity remained (0.2%, 95% confidence interval: -2.2 to 2.7). Results differed when considering subsets of asthma, type 1 diabetes, sickle cell anemia, and psychiatric disorders. Our findings provide additional evidence supporting structural racism as a significant root cause of inequities in child health outcomes, including outcomes at the population level.

Abstract HUP2: Brain Health Outcomes in Sexual and Gender Minority Groups

Background: There is mounting evidence that sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups experience health disparities, but research on brain health status of this underrepresented group is limited. We evaluated whether SGM persons are at higher risk of adverse brain health outcomes compared to cisgender heterosexual (non-SGM) individuals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the All of Us Research Program, a population study focused on health disparities enrolling 1 million Americans. We used baseline questionnaires to identify participants from sexual minorities (non-straight e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual) and gender minorities (gender identity different from sex assigned at birth). We further divided gender minorities into gender diverse (e.g., non-binary) and transgender. The primary outcome was a composite of stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. In secondary analyses, we analyzed SGM subgroups and diseases separately. We used multivariate logistic regression to assess the link between SGM groups and brain health outcomes. Results: We included 393,041 participants (mean age 51, female sex at birth 62%), of whom 39,632 (10%) belonged to SGM groups. Of these, 4,431 (1%) belonged to a gender minority (2,212 [50%] gender diverse and 2,219 [50%] transgender) and 38,528 (10%) to a sexual minority. Full results are shown in the Figure. Compared to non-SGM, SGM individuals had 19% higher odds of the brain health composite outcome (OR 1.19, 95%CI 1.13-1.25). These results were consistent across all SGM subgroups (p&lt;0.05). When assessing individual diseases, all SGM groups had higher odds of late-life depression, all SGM except transgender persons had higher odds of dementia, and gender minority groups had higher odds of stroke. Conclusion: In a large US population study, SGM individuals had a higher rate of adverse brain health outcomes. Further research should explore the structural causes of inequity to advance inclusive and diverse neurological care.

Abstract 71: Brain Health Outcomes in Sexual and Gender Minority Groups

Background: There is mounting evidence that sexual and gender minority (SGM) groups experience health disparities, but research on brain health status of this underrepresented group is limited. We evaluated whether SGM persons are at higher risk of adverse brain health outcomes compared to cisgender heterosexual (non-SGM) individuals. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in the All of Us Research Program, a population study focused on health disparities enrolling 1 million Americans. We used baseline questionnaires to identify participants from sexual minorities (non-straight e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual) and gender minorities (gender identity different from sex assigned at birth). We further divided gender minorities into gender diverse (e.g., non-binary) and transgender. The primary outcome was a composite of stroke, dementia, and late-life depression. In secondary analyses, we analyzed SGM subgroups and diseases separately. We used multivariate logistic regression to assess the link between SGM groups and brain health outcomes. Results: We included 393,041 participants (mean age 51, female sex at birth 62%), of whom 39,632 (10%) belonged to SGM groups. Of these, 4,431 (1%) belonged to a gender minority (2,212 [50%] gender diverse and 2,219 [50%] transgender) and 38,528 (10%) to a sexual minority. Full results are shown in the Figure. Compared to non-SGM, SGM individuals had 19% higher odds of the brain health composite outcome (OR 1.19, 95%CI 1.13-1.25). These results were consistent across all SGM subgroups (p&lt;0.05). When assessing individual diseases, all SGM groups had higher odds of late-life depression, all SGM except transgender persons had higher odds of dementia, and gender minority groups had higher odds of stroke. Conclusion: In a large US population study, SGM individuals had a higher rate of adverse brain health outcomes. Further research should explore the structural causes of inequity to advance inclusive and diverse neurological care.

The Long Road Towards Women’s Equality in the Labour Market : Claudia Goldin’s Research on Historical Trends and Contributing Factors

Claudia Goldin won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Economics for her research on women in the labour market. Her body of work provides a broad, data-driven, historical overview of gender inequalities and evidence of the impacts of specific changes and institutional elements. We review her main findings regarding the evolution of women’s employment and earnings in light of key historical events. She documented a U-shaped labour supply curve over time, which challenged past notions of a monotonous positive relationship between economic development and women’s labour supply. Her work brought attention to complex forces that shaped the past, such as the rise of factory jobs, service-sector jobs and the contraceptive pill. Her research also points to remaining causes of inequalities, such as high-earning professions that disproportionately favour long work hours and continuous job attachment. Her work contributes to our knowledge of this social issue and has catalysed new areas of research.

Geography, inequities, and the social determinants of health in transplantation.

Among the causes of inequity in organ transplantation, geography is oft-cited but rarely defined with precision. Traditionally, geographic inequity has been characterized by variation in distance to transplant centers, availability of deceased organ donors, or the consequences of allocation systems that are inherently geographically based. Recent research has begun to explore the use of measures at various geographic levels to better understand how characteristics of a patient's geographic surroundings contribute to a broad range of transplant inequities. Within, we first explore the relationship between geography, inequities, and the social determinants of health. Next, we review methodologic considerations essential to geographic health research, and critically appraise how these techniques have been applied. Finally, we propose how to use geography to improve access to and outcomes of transplantation.