Sociology 1027A/B Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Socioeconomic Status, Meritocracy, Social Capital

• School: Western University
• Department: Sociology
• Course: Sociology 1027A/B
• Professor: Wolfgang Lehmann

Document Summary

How social institutions and processes affect individual lives (social class, status, and inequality) Measuring inequality: gini index: the gini index was developed by an italian sociologist named corrado. Gini: this index measures income inequality on a scale of 0 to 1. (cid:862)(cid:1004)(cid:863) (cid:396)ep(cid:396)ese(cid:374)ts pe(cid:396)fe(cid:272)t e(cid:395)ualit(cid:455) i(cid:374) a so(cid:272)iet(cid:455) (cid:862)(cid:1005)(cid:863) (cid:396)ep(cid:396)ese(cid:374)ts the (cid:373)a(cid:454)i(cid:373)u(cid:373) le(cid:448)el of inequality in a society: the lower the gini index, the more equal the country. Why has inequality in canada increased: shareholder economy and executive pay. Stagnant or declining wages for others: shifting tax burdens. Declining corporate taxes (28% in 2000; 15% today) Declining taxes for high income earners: result: declining income for governments. Living below a specific level of income. At this cutoff income, families are expected to spend 20 percentage points more than the average income family on food, shelter, and clothing. Economic: limited ability to buy resources (food, childcare, (cid:862)e(cid:374)(cid:396)i(cid:272)h(cid:373)e(cid:374)t(cid:863)) Psychological: impact on mental health (parents and children)