Social Inequality

Inequality in income, earnings, and wealth has risen dramatically in the United States over the past three decades. Most research into this issue has focused on the causes―global trade, new technology, and economic policy―rather than the consequences of inequality. In Social Inequality, a group of the nation's leading social scientists opens a wide-ranging inquiry into the social implications of rising economic inequality. Beginning with a critical evaluation of the existing research, they assess whether the recent run-up in economic inequality has been accompanied by rising inequality in social domains such as the quality of family and neighborhood life, equal access to education and health care, job satisfaction, and political participation. Marcia Meyers and colleagues find that many low-income mothers cannot afford market-based child care, which contributes to inequality both at the present time―by reducing maternal employment and family income―and through the long-term consequences of informal or low-quality care on children's educational achievement. At the other end of the educational spectrum, Thomas Kane links the growing inequality in college attendance to rising tuition and cuts in financial aid. Neil Fligstein and Taek-Jin Shin show how both job security and job satisfaction have decreased for low-wage workers compared with their higher-paid counterparts. Those who fall behind economically may also suffer diminished access to essential social resources like health care. John Mullahy, Stephanie Robert, and Barbara Wolfe discuss why higher inequality may lead to poorer health: wider inequality might mean increased stress-related ailments for the poor, and it might also be associated with public health care policies that favor the privileged. On the political front, Richard Freeman concludes that political participation has become more stratified as incomes have become more unequal. Workers at the bottom of the income scale may simply be too hard-pressed or too demoralized to care about political participation. Social Inequality concludes with a comprehensive section on the methodological problems involved in disentangling the effects of inequality from other economic factors, which will be of great benefit to future investigators. While today's widening inequality may be a temporary episode, the danger is that the current economic divisions may set in motion a self-perpetuating cycle of social disadvantage. The most comprehensive review of this quandary to date, Social Inequality maps out a new agenda for research on inequality in America with important implications for public policy. The Uneven Spread Of Single-parent Families : What Do We Know? Where Do We Look For Answers? / David T. Ellwood And Christopher Jencks -- Women's Education And Family Timing : Outcomes And Trends Associated With Age At Marriage And First Birth / Steven P. Martin -- Neighborhoods, Poverty, And Children's Well-being / Anne R. Pebley And Narayan Sastry -- Trends In Children's Attainments And Their Determinants As Family Income Inequality Has Increased / Robert Haveman [and Others] -- Inequality In Parental Investment In Child-rearing : Expenditures, Time, And Health / Suzanne Bianchi [and Others] -- Inequality In Early Childhood Education And Care : What Do We Know? / Marcia K. Meyers [and Others] -- Progress In Schooling / Robert M. Hauser -- College-going And Inequality / Thomas J. Kane -- Digital Inequality : From Unequal Access To Differentiated Use / Paul Dimaggio [and Others] --^ The Shareholder Value Society : A Review Of The Changes In Working Conditions And Inequality In The United States, 1976 To 2000 / Neil Fligstein And Taek-jin Shin -- The Changing Distribution Of Education Finance, 1972 To 1997 / Sean Corcoran [and Others] -- School Inequality : What Do We Know? / Meredith Phillips And Tiffani Chin -- Health, Income, And Inequality / John Mullahy, Stephanie Robert, And Barbara Wolfe -- The Income-health Relationship And The Role Of Relative Deprivation / Christine E. Eibner And William N. Evans -- Inequality In Life And Death : What Drives Racial Trends In U.s. Child Death Rates? / Janet Currie And V. Joseph Hotz -- Political Equality : What Do We Know About It? / Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Schlozman, And Henry E. Brady -- An Analytical Perspective On Participatory Inequality And Income Inequality / Henry E. Brady -- What, Me Vote? / Richard B. Freeman -- Civic Transformation And Inequality In The Contemporary United States / Theda Skocpol --^ Crime, Punishment, And American Inequality / Bruce Western, Meredith Kleykamp, And Jake Rosenfeld -- The Consequences Of Income Inequality For Redistributive Policy In The United States / Gabriel S. Lenz -- Income Distribution And Public Social Expenditure : Theories, Effects, And Evidence / Lars Osberg, Timothy M. Smeeding, And Jonathan Schwabish -- Politics, Public Policy, And Inequality : A Look Back At The Twentieth Century / Howard Rosenthal -- U.s. Black-white Wealth Inequality / John Karl Scholz And Kara Levine -- Assessing The Effect Of Economic Inequality / William N. Evans, Michael Hout, And Susan E. Mayer -- How Inequality May Affect Intergenerational Mobility / Michael Hout. Kathryn M. Neckerman, Editor. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover Title Page, Copyright Contents Contributors Foreword Introduction Part I: Family and Neighborhood Chapter 1. The Uneven Spread of Single-Parent Families: What Do We Know? Where Do We Look for Answers? Chapter 2. Women's Education and Family Timing: Outcomes and Trends Associated with Age at Marriage and First Birth Chapter 3. Neighborhoods, Poverty, and Children's Well-Being Part II: Investments in Children Chapter 4. Trends in Children's Attainments and Their Determinants as Family Income Inequality Has Increased Chapter 5. Inequality in Parental Investment in Child-Rearing: Expenditures, Time, and Health Part III: Inequality in School and Work Chapter 6. Inequality in Early Childhood Education and Care: What Do We Know? Chapter 7. Progress in Schooling Chapter 8. College-Going and Inequality Chapter 9. Digital Inequality: From Unequal Access to Differentiated Use Chapter 10. The Shareholder Value Society: A Review of the Changes in Working Conditions and Inequality in the United States, 1976 to 2000 Chapter 11. The Changing Distribution of Education Finance,1972 to 1997 Chapter 12. School Inequality: What Do We Know? Part IV: Inequality in Health Chapter 13. Health, Income, and Inequality Chapter 14. The Income-Health Relationship and the Role of Relative Deprivation Chapter 15. Inequality in Life and Death: What Drives Racial Trends in U.S. Child Death Rates? Part V: Inequality in Political Participation Chapter 16. Political Equality: What Do We Know About It? Chapter 17. An Analytical Perspective on Participatory Inequality and Income Inequality Chapter 18. What, Me Vote? Chapter 19. Civic Transformation and Inequality in the Contemporary United States Part VI: Inequality and Public Policy Chapter 20. Crime, Punishment, and American Inequality Chapter 21. The Consequences of Income Inequality for Redistributive Policy in the United States Chapter 22. Income Distribution and Public Social Expenditure: Theories, Effects, and Evidence Chapter 23. Politics, Public Policy, and Inequality: A Look Back at the Twentieth Century Part VII: Inequality in Wealth Chapter 24. U.S. Black-White Wealth Inequality Part VIII: Methods and Concepts Chapter 25. Assessing the Effect of Economic Inequality Chapter 26. How Inequality May Affect Intergenerational Mobility Index