Measure Of Wealth Research Articles

Student Voices About Educational Inequalities and Justice: Problematizing a Neoliberal Education System

Rising educational inequality is considered as one pressing social problem in many national education systems. There is limited existing literature that examines how youth from different social backgrounds perceive and consider social inequalities and “justice.” This study addresses this research gap by probing the perspectives of different young peoplewho have experienced the competitive Hong Kong education system through qualitative interviews. The findings revealed that youth, despite facing challenges, adopted a relatively “positive” mindset by focusing on what they could change rather than being fatalistic about social reproduction. Both middle-class and working-class young people in the sample did not view differences in family capital as inequalities but believed in education’s role in promoting social mobility within a meritocratic system. The study also suggests redefining “life successes” from traditional measures of status and wealth to the perspectives of students that value job and life satisfaction. Critical analyses that highlight the embedded neoliberalism were conducted on these problematic findings, and the implications for educational policies were discussed.

Unlocking the potential: How does technological innovation shape inclusive wealth? Empirical insights from top seven emerging economies

Amidst the pursuit of sustainable development and economic prosperity, there has been growing criticism directed towards traditional metrics such as GDP because of their narrow focus on societal well-being and environmental considerations. Therefore, our study shifts its focus from GDP to a more comprehensive measure of wealth, known as inclusive wealth. Our objective is to investigate how technology contributes to the advancement of inclusive wealth encompassing produced, natural, and human capital. We centred our analysis on the top seven emerging economies (E−7) and utilized data from the period of 1998–2022. Employing Fully Modified Least Squares (FMOLS), we develop four distinct models to examine the impact of technology on its various components and overall inclusive wealth. We also checked the robustness of our results by employing Cross-Sectionally Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model. Our findings reveal that technological advancement has a positive effect on each component of inclusive wealth, including produced capital, human capital and natural capital. Additionally, our results indicate a favourable impact of technological progress on overall inclusive wealth. These results emphasize the importance of incorporating technology into strategies for sustainable development and inclusive wealth.

Measuring Historical Inequality in Germany

Abstract This article surveys the measurement of historical wealth and income inequality in Germany. We discuss the underlying data sources, the challenges they pose, and the opportunities they create. We also identify two promising avenues for future research. First, we argue that the geographic granularity of German historical statistics provides researchers with the opportunity to investigate the causes of inequality. Second, several dimensions of historical inequality remain under-explored, for example, the equalizing role of welfare state institutions such as public pensions.

Colonial legacies and wealth inequality in Kenya

This article discusses the evolution of Kenya's wealth distribution from the late 1950s to the present. Utilizing previously untapped probate and administration sources, it measures the share of Kenyans leaving estates at death, and maps how this wealth-owning strata has changed over time. It shows a growth in African estates after independence, and by the 1980s roughly 8 % of Kenyans left estates at death, largely a consequence of land titling and land reform. Meanwhile, European estates dwindled as settlers divested. Since the 1990s, Nairobi-based estate-holders are growing in share, reflecting the importance of urban property to the portfolios of the wealthy. Measures of top wealth shares suggest high wealth inequality in both the late colonial period and the present, but today's wealth inequality is driven by the uneven distribution of housing wealth, more so than by agricultural land. These findings illustrate how a variety of colonial legacies influenced wealth accumulation in postcolonial Kenya.

Efekt redystrybucyjny świadczeń rodzinnych w Polsce – wykorzystanie monetarnych i wielowymiarowych wskaźników zamożności

The aim of the study discussed in the article is the evaluation of the impact of family benefits and their modifications on the household wealth distribution. The key research question reads: which of the two characteristics of the benefits – their relative size or regressive character (i.e. the volume of benefits decreasing while the recipient’s income grows) – is more conductive to the analysed effects? The Kakwani decomposition, which makes it possible to split the total effect into the two above-mentioned components, was adopted to answer the research question. As wealth measures, the study employed three kinds of equivalent income, i.e. income declared by households, income declared by households plus money remaining from the previous month and income corrected by means of non-monetary wealth determinants, as well as the multidimensional indicator. The study was based on data for 2015–2020, drawn from subsequent editions of Statistics Poland’s Household Budget Survey. Therefore, a period before the launch of the ‘Family 500 plus’ programme in 2016 was analysed, and modifications, such as waivering in 2019 the income criterion for granting the benefit for the first child, were taken into account. The results of the analyses demonstrate that the redistributive effect of the benefits was mostly affected by the relative size of the benefits, while their regressivity played a secondary role. The comparison of the computations for four wealth indicators leads to the conclusion that the selection of the method of evaluating the wealth of households does not significantly impact the assessment of the redistributive effect of family benefits, which stands in opposition to some other studies employing monetary and multidimensional wealth indicators.

Ethnic wealth inequality in England and Wales, 1858–2018

Using surnames from the universe of death and wealth-at-death records in England and Wales, from 1858 to 2018, I document the emergence of a modern ethnic wealth gradient. Historically, Non-British ethnicities have average wealth 2–5 times that of the English. However, this premium has decreased over the 20th century. By 1980, non-British ethnicities have no advantage over the British. However, this masks considerable heterogeneity within the non-British ethnicity group. Europeans typically die significantly richer than the English whereas the Pakistani and Swedish die significantly poorer. Some groups always have lower wealth. The Irish, have wealth around 50% of the average English throughout. Surprisingly, the most egalitarian measure of wealth is representation within the top 1%. Most ethnicities have an equal, or greater, representation in the top 1% than the English, 1980–1992. Despite large differences in average wealth between ethnicities, the vast majority of variation, 97.5% is between individuals.

Stratifikasi Sosial dalam Novel La Hami Karya Marah Rusli

This study aims to describe the social stratification in Sumbawa Island before the eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 in the novel La Hami by Marah Rusli, which includes; (1) the form of social stratification in the novel La Hami by Marah Rusli (2) the cause of social stratification in the novel La Hami by Marah Rusli, (3) the impact of social stratification in the novel La Hami by Marah Rusli. This research is a literary research using a qualitative approach using a descriptive method whose data are in the form of words, phrases, and sentences, and the data source is taken in the novel La Hami by Marah Rusli. The data collection technique is done by reading and understanding the novel, marking data related to the research problem to gain a deeper understanding of the problem, and inventorizing (searching) the data. The results of this study are that there are three forms of social stratification (layers of society) consisting of a layer of nobles, a layer of people, and a layer of slaves. The noble layer is the highest layer in the life of the people on Sumbawa Island, this noble layer has a high position in the royal government system. The people's layer is the largest layer or called the mass of the people, they are independent but still under the sultanate government. The slave layer is a layer that must work for the royal mangkubumi, they are not free like the masses of the people. Factors causing social stratification in the novel La Hami by Marah Rusli are measures of wealth, measures of power, measures of honor and measures of knowledge. The impacts are social conflict and class endogamy.

Critically quantitative: measuring community cultural wealth on surveys

ABSTRACT This study explores the quantitative measurement of Community Cultural Wealth (CCW), an asset-based approach to understanding the experiences of students from systemically marginalized racial/ethnic groups. Grounded in critical race theory, CCW focuses on forms of capital utilized by marginalized populations that are often unrecognized/undervalued by traditional social science research. Most previous studies on CCW have relied on qualitative methods; we argue that quantitative critical race theory, or ‘QuantCrit’, can complement those studies by statistically specifying assets possessed by students from marginalized populations as a step toward reimagining institutions that elevate their importance. This paper aims to develop a CCW scale to quantitatively explore the concept, while acknowledging the overlaps among and the dynamic nature of the forms of capital emphasized in conceptualization. Findings from exploratory factor analysis are largely consistent with the original CCW framework but suggest some important ways in which the framework can be further developed.

Measuring and taxing top incomes and wealth

Abstract We discuss the measurement of top incomes and wealth in the UK and options for reforming their taxation. First, we highlight the importance of capital gains and migration in understanding long-term trends in top income shares and of survey under-coverage at the top in understanding top wealth shares. We next consider the scope for reforms to the taxation of capital to tackle these inequalities, whilst also improving the efficiency of taxation, emphasizing the roles of capital gains tax, inheritance tax and wealth taxes. Finally, we examine the question of who is taxed, including the tax treatment of highly mobile individuals and of trusts.

Assessing the Influence of Redlining on Intergenerational Wealth and Body Mass Index Through a Quasi-experimental Framework.

Higher levels of body mass index (BMI), particularly for those who have obesity defined as class II and III, are correlated with excess risk of all-cause mortality in the USA, and these risks disproportionately affects marginalized communities impacted by systemic racism. Redlining, a form of structural racism, is a practice by which federal agencies and banks disincentivized mortgage investments in predominantly racialized minority neighborhoods, contributing to residential segregation. The extent to which redlining contributes to current-day wealth and health inequities, including obesity, through wealth pathways or limited access to health-promoting resources, remains unclear. Our quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the generational impacts of redlining on wealth and body mass index (BMI) outcomes. We leveraged the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) and Home Owners' Loan Corporation (HOLC) maps to implement a geographical regression discontinuity design, where treatment assignment is randomly based on the boundary location of PSID grandparents in yellowlined vs. redlined areas and used outcome measures of wealth and mean BMI of grandchildren. To estimate our effects, we used a continuity-based approach and applied data-driven procedures to identify the most appropriate bandwidths for a valid estimation and inference. In our fully adjusted model, grandchildren with grandparents living in redlined areas had lower average household wealth (β = - $35,419; 95% CIrbc - $37,423, - $7615) and a notably elevated mean BMI (β = 7.47; 95% CIrbc - 4.00, 16.60), when compared to grandchildren whose grandparents resided in yellowlined regions. Our research supports the idea that redlining, a historical policy rooted in structural racism, is a key factor contributing to disparities in wealth accumulation and, conceivably, body mass index across racial groups.

Short Communication: Monte Carlo Expected Wealth and Risk Measure Trade-Off Portfolio Optimization

Short Communication: Monte Carlo Expected Wealth and Risk Measure Trade-Off Portfolio Optimization

Stress testing for IInd pillar life-cycle pension funds using hidden Markov model

AbstractThis paper presents a stress testing technique based on a hidden Markov regime switching model and scenario generations. Firstly, we assume that investor’s risk preferences and beliefs are primarily observed in main world indices and then transmitted to other markets such as IInd pillar life-cycle pension funds. This enables both regime (market state) identification and regime-switching detection. Second, we apply stress to the transition matrix by increasing probabilities of moving to a worse market state, i.e., we increase the transition probabilities on the upper-right side of the main diagonal and decrease the diagonal probabilities correspondingly. Third, future scenarios (evolution) of returns of pension funds are generated using stressed transition matrices and basic risk and performance measures of the final wealth are presented. Finally, three different strategies for pension managers are considered and compared to each other. The results show how the best strategy depends on the stress level.

CHASING THE TAIL: A GENERALIZED PARETO DISTRIBUTION APPROACH TO ESTIMATING WEALTH INEQUALITY

AbstractSince the work reported in Vermeulen (Review of Income and Wealth, 64(2), 357–387; 2018), a literature has developed using the simple Pareto distribution along with “rich list” information to improve estimates of the upper tail of the wealth distribution measured in surveys. Because the construction of such external data is typically opaque and subject to error, it may be best not to depend exclusively on this approach. This paper develops an alternative approach, using the generalized Pareto distribution (GPD), extending an estimation strategy developed by Castillo and Hadi (Journal of the American Statistical Association, 92(440), 1609–1620; 1997) in a novel way to survey data. The extension allows for addressing imperfections in the effective coverage of the upper tail of the wealth distribution, as well as allowing the imposition of an external measure of aggregate wealth as a constraint. The paper implements the method on Austrian survey data that has weak coverage of wealthy households. The results indicate that even with a range of plausible adjustments for data imperfections, relying only on the survey data to project the upper tail is insufficient to yield implied wealth aggregates in the range implied by aggregate figures. Imposing the implied aggregate as a constraint is necessary. The approach may be particularly useful in comparing survey‐based inequality measures across and within countries and over time, as well as in constructing distributional financial accounts.

Financial-related discrimination and socioeconomic inequalities in psychological well-being related measures: a longitudinal study

BackgroundThis study examined the prospective association between financial-related discrimination and psychological well-being related measures and assessed the role of financial-related discrimination in explaining socioeconomic inequalities in psychological well-being related measures.MethodsData of UK older adults (≥ 50 years) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were used (baseline: Wave 5, 2010/2011; n = 8,988). The baseline total non-pension wealth (in tertiles: poorest, middle, richest) was used as a socioeconomic status (SES) measure. Financial-related discrimination at baseline was defined as participants who reported they had been discriminated against due to their financial status. Five psychological well-being related measures (depressive symptoms, enjoyment of life, eudemonic well-being, life satisfaction and loneliness) were examined prospectively across different follow-up periods (Waves 6, 2012/2013, 2-year follow-up; and 7, 2014/2015, 4-year follow-up). Regression models assessed associations between wealth, financial-related discrimination, and follow-up psychological measures, controlling for sociodemographic covariates and baseline psychological measures (for longitudinal associations). Mediation analysis informed how much (%) the association between wealth and psychological well-being related measures was explained by financial-related discrimination.ResultsParticipants from the poorest, but not middle, (vs. richest) wealth groups were more likely to experience financial-related discrimination (OR = 1.97; 95%CI = 1.49, 2.59). The poorest (vs. richest) wealth was also longitudinally associated with increased depressive symptoms and decreased enjoyment of life, eudemonic well-being and life satisfaction in both 2-year and 4-year follow-ups, and increased loneliness at 4-year follow-up. Experiencing financial-related discrimination was longitudinally associated with greater depressive symptoms and loneliness, and lower enjoyment of life across follow-up periods. Findings from mediation analysis indicated that financial-related discrimination explained 3–8% of the longitudinal associations between wealth (poorest vs. richest) and psychological well-being related measures.ConclusionsFinancial-related discrimination is associated with worse psychological well-being and explains a small proportion of socioeconomic inequalities in psychological well-being.

Reliability and validity of the responsive care tool for children 0–3 years old in a rural, South Asian setting

Research has shown the importance of responsive caregiving for fostering positive development early in life; however, tools measuring these interactions are often impractical for larger scale intervention trials and in settings with resource constraints. The present study provides reliability and validity evidence from Sindh, Pakistan for a tool developed to quantify responsive caregiving. Data were collected from 200 randomly selected households on responsive caregiving, sociodemographic characteristics, early learning, and early child development. The results indicated that the responsive care tool can be feasibly administered in less than 5 min in a low-resource setting. An exploratory factor analysis found that the tool’s indicators reliably loaded onto two distinct factors, responsive interactions and caregiver-initiated interactions, accounting for 96.01% of the underlying variation in scores. A confirmatory factor analysis reflecting input from modification indices showed satisfactory fit statistics and adequate factor loadings (all above .70). Internal consistencies of the two factors were also high, with alphas of .93 and .83, respectively. Convergent validity of the responsive interactions factor was demonstrated by a strong and positive correlation with measures of psychosocial stimulation, early learning, maternal education, and household wealth. Predictive validity of the responsive interactions factor was demonstrated by a strong and positive association with child development. The caregiver-initiated interactions factor was significantly and negatively associated with psychosocial stimulation and child development. The resulting evidence provides programs with an open access, observational, reliable, and valid measure to quantify responsive caregiving at the program level in low-resource settings.

The prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors among adults living in extreme poverty.

Evidence on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor prevalence among adults living below the World Bank's international line for extreme poverty (those with income <$1.90 per day) globally is sparse. Here we pooled individual-level data from 105 nationally representative household surveys across 78 countries, representing 85% of people living in extreme poverty globally, and sorted individuals by country-specific measures of household income or wealth to identify those in extreme poverty. CVD risk factors (hypertension, diabetes, smoking, obesity and dyslipidaemia) were present among 17.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) 16.7-18.3%), 4.0% (95% CI 3.6-4.5%), 10.6% (95% CI 9.0-12.3%), 3.1% (95% CI 2.8-3.3%) and 1.4% (95% CI 0.9-1.9%) of adults in extreme poverty, respectively. Most were not treated for CVD-related conditions (for example, among those with hypertension earning <$1.90 per day, 15.2% (95% CI 13.3-17.1%) reported taking blood pressure-lowering medication). The main limitation of the study is likely measurement error of poverty level and CVD risk factors that could have led to an overestimation of CVD risk factor prevalence among adults in extreme poverty. Nonetheless, our results could inform equity discussions for resource allocation and design of effective interventions.

The relationship between mental well-being and wealth varies by wealth type, place and sex/gender: Evidence from Namibia.

This paper explores the impact of livelihood strategies and place on mental well-being. Identifying different socioeconomic factors that impact mental well-being across contexts is pressing given the global rise in mental health disorders. Numerous studies in the population and social sciences have emphasized the protective role of material wealth on human health and well-being; however, scholars frequently assess wealth as a one-dimensional variable, which may fail to capture diverse forms of wealth. Acknowledging different forms of wealth may be particularly important in settings where agricultural economies coexist with cash economies. Using data from the 2013 Namibia Demographic Health Survey (n = 13 377), we use a newly developed measure of success in agricultural activities, an agricultural wealth index, or AWI, generated by Hackman et al., (2021). To examine the role of different forms of wealth on mental health symptoms. We find mental well-being, assessed through three survey questions, is lower among urban dwellers and females and shows varied associations with wealth type and sex/gender. In general, success in agricultural activities is associated with better mental well-being, while the association with market success is null or and conditional upon sex/gender and place. This study adds to recent work on the value of using multidimensional measures of wealth and raises important questions about why wealth type and sex/gender differentially impact mental well-being.

Comparing the Socio-Economic Lives of Fishermen and Onion Farmers in West Sumatra

This research aims to compare the socio-economic life of fishing communities with shallot farming communities. Research on fishing communities was carried out in 2023 in Nagari Sasak, West Pasaman Regency, and research on the lives of shallot farmers was carried out in Nagari Lolo, Solok Regency. This research was analyzed using socio-economic theory. The main components of socio-economic position include measures of wealth, measures of power, measures of honor, and measures of knowledge. This research uses a qualitative approach with a descriptive research type. The informants were selected using purposive sampling with a total of 30 informants (15 informants from the fishing community and 15 from the shallot farming community). Data collection was carried out using in-depth interviews, observation, and documentation. The results of this research can be concluded that: (1) Fishermen's income is uncertain and the sea is the only source of income, while shallot farmers have other sources of income, such as rice fields, bananas, and others (2) The living conditions of fishing communities are more in tiny wooden houses with cement floors, while many shallot farmers already have permanent houses with ceramic floors (3) The education level of fishing communities is generally middle school and high school, while many shallot farmers already have children with graduate degrees.

Horizontal Economic Inequality and Mass Atrocity Risk: A Large-Sample Empirical Inquiry

Our research question is: Does inter-group horizontal economic inequality elevate state-perpetrated mass atrocity risk? Theoretical perspectives in genocide studies show how economic and other forms of discrimination against ethnic or religious groups can elevate the risk of government violence against them. Among the approximately five dozen large-sample empirical studies of mass atrocity risk, only a few consider the effects of economic discrimination. Moreover, no large-sample empirical studies, to the best of our knowledge, test hypotheses related to how inter-group horizontal economic inequalities (as distinct from vertical economic inequalities based on GINI coefficients or quantile income or wealth measures) affect mass atrocity risk. Drawing upon two data sources, we construct four horizontal economic inequality measures for groups within nations. The measures relate to access to economic resources in general and to electricity in particular. We then empirically test hypotheses related to horizontal economic inequality and mass atrocity risk for a sample of 175 nations spanning the period 1946–2019. We find modest support that horizontal economic inequality elevates mass atrocity risk broadly defined, but not genocide risk. We also find that vertical income inequality measures do not usually elevate mass atrocity or genocide risk.

Financial development and mortality rates

ABSTRACT This study uses a broad cross-section of countries to identify a link between financial market development and mortality rates. Our research is motivated by the idea that robust financial markets can facilitate innovation by efficiently channelling essential capital to the entities responsible for health-related advancements, resulting in improved overall health outcomes. Consistent with this conjecture, our findings reveal that countries with better-developed credit markets have markedly lower infant and maternal mortality rates. These results are robust to controls for time-series variation in mortality rates, country-specific determinants such as GDP per capita and other measures of wealth, and potential simultaneity bias.