Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-4hhp2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-14T11:28:28.350Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

11 - Fair Wages and a Decent Living: Paths to Greater Vertical Equality

from Part III - Socioeconomic Rights and Economic Inequalities

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 September 2021

By
Diane F. Frey  and
Gillian MacNaughton
Edited by
Gillian MacNaughton ,
Diane Frey  and
Catherine Porter
Gillian MacNaughton
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Boston
Diane Frey
Affiliation:
San Francisco State University
Catherine Porter
Affiliation:
Lancaster University
Get access

Summary

Since the 1980s much of the world has experienced sharp and steadily rising economic inequality (Berg 2015, 3). The cause of economic inequality’s ascendance is not a mystery. Rising inequality is a result of specific policies that enable top income earners and the wealthy to capture greater and greater shares of income and wealth (Atkinson 2015, 76; Chancel, Hough and Voituriez 2018, 8). Inequality enhancing policies include regressive income, inheritance and capital gains taxes that effectively help high income and wealthy individuals and families to preserve and build their high incomes and wealth. Rising inequality also results from policies to prevent lower wealth and income individuals and families from claiming a greater portion of income, wealth and power. These inequality enhancing policies include laws that make it more difficult for workers to organize labor unions, to engage in collective bargaining and to influence policies (Alquist 2017).

Type
Chapter
Information
Human Rights and Economic Inequalities , pp. 271 - 294
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alquist, John S. 2017. “Labor Unions, Political Representation, and Economic Inequality.” Annual Review of Political Science 20: 409–32.Google Scholar
Alston, Philip. 2015. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. UN Doc. 1/HRC/29/31, May 27.Google Scholar
Atkinson, Anthony B. 2015. Inequality: What Can be Done? Cambridge MA, and London, UK: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
David, Autor, Dorn, David, Katz, Lawrence F., Patterson, Christina and Reenen, John Van. 2020. “The Fall of the Labor Share and the Rise of Superstar Firms.” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 135(2), 645–709.Google Scholar
Berg, Janine. 2015. “Labour Market Institutions: The Building Blocks of Just Societies”. In Labour Markets, Institutions and Inequality: Building Just Societies in the 21st Century, edited by Berg, Janine, 1–35. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar and Geneva: International Labour Office.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chancel, Lucas, Hough, Alex and Voituriez, Tancrede. 2018. “Reducing Inequalities Within Countries: Assessing the Potential of the Sustainable Development Goals.” Global Policy 9(1): 5–16.Google Scholar
Chapman, Audrey R. 2016. Global Health, Human Rights, and The Challenge of Neoliberal Policies. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2020. Concluding Observations on the Seventh Periodic Report of Ukraine. UN Doc. E/C.12/UKR/CO/7. April 2.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2017a. Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of the Russian Federation. UN Doc. E/C.12/RUS/CO/6. October 16.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2017b. Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of Honduras. UN Doc. E/C.12/HND/CO/2. July 11Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2016a. Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of Poland. UN Doc. E/C.12/POL/CO/6. October 26.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2016b. Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norther Ireland. UN Doc. UK E/C.12/GBR/CO/6. July 14.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2016c. Concluding Observations on the Fifth Periodic Report of Cost Rica. UN Doc. E/C.12/CRI/CO/5. October 21.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2016d. Concluding Observations on the Fourth Periodic Report of the Dominican Republic. UN Doc. E/C.12/DOM/CO/4. October 21.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2016e. Concluding Observations on the Combined Second to Fourth Periodic Reports of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. UN Doc. E/C.12/MKD/CO/2–4. July 15.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2015a. Concluding Observations on the Fourth Periodic Report of Paraguay. UN Doc. E/C.12/PRY/CO/4. March 20.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2015b. Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of Greece. UN Doc. E/C.12/GRC/CO/2. October 27.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2015c. Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic Report of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. UN Doc. E/C.12/VEN/CO/3. June 19.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2014a. Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic Report of Guatemala. UN Doc. E/C.12/GTM/CO/3. December 9.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2014b. Concluding Observation on the Combined Third, Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of El Salvador. UN Doc. E/C.12/SLV/CO/3–5. June 19.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) 2014c. Concluding Observations on the Fourth Periodic of Portugal. UN Doc. E/C.12/PRT/CO/4, December 8.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2014d. Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of China, including Hong Kong, China, and Macao, China. UN Doc. E/C.12/CHN/CO/2. June 13.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2014e. Concluding Observations on the Sixth Periodic Report of Ukraine. UN Doc. E/C.12/UKR/CO/6. June 13.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2013a. Concluding Observations on the Initial Report of Togo. UN Doc. E/C.12/TGO/CO/1. June 3.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2013b. Concluding Observations on the Initial and Second Periodic Reports of Djibouti. UN Doc. E/C.12/DJI/CO/1–2. December 30.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2012a. Concluding Observations on the Initial Report of Mauritania. UN Doc. E/C.12/MRT/CO/1. December 10.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2012b. Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of Slovakia. UN Doc. E/C.12/SVK/CO/2. June 8.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2012c. Concluding Observations on the Fifth Periodic Report of Spain. UN Doc. E/C.12/ESP/CO/5. June 6.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2012d Concluding Observations of the Third Periodic Report of Ecuador. UN Doc. E/C.12/ECU/CO/3. December 13.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2011. Concluding Observation on the Second Periodic Report of Estonia. UN Doc. E/C.12/EST/CO/2. December 16.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2010a. Concluding Observations on the Combined Fourth and Fifth Periodic Reports of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. UN Doc. E/C.12/NDL/CO/4–5. February 21.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2010b. Concluding Observations on the First Report of Kazakhstan. UN Doc. E/C.12/KAZ/CO/1. June 7.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2008. Concluding Observations on the Third Periodic Report of the Kingdom of the Netherlands concerning the Netherlands Antilles. UN Doc. 12 E/C.12/NLD/CO/3/Add.1. January 31.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2007 Concluding Observation on the Second Periodic Report of El Salvador. UN Doc. E/C.12/SLV/CO/2. June 27.Google Scholar
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). 2016. General Comment No. 23 on the right to just and favourable conditions of work (article 7 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights). UN Doc. E/C.12/GC/23.Google Scholar
Craven, Matthew. 1995. The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights: A Perspective on its Development. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Dao, Mai Das, Chi Mitali, Koczan, Zsoka, Lian, Weicheng. 2017. Why Is Labor Receiving a Smaller Share of Global Income? Theory and Empirical Evidence, IMF Working Paper, WP/17/169. www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2017/07/24/Why-Is-Labor-Receiving-a-Smaller-Share-of-Global-Income-Theory-and-Empirical-Evidence-45102.Google Scholar
Dehm, Julia 2019. “Righting Inequality: Human Rights Responses to Economic Inequality in the United Nations.” Humanity 10(3): 443–59.Google Scholar
Global Witness. 2020. Defending Tomorrow: The Climate Crisis and Threats Against Land and Environmental Defenders. July 2020. www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/defending-tomorrow/.Google Scholar
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). 1966. UN Doc. 993 U.N.T.S. 3. January 3, 1976.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 2019. “The Global Labour Income Share and Distribution: Data Production and Analysis Unit, ILO Department of Statistics, Key Findings.” www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/–dgreports/–stat/documents/publication/wcms_712232.pdf.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 2016. “Global Wage Report 2016/17: Wage Inequality in the Workplace.” Geneva: International Labour Office, www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/–dgreports/–dcomm/–publ/documents/publication/wcms_537846.pdf.Google Scholar
International Labor Organization (ILO). 1997. ILO Highlights Global Challenge to Trade Unions. www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_008032.Google Scholar
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). 2020. Global Rights Index 2929: The World’s Worst Countries for Workers, www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-global-rights-index-2020.Google Scholar
Kerr, Clark, Dunlop, John T., Myers, Charles A. and Harbison, Frederick H.. 1960. Industrialism and Industrial Man. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Kraus, Michael W., Park, Jun Won and Jacinth, J. X. Tan. 2017. “Signs of Social Class: The Experience of Economic Inequality in Everyday Life.” Perspectives ono Psychological Science 12(3): 422–35.Google Scholar
MacNaughton, Gillian. 2017. “Vertical Inequalities: Are the SDGs and Human Rights up to the Challenges?” International Journal of Human Rights 21(8): 1050–72.Google Scholar
MacNaughton, Gillian. 2009. “Untangling Equality and Non-discrimination to Promote the Right to Health Care for All.” Health and Human Rights 11(2): 47–63.Google ScholarPubMed
MacNaughton, Gillian and Frey, Diane F.. 2018. “Introduction”. In Economic and Social Rights in a Neoliberal World, edited by MacNaughton, Gillian and Frey, Diane F., 1–23. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
MacNaughton, Gillian and Frey, Diane F.. 2011. “Decent Work For All: A Holistic Human Rights Approach.” American University International Law Review 26(2): 441–83.Google Scholar
Mijs, Jonathan J. B. 2019. “The Paradox of Inequality: Income Inequality and Belief in Meritocracy Go Hand in Hand.” Socio-Economic Review 0(0):1–29. https://doi.org/10.1093/ser/mwy051.Google Scholar
Mishel, Lawrence and Schieder, Jessica. 2017. “CEO Pay Remains High Relative to the Pay of Typical Workers and High Wage Earners,” Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute pp. 1–24, www.epi.org/files/pdf/130354.pdf.Google Scholar
Mishel, Lawrence and Wolfe, Julia. 2019. “CEO Compensation Has Grown 940% Since 1978: During that Time Worker Compensation Has Risen only 12%.” Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, August 14, 2019, www.epi.org/files/pdf/171191.pdf.Google Scholar
Morsink, Johannes 1999. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Origins, Drafting and Intent. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.Google Scholar
Moyn, Samuel. 2018. Not Enough: Human Rights in an Unequal World. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Our World in Data. Undated. https://ourworldindata.org.Google Scholar
Oxfam. 2019. The Power of Education to Fight Inequality: How Increasing Education Equality and Quality is Crucial to Fighting Economic and Gender Inequality. 2019. Authors: Jo Walker, Caroline Pearce, Kira Boe and Max Lawson, www-cdn.oxfam.org/s3fs-public/file_attachments/bp-education-inequality-170919-summ-en.pdf.Google Scholar
Ramsay, Maureen. 2005. “A Modest Proposal: The Case for a Maximum Wage.” Contemporary Politics 11(4): 201–16.Google Scholar
Robeyns, Ingrid. 2019. “What if Anything, is Wrong with Extreme Wealth?” Journal of Human Development and Capabilities 20(3): 251–66.Google Scholar
Robeyns, Ingrid. 2017. “Having Too Much.” Nomos 58: 1–44.Google Scholar
Saul, Ben (ed). 2016. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Travaux Preparatoires 1948 Volume 1. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Saul, Ben, Kinley, David and Mowbray, Jacqueline. 2014. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Commentary, Cases, and Materials. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Sepúlveda Carmona, Magdalena. 2014. Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights. UN Doc. A/HRC/26/28. May 22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Adam. (1776). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Glasgow Edition, The Online Library of Liberty, https://direitasja.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/wealth_of_nations_volume_2.pdf.Google Scholar
Stilwell, Frank. 2019. The Political Economy of Inequality. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press.Google Scholar
UN. 1945. Charter of the United Nations, 24 October 1945, 1 UNTS XVI, www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/un-charter-full-text/.Google Scholar
UN High Commissioner of Human Rights. n.d. Universal Human Rights Index (UHRI). https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/search/results.Google Scholar
UN Secretary General. 2009. Compilation of Guidelines on the Form and Content of Reports to be Submitted by States Parties to the International Human Rights Treaties. HRI/GEN/2/Rev.6, 3 June 2009.Google Scholar
Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). 1948. UNGA res. 217 A (III), UN Doc. A/810 at 71, December 10.Google Scholar
Waddington, Jeremy, Müller, Torsten and Vandaele, Kurt. 2019. “Setting the Scene: Collective Bargaining under Neoliberalism.” In Collective Bargaining in Europe Towards and Endgame, Vol I, II, III and IV. Brussels: ETUI. www.etui.org/publications/books/collective-bargaining-in-europe-towards-an-endgame-volume-i-ii-iii-and-iv.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, Richard and Pickett, Kate. 2009. The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better. London, UK: Allen Lane.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2018a. Press Release “Despite Decline in Extreme Poverty, Broader Measures Show Billions Still Struggle to Meet Basic Needs,” October 17, 2018, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/10/17/nearly-half-the-world-lives-on-less-than-550-a-day.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2018b. World Development Report 2018: Learning to Realize Education’s Promise. Washington DC: World Bank, www.worldbank.org/en/publication/wdr2018.Google Scholar
World Bank (n.d.). World Bank Country and Lending Groups, https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519-world-bank-country-and-lending-groups.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×