Suchergebnisse

Public debates tend to see social inequality as resulting from individual decisions people make, for instance with respect to their education or lifestyle. Solutions are often sought in supporting individuals to make better choices. This neglects the importance of social groups and communities in determining individual outcomes. A moral perspective on social inequality questions the fairness of insisting on individual responsibilities, when members of some groups systematically receive fewer opportunities than others. The essays in this book have been prepared by experts from different disciplines, ranging from philosophy to engineering, and from economics to epidemiology. On the basis of recent scientific insights, World of Difference examines how group memberships impact on individual outcomes in four key domains: health, education and work, migration, and the environment. This offers a new moral perspective on social inequality, which policy makers tend to neglect.

Separate individual dispositions to action are not a sufficient condition for demonstrations. Organizational & institutional factors have an equal importance. Ultimately, a demonstration results from a power struggle between organizations to get individuals to support or defend their objectives. In the mobilization process, these organizations use control mechanisms & techniques to influence their members: exploitation of affective & instrumental ties binding individuals to the organization, access to & use of mass media, selective communication by the organizational leaders, & the induction of frustration. Special attention is given to the role of militants & their language's characteristics, in the mobilization process. HA.

An investigation of the impact of individual demographic variables on the decision to vote in the Netherlands. A logit specification is presented that explains the probability that an individual will vote, which is derived from the assumption that an individual will maximize utility in a situation of choosing between two alternatives. Comparing results from five separate election years reveals that analysis based on only one year depends strongly on the year chosen. Thus, pooled data from these five years is analyzed & compared to results from similar studies. It is concluded that higher income, education, subjective social category, age, & f of church attendance all positively influence voting behavior; being a member of a trade union or a public bureaucrat also makes voting more likely. 3 Tables, 12 References. Modified HA

In this paper we study both long term and short term individual effects of political participation at the local level. Participatory theorists argue that political participation could lead to individual emancipation in terms of a rise of political knowledge and, in the long term, political trust. Indeed, in the short term the increased political knowledge associated with participation might enable citizens to better define their self-interest, which may be inconsistent with actual policies pursued by the local authorities and thus might be conductive to distrust. In the empirical part we will test these assertions using two-wave panel data for a random sample of 457 individuals in the district of Deurne (Antwerp -- Belgium). Our results suggest that in the short term participation leads to more local political knowledge and distrust in the local administration. However, we do not find a significant increase in political trust in the long term. Adapted from the source document.

The concepts of rationality & rational behavior can only be meaningfully used as concepts referring to individual behavior, ie, as concepts characterizing the way individuals choose among behavioral alternatives on the basis of preference & probability. Definitions of rationality & rational behavior are reviewed. The only definition that seems adequate is the vague one that defines rational behavior as the choice of an alternative in accordance with the preference ordering of the outcomes of the different alternatives, with estimation of the probability of different alternatives. The importance of the hypothesis of rational behavior in efforts of theory building is stressed. Because most theories are built on a comparable vague notion of rationality, the dichotomy of rational & nonrational theories is rejected. Modified HA.

The question is examined of what personal income distribution will be brought about by the institutions of a political democracy, assuming these institutions have the power to determine this. It has been assumed that an egalitarian income distribution would result. The ideas of Hans van den Doel (Democracy and Welfare Economics, Cambridge, 1979) offer an alternative model. The majority of individuals would not seek radical leveling down of incomes for several reasons: concern for economic growth & employment, & the hope of the poor to become rich. Also, if a majority sought radical leveling down, & the measures were not rigorously enforced, a Prisoner's Dilemma would result for each individual; but if they were rigorously enforced, a situation of collective intransitivity would emerge, making the decision subject to cycling. Resolution of this problem would likely leave median income voters in a strong position that they could use to benefit themselves at the expense of the poor. These findings are consistent with the finding of R. W. Jackman (Politics and Social Equality: A Comparative Analysis, New York, 1975) that political equality does not play an important role in increasing equality of material rewards. 4 Tables, 5 Figures. Modified HA.