Suchergebnisse

Social theorists frequently argue that social cohesion is under threat in developed societies from the multiple pressures of globalisation. This article seeks to test this hypothesis through examining the trends across countries and regions in key indicators of social cohesion, including social and political trust, tolerance and perceptions of conflict. It finds ample evidence of long-term declines in cohesion in many countries, not least as exemplified by the erosion of social and political trust, which is particularly dramatic in the UK. The trends are not entirely convergent, since on most indicators Nordic countries have become more cohesive, yet each country faces challenges. In the final section the authors argue that different 'regimes of social cohesion' can be identified in specific clusters of countries which are based on different cultural and institutional foundations. In the 'liberal model', which applies in the UK and the US, the greatest threat to cohesion comes not from increasing cultural diversity, but from increasing barriers to mobility and the subsequent atrophy of faith in individual opportunity and meritocratic rewards — precisely those beliefs which have traditionally held liberal societies together.

Disparities in educational opportunities and attainments contribute a great deal to social and economic inequalities in the UK and other developed countries. First, it is well known that educational attainments are strongly positively related to employment rates and to pay. For example, among persons aged 25–59 in the UK, about 89 per cent of university graduates were employed in 2009 compared to 78 per cent of those whose highest qualifications were classified to Level 2 of the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) framework. At the same time average gross hourly earnings for 25–59 year old graduates in employment were roughly 80 per cent higher than for people in the same age group with NVQ Level 2 qualifications.