Inequality Studies from the Global South

297 Pages·2020·10.114 MB·English

by  David Francis, Imraan Valodia and Edward Webster

“This book not only brings Southern perspectives on inequality by highlighting
the approaches and experiences of both the geographical South and the South as
a metaphor for the victims of exclusion of oppression (the ‘subaltern’) around the
world, it also points to the need to shift the centre of gravity of inequality studies
to the global South, where inequalities of income and power are often far more
pronounced than in the global North. The book, by posing the issue of the ine-
qualities within the global epistemological order that tends to mirror the unequal
and unjust global order, shows the need to reframe the narratives about inequality
as well as the need for a comprehensive structural transformation agenda. The
Southern Centre for Inequality Studies, based in South Africa where millions of
people are still grappling with the devastating effects of Apartheid, by producing
this must read on inequality is clearly off to a great start.”
—Ebrima Sall, Executive Director of TrustAfrica and former
Executive Secretary of CODESRIA
“This is a major contribution to social science discourse on inequality that seri-
ously shifts the focus from money-matric, income-centric engagement to histori-
cally understood, interconnected, structural dimensions, centering on power. It
is likely to infuence not only thinking on inequality in global South but also in
academies and policy circles of the global North.”
—Manoranjan Mohanty, Retired Professor of Political Science,
University of Delhi
“An important collection of essays that add up to a fresh and innovative perspec-
tive on inequality from the global South. It broadens and advances the feld of
inequality studies through an interdisciplinary approach and it draws our focus
beyond measurement of economic inequality, which so far has dominated the lit-
erature. The different chapters examine inequality across the global South from
multiple perspectives, including gender, race and class and offer exciting theo-
retical and methodological innovations for the study of inequality. This book is
an essential tool for researchers and students in both the global North and South
who are concerned about growing levels of inequality across the globe.”
—Naila Kabeer, Professor of Gender and Development,
Departments of International Development and Gender Studies,
London School of Economics

Inequality Studies from the Global South
This book offers an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to thinking about
inequality, and to understanding how inequality is produced and reproduced in
the global South.
Without the safety net of the various Northern welfare states, inequality in the
global South is not merely a socio-economic problem, but an existential threat
to the social contract that underpins the democratic state and society itself. Only
a response that is frmly grounded in the context of the global South can hope
to address this problem. This collection brings together scholars from across the
globe, with a particular focus on the global South, to address broad thematic areas
such as the conceptual and methodological challenges of measuring inequality;
the political economy of inequality in the global South; inequality in work,
households and the labour market; and inequalities in land, spaces and cities.
The book concludes by suggesting alternatives for addressing inequality in the
global South and around the world.
The pioneering ideas and theories put forward by this volume make it essential
reading for students and researchers of global inequality across the felds of
sociology, economics, law, politics, global studies and development studies.
David Francis is Deputy Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies,
at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Imraan Valodia is Dean of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management and
Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at the University of the
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Edward Webster is Distinguished Research Professor at the Southern Centre for
Inequality Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South
Africa.
Routledge Inequality Studies
After the second world war, many thought that the world was moving in a fairer
and more equitable direction. However, in recent years, dramatic economic
and social shifts around the world have put inequality right back at the heart
of debate in the social sciences. This book series draws on subjects from across
the social sciences, demonstrating how inequalities of race, education, income,
ethnicity, gender, and social class are evolving in the twenty-first century. The
series particularly promotes comparative and interdisciplinary research targeted
at a global readership.
Books in the series might draw on approaches and methods taken from across
Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, Economics, Geography, Law, Social
Policy, Media and Communications, Gender, and Statistics. Overall, the series
aims to bring together the very best in international research on the subject,
exploring how inequality manifests, how it can be assessed using quantitative and
qualitative methods, and how to combat it.
The series welcomes submissions from established and junior authors on cut-
ting-edge and high-level research on key topics that feature in global news and
public debate. To submit book proposals, please contact your Routledge subject
editor, or the lead editor for the series, Helena Hurd ([email protected]).
Inequality Studies from the Global South
Edited by Edward Webster, Imraan Valodia and David Francis
Inequality Studies from the
Global South
Edited by David Francis, Imraan Valodia
and Edward Webster
First published 2020
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2020 selection and editorial matter David Francis, Imraan Valodia
and Edward Webster; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of David Francis, Imraan Valodia and Edward Webster to be
identifed as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for
their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections
77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other
means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Francis, David, 1988-editor. | Webster, Eddie, editor. | Valodia,
Imraan, editor.
Title: Inequality studies from the global South / edited by David Francis,
Imraan Valodia and Edward Webster.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2020. |
Series: Routledge inequality studies | Includes bibliographical references
and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2019058928 (print) | LCCN 2019058929 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367235963 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367235680 (paperback) |
ISBN 9780429282447 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Equality–Developing countries. |
Labor market–Developing
countries. | Land use–Social aspects–Developing countries. |
Urban policy–Developing countries.
Classifcation: LCC HN981.S6 I54 2020 (print) | LCC HN981.S6
(ebook) | DDC 305.509172/4–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019058928
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019058929
ISBN: 978-0-367-23596-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-23568-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-28244-7 (ebk)
Typeset in Goudy
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
Contents
List of fgures ix
List of tables x
List of contributors xi
Preface xvii
Acknowledgements xix
Abbreviations and acronyms xx
PART 1
Conceptual questions on inequality in the South 1
1 Towards a Southern approach to inequality: Inequality studies
in South Africa and the global South 3
EDWARD WEBSTER, IMRAAN VALODIA AND DAVID FRANCIS
2 Is hierarchy the same as inequality? 22
DILIP MENON
3 Inequality under globalisation: State of knowledge and
implications for economics 33
JAMES K. GALBRAITH AND JAEHEE CHOI
PART 2
The political economy of inequality in the global South 53
4 A survey of trends in macroeconomic policy and development
in the global South: From World War II to the global fnancial
crisis and beyond 55
VISHNU PADAYACHEE
5 Economic power and regulation: The political economy of
metals, machinery and equipment industries in South Africa 75
SUMAYYA GOGA, PAMELA MONDLIWA AND SIMON ROBERTS
viii Contents
6 Inegalitarian growth: India and Brazil compared 99
ALEXANDRE DE FREITAS BARBOSA, MARIA CRISTINA CACCIAMALI
AND GERRY RODGERS
PART 3
Work, households and the labour market 121
7 The crisis of social reproduction in petty commodity
production and large-scale mining: A Southern
perspective on gender inequality 123
HIBIST KASSA
8 Vocational education and inequalities in transitions from
education to work in three African countries 141
STEPHANIE ALLAIS
PART 4
Land, space and cities 161
9 Investigating infrastructures of urban inequality 163
MARGOT RUBIN, MELANIE SAMSON, SIAN BUTCHER, AVRIL JOFFE,
STEFANIA MERLO, LAILA SMITH AND ALEX WAFER
10 Social reproduction at end moments: Land, class formation and
rural economies in Ghana and South Africa 184
AKUA O. BRITWUM AND BEN SCULLY
PART 5
Alternatives 203
11 Minimum wages: Tackling labour market inequality 205
PATRICK BELSER, DAVID FRANCIS, KIM JURGENSEN AND IMRAAN VALODIA
12 Building counter power in the workplace: South Africa’s
inequality paradox 221
EDWARD WEBSTER
13 Global inequality and human rights 240
RADHIKA BALAKRISHNAN
14 Conclusion 257
DAVID FRANCIS, EDWARD WEBSTER AND IMRAAN VALODIA
Index 263
Figures
1.1 Income inequality around the world (30 most unequal
countries) 8
3.1 S chematic of the Augmented Kuznets Curve, with illustrative
placement of selected countries 46
3.2 T he time trend of global inequality 48
5.1 S hare of merchandise exports, % 78
5.2 P ortfolio infows and FDI outfows 79
5.3 M ME value chain 80
5.4 N et trade balance in the MME industries 81
6.1 G ini coeffcient of inequality of labour income, Brazil,
1960–2011 100
6.2 G ini coeffcient of inequality of household expenditure per
capita, India, 1950s to 2011–2012 101
6.3 B razil and India, pre-tax income share, top 10 per cent
(individual adults) 102
6.4 A nnual rates of GDP growth (%), Brazil and India, 1950–2010 102
6.5 G ini index of wage inequality, India and Brazil, 1983 to
2011–2012 110
10.1 M ain income sources by household 190
10.2 G rant or private pension status, Ghana 192
12.1 T rade union power resources 222
12.2 T he application of the power resources approach (PRA) 226
12.3 T he labour share of income (current prices) 230