Please note - this article was originally published on the id21 website which has now closed. This and other articles produced by id21 were archived by Eldis in 2009 and are not actively maintained. If you find links and references which are no longer valid please email eldis@ids.ac.uk.

Why development policy should be concerned with group inequalities

Policy-making today puts individuals at the centre of concern. The Millennium Goals are purely defined in terms of individuals. Are current concerns with reducing poverty and inequality neglecting the group dimensions of well-being and social stability? Should we see such traumatic events as the September 11th 2001 terrorist attacks as a manifestation of the destabilising force of horizontal inequalities?

A paper and online lecture from the University of Oxford’s Queen Elizabeth House explores why groups are important for individual welfare and social stability. It shows that at present, horizontal inequalities (HIs) only enter development analysis in response to violent events such as the Rwandan genocide. It argues that HIs (defined as inequalities between culturally formed groups) are a neglected dimension of development. It suggests how HIs could be incorporated into development policy for all societies, and not just those involved in or recovering from conflict.

Nine case studies indicate how HIs can lead to political instability. They marshal evidence to support the contention that when ethnic identities coincide with economic and social inequalities, conflict of one sort or another becomes likely. Two distinct situations are examined: those in which political and socio-economic deprivation coincides (e.g. Chiapas in Mexico, apartheid South Africa, the USA, Brazil and Northern Ireland) and those where the politically powerful represent the relatively deprived (Malaysia, Uganda, Sri Lanka and contemporary South Africa).

Key findings of the research indicate:

When economic differences between the deprived to the privileged are significant, tensions are likely to spill over, especially if the inequalities are rising and the groups are sizeable.
In seven of the nine cases, affirmative action has been effective in reducing, but not eliminating, HIs.
Experience in Malaysia and post-apartheid South Africa shows it is possible to introduce policies to strengthen the economic position of the political majority without provoking violent opposition.
Turmoil in Fiji warns us that winner-takes-all electoral contests can undermine the efforts of responsible leaders to seek consensus.
Poverty reduction policies do not in themselves target HIs.

Policy-makers and analysts are urged to:

recognise the multidimensional nature of HIs and identify their political, economic and social elements
collect data by cultural categories, without being daunted by the problems and controversies which may arise in such societies as the UK where cultural boundaries are fuzzy and fluid
introduce affirmative action policies to reduce HIs (these may include targeting the regional distribution of investment, land reform, credit allocation and imposing group distribution requirements on the private sector)
recognise that policies towards HIs may impose constraints on the market which may not be consistent with World Bank/IMF programmes to enhance efficiency, premised on reducing state intervention in the economy; and they go beyond poverty reduction packages
ensure that democracies in strongly divided societies are inclusive, which requires a form of constrained democracy characterised by decentralisation, proportional representation, enforcement of tough anti-discrimination laws and job allocations to different groups (particularly of posts in the civil service, army and police)
develop appropriate and comparable summary measures for each country if HIs are to be used for cross-country econometrics.

Source(s):
‘Horizontal inequalities: a neglected dimension of development’, Queen Elizabeth House Working Paper Number 81, by Francis Stewart, February 2002 Full document.
2001 WIDER Annual Development Lecture by Frances Stewart – video available online Full document.

Funded by: WIDER

id21 Research Highlight: 17 January 2003

Further Information:
Frances Stewart
Queen Elizabeth House
21 St Giles
Oxford OX1 3LA
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1865 273600
Fax: +44 (0)1865 273607
Contact the contributor: frances.stewart@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Contact the contributor: qeh@qeh.ox.ac.uk

Queen Elizabeth House (QEH), UK

Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DfID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Articles featured on the id21 site may be copied or quoted without restriction provided id21 and originating author(s) and institution(s) are acknowledged. Copyright © 2009 IDS. All rights reserved.

id21 is funded by the UK Department for International Development. id21 is one of a family of knowledge services at the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex. id21 is a www.oneworld.net partner and an affiliate of www.mediachannel.org. IDS is a charitable company, No. 877338.