Social exclusion

The impact of exclusion

Page contents

Introduction
Health and education
Income inequality
Exclusion, growth and poverty
Violence and insecurity
Subjective well-being
Useful websites

Introduction

The existence of social exclusion makes it difficult to achieve particular social objectives, such as reducing poverty and malnutrition, because there are often hidden barriers to reaching those who are socially excluded. Social exclusion also generally involves exclusion in more than one dimension, and these can reinforce each other. For example, a combination of economic and educational exclusion makes it more difficult to advance on either front.

The following book aims to measure the consequences of social exclusion through a series of country case studies in Latin America. The chapter below outlines the findings from these case studies.

Behrman, J., Gaviria, A. and Szekely, M., 2003, ‘Social Exclusion in Latin America: Perception, Reality and Implications’, in Behrman, J. R. et al., 2003, ‘Who’s In and Who’s Out: Social Exclusion in Latin America’, Inter-American Development Bank
What are the perceptions and realities of social exclusion in Latin America? This chapter summarises findings from five country studies. Inequality appears to arise largely from the absence of opportunities for large segments of the population. Exclusion of some groups on the basis of gender, ethnic origin, place of residence or social status may explain inequality of opportunity. The most obvious policy responses are not always the best options.
Access full text: available online

Health and education

The greater poverty of socially excluded groups often translates into poorer levels of health and education, particularly when their poverty is combined with remoteness and lack of infrastructure and social services.

Kabeer, N., 2005, ‘Social Exclusion: Concepts, Findings and Implications for the MDGs’, Paper commissioned as background for the Social Exclusion Policy Paper, Department for International Development (DFID), London
What insights does the concept of social exclusion offer the development studies literature? How is it relevant to key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? This paper argues that the challenges that social exclusion presents to current policy concerns suggest that the ‘business as usual’ approach to development has been inadequate. Economic theories have focussed on resource-based paradigms of disadvantage, taking the individual or household as the unit of analysis. Sociologists, however, have focussed on forms of disadvantage based on the cultural devaluation of groups or categories of people in society based on who they are perceived to be.
Access full text: available online

Lewin, K. M. et al, 2011, ‘Participation and Performance in Education in Sub-Saharan Africa with Special Reference to Kenya: Improving Policy and Practice’, Centre for International Education, Department of Education, University of Sussex, Falmer
Using national data sets from sub-Saharan Africa and a detailed country case study from Kenya, this paper explores aspects of exclusion from education and how patterns of participation have been changing. Over-age status is found to be linked with lower examination results and exclusion from the best secondary schools.
Access full text: available online

Lewis, M. and Lockheed, M., 2008, 'Social Exclusion and the Gender Gap in Education', World Bank, Washington DC
Why is there still a gender gap in education in some countries? This policy research paper reviews gender in education and tests the relevance of ethno-linguistic fractionalisation (ELF) in explaining cross-country differences in learning and school attainment.
Access full text: available online

Mathieson, J. et al., 2008, ‘Chapter 8: Social Exclusion and Health Inequalities’, in ‘Social Exclusion: Meaning, Measurement and Experience and Links to Health Inequalities - A Review of Literature’, Final Report to the WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health from the Social Exclusion Knowledge Network
What are the limits of present empirical evidence over the links between health inequality and social exclusion? How does social exclusion contribute to the theories of social inequality in health? This paper examines the theoretical contribution that social exclusion can make to theories of social inequality in health. It is argued that the present focus on a state of social exclusion fails to recognise the crucial causal link to power inequalities across society. It does not take into account the potential for targeted inequality amongst marginalised groups.
Access full text: available online

Cultural exclusion can also result in ambivalence towards education, further entrenching income inequality.

Yi, L., 2005, ‘Muslim Narratives of Schooling, Social Mobility and Cultural Difference: A Case Study in Multi-ethnic Northwest China’, Japanese Journal of Political Science, Volume 6, Number 1, pp. 1-28
What explains the persistent poor educational performance of China’s Muslim minority populations? This paper draws on interviews in Muslim communities in the Qinghai-Gansu borderland to analyse the impact of cultural exclusion on ethnic minority educational attitudes and performance. There is a tension between Muslims' desire for full social citizenship in the form of rights to employment and education and the limited social and cultural capital they possess with which to achieve these goals. The party-state needs a more coherent approach to national identity and minority rights, so as not to exacerbate existing tensions between minorities and the wider society.
Access full text: available online

New cross-country research by the OECD demonstrates that countries with discriminatory social institutions tend to score poorly in the Millennium Development Goals

OECD, 2010, ‘Gender Inequality and the MDGs: What are the Missing Dimensions?’, ‘At Issue’ Paper, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
What gender issues are hampering progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals? This paper uses the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) to examine gender inequality and the MDGs. It focuses on three MDGs: eradicating extreme hunger and poverty (MDG 1), achieving universal primary education (MDG 2) and improving maternal health (MDG 5). 'Missing dimensions' to these three MDGs are found to be: women's control over resources; their access to land and credit; decision-making power and the percentage of early marriages; and violence against women. These dimensions should be more explicitly targeted.
Access Full Text: available online

Such failure to invest in health and education (termed ‘human capital endowments’) may severely limit societal potential and carry considerable social and economic costs. This is particularly marked with respect to gender difference and exclusion. New research by the World Bank reveals that progress in redressing gender differences in mortality risks and participation in education has been tremendous where the removal of a single barrier is sufficient. However, such progress is not evenly distributed, and gender inequality in these fields remains unacceptably high for some of the most disadvantaged communities.

World Bank, 2011, 'Education and Health: Where Do Gender Differences Really Matter?', in World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality, World Bank, Washington DC, ch. 3
This study notes that investments in health and education shape the ability of men and women to reach their full potential. It examines gender gaps in education and health, and progress in addressing them. It finds that great progress had been made in cases where removing a single barrier – in markets, households or institutions – is required. However, progress has been slower either where multiple barriers need to be lifted at the same time or where a single point of entry produces bottlenecks.
Access full text: available online

Income inequality

Social exclusion can lead to and result from disparities in income distribution, with the wealthiest segments of a country’s population receiving the greatest proportion of its national income. Income inequality arises from inequities in the distribution of assets such as land, credit and education.

Barron, M., 2008, ‘Exclusion and Discrimination as Sources of Inter-Ethnic Inequality in Peru’, Economia, Volume 31, Number 61, pp51-80
What impact do discrimination and exclusion have on income inequality between indigenous and non-indigenous workers in Peru? What policies could help to reduce this inter-ethnic inequality? This paper assesses the extent to which exclusion and discrimination contribute to inter-ethnic income inequality in Peru. It finds that exclusion plays a greater role than discrimination in contributing to Peru’s inter-ethnic inequality.
Access full text: available online

The inequalities that arise from social exclusion are self-reinforcing. Recent research has demonstrated how income inequalities persist because of two ‘inequality traps’, which relate to human capabilities and access to capital.

Stewart, F., 2009,‘Horizontal Inequality: Two Types of Trap’, Journal of Human Development and Capabilities’, Volume 10, Number 3, pp. 315-340
Why do group inequalities often persist over the long term, and how can they be addressed? Group membership matters because well-being is affected both by individual circumstances and how well the group is doing. Strong complementarities among (1) capabilities and (2) capitals explain persistent group inequality. Multiple deprivations in capabilities and assets prevent catch-up without special interventions. Addressing HIs therefore requires governments to go beyond eliminating current, formal discrimination: the weak asset and capabilities base arising from past discrimination must also be tackled. As social and cultural capital inequalities cannot be eliminated by policy, strong affirmative action in other areas such as education and employment is justified.
Access full text: available online

Exclusion, growth and poverty

There is some evidence that economic growth is positively related to equality. One explanation for this is that with more equality there is more investment in education, health and nutrition. There is also some evidence to show that policies designed to tackle social exclusion can lead to more equitable forms of growth as excluded groups gradually gain greater access to education, employment and business opportunities. Excluded sections of the population can often be quite large (for example, racial groups in Latin America), so targeted policies can have an impact on increasing human capital and widening economic markets, whilst reducing the risk of political instability and its overall impact on economic growth.

The poverty-reducing effects of economic growth fall when inequality rises. In addition, the interaction of economic inequalities with other inequalities may result in negative consequences for growth. For example, economic dynamics and innovation depend on competitive processes of entry that are stifled by unequal economic institutions. Greater equity in political institutions is also considered good for growth because it is associated with broader and better-quality provision of public education, which, in turn, translates into a better-performing workforce.

Zoninsein, J., 2001, ‘The Economic Case for Combating Racial and Ethnic Exclusion in Latin American and Caribbean Countries’, Research Report, Inter-American Development Bank, New York
What economic gains would come from ending racial and ethnic exclusion in Latin America and Caribbean countries (LAC)? This paper employs Brimmer’s methodology to analyse household survey data from Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala and Peru. It presents some potential gains in terms of aggregate production and income. Ending long term social exclusion could expand the economies of LACs by up to 36 percent. This would bring gains to society as a whole, not just to the excluded groups.
Access full text: available online

Gradstein, M., 2003, ‘The Political Economy of Public Spending on Education, Inequality and Growth’, World Bank, Washington DC
This paper examines data on public spending on education in developing countries, revealing significant inequality in the distribution of resources between rich and poor groups. While current donor policy is to alleviate poverty through the universal provision of public services in developing countries, the evidence suggests that political dynamics within these countries often distort these goals to the disadvantage of the poor. Personal rent-seeking, in the form of political pressure from richer households, skews resource allocation, often resulting in both increased inequality and social exclusion.
Access full text: available online

Violence and insecurity

When individuals or groups, and particularly youth, feel excluded from power structures, and deprived of legitimate outlets to express their grievances, violence can provide an opportunity for them to have a voice and to gain control over their own lives.

Hilker M. and Fraser E., 2009, 'Youth Exclusion, Violence, Conflict and Fragile States', Report prepared for DFID by Social Development Direct, London
What factors contribute to youth exclusion and increase the likelihood of youth engagement in violence? How can DFID effectively address issues of youth exclusion and violence? This report examines existing evidence and analysis on the links between youth exclusion, violence, conflict and fragile states. It highlights factors which can contribute to youth violence, and makes recommendations for DFID's work on youth exclusion and violence.
Access full text: available online

Moser, C. and Ilwaine, C., 2000, ‘Chapter 2: Summary Findings – Perceptions of General Problems and Violence’, in Moser, C. and Ilwaine C., ‘Urban Poor Perceptions of Violence and Exclusion in Colombia’, World Bank, Washington DC
What do poor people living in urban areas in Colombia see as the most important problems affecting them and their communities? How do Colombia’s poor urban communities perceive violence and exclusion? This chapter documents how people living in poor urban communities in Colombia perceive violence. It uses a participatory urban appraisal methodology to identify the main problems and types of violence affecting poor urban communities.
Access full text: available online

For further resources on the links between social exclusion and conflict, see the GSDRC Conflict guide.

Subjective well-being

The psychological aspects of exclusion are also important. These include the absence of power, voice and independence, and vulnerability to exploitation and humiliation.

The following article highlights the importance of a capacity for agency that allows poor people to improve the quality of their relationships and to secure respect and dignity for themselves. The paper argues: “The injury done to people who experience discrimination on the basis of labels they are given by society and entrenched ideas about their inferiority or societal taboos around sex, death and dirt goes well beyond that of economic deprivation and lack of political voice. When people are treated as lesser because of the colour of their skin, their sex, what they do for a living, and where they live, they can come to internalise a sense of lack of worth that profoundly affects their sense of what they can do and what they are due by society” (Eyben et al, 2008: 8)

Eyben, R., Kabeer, N. and Cornwall, A., 2008, ‘Conceptualising Empowerment and the Implications for Pro-Poor Growth’, Institute of Development Studies, Brighton
This paper proposes a framework to enable the empowerment of the poor to be conceptually understood and operationally explored. It examines the different facets of ‘social’, ‘economic’ and ‘political’ empowerment. International development actors often lack awareness of much that is already known about these issues. These are the conceptual tools for identifying complex and mutually dependent processes that development actors can support and facilitate for achieving pro-poor growth.
Access full text: available online

Appadurai, A., 2004, ‘The Capacity to Aspire: Culture and the Terms of Recognition’, in Rao, V. and Walton, M., ‘Culture and Public Action’, Stanford University Press
Why does culture matter for development and for poverty reduction? The capacity to aspire is a future-oriented cultural capacity. This chapter argues that strengthening the capacity to aspire could help the poor to contest and alter the conditions of their poverty. Culture is a dialogue between aspirations and sedimented traditions. Traditions, linked to issues of social class, can conflict with development goals. Policymakers must approach the creation of a culture of aspiration through capacity building.
Access full text: available online

Hoff K. and Pandey P., 2008, 'Economic Consequences of Social Identity: Discrimination, Social Identity, and Durable Inequalities', American Economic Review, Volume 96, Number 2, pp.206-211
What are the mechanisms by which societal discrimination affects individual achievement and why do effects of past discrimination endure once legal barriers are removed? This paper reports findings of experiments in village India that explore the effect of social identity on individual performance. The link between discrimination, social identity and behaviour causes the effects of past discrimination to persist over time for well-identified groups.
Access full text: available online