Inequality, subjective wellbeing and social exclusion

1
Inequality, subjective well-being and social
exclusion

• Tania Burchardt
• London School of Economics

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Inequality of what?

• Income
• or resources?
• not a final outcome

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Inequality of what?

• Income
• or resources?
• not a final outcome
• Opportunity
• ... to consume? what else?
• limited by what?

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Inequality of what?

• Income
• or resources?
• not a final outcome
• Opportunity
• ... to consume? what else?
• limited by what?
• Capabilities
• valued beings and doings
• bigger capability set fuller agency
• wide scope of potential constraints
• Inescapably normative

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Subjective well-being

• Money does make you happy

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Subjective well-being

• Money does make you happy
• But so does love (for a while...)

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Subjective well-being

• Money does make you happy
• But so does love (for a while...)
• Many characteristics matter
• income
• age, marital status
• economic activity (self-employment, u/e)
• peer group

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Subjective well-being

• Money does make you happy
• But so does love (for a while...)
• Many dimensions matter
• Inequalities matter
• Dynamics matter
• Agency matters

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And social exclusion...?

• Consumption plus other dimensions
• Dynamics (immediate and lifetime)
• Agency (needs to be nurtured and constrained)
• Alerts us to exclusionary closure
• Addresses the features which make inequality
  matter

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So what?

• Coherent normative judgements second generation
  joined up government?

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So what?

• Coherent normative judgements second generation
  joined up government?
• Agency positive and negative

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So what?

• Coherent normative judgements second generation
  joined up government?
• Agency positive and negative
• Dynamics prevention, protection, promotion and
  propulsion

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So what?

• Coherent normative judgements second generation
  joined up government?
• Agency positive and negative
• Dynamics prevention, protection, promotion and
  propulsion,
• Social exclusion audits