International Journal of Comparative Sociology recent issues

Inequality beyond Globalization: Searching for the Missing Pieces of the Puzzle: Introduction to Special Issue

Suter, C. — 2009-09-23

Globalization and North--South Inequality, 1870--2000: A Factor for Convergence, Divergence or Both?

Rasler, K., Thompson, W. R. — 2009-09-23

Analysts continue to debate the nature of the relationship between globalization and global inequality between states, with some arguing that globalization increases inequality, others saying that the relationship is negative, and still others suggesting that the relationship varies over time. There is actually more overlap in these positions than is apparent — an element underlined by our own argument that globalization’s effects can be both positive and negative simultaneously. We argue that globalization contributes to intra-Northern convergence while it reinforces North—South divergence. An 1870—2000 time series analysis of the relationships among trade and financial globalization and North—South inequality supports this prediction, while also finding that the effects of globalization are time dependent.

Income Distribution in the Latin American Southern Cone during the First Globalization Boom and Beyond

Bertola, L., Castelnovo, C., Rodriguez, J., Willebald, H. — 2009-09-23

Latin America is the most unequal region in the world and there is intense debate concerning the explanations and timing of such high levels of income inequality. Latin America was also the region, not including European Offshoots, which experienced the most rapid growth during the first globalization boom. It can, therefore, be taken as an interesting case of study regarding how globalization forces impinged on growth and income distribution in peripheral regions. This article presents a first estimate of income inequality in the Southern Cone of South America (Brazil 1872 and 1920, Chile 1870 and 1920, Uruguay 1920) and some assumptions concerning Argentina (1870 and 1920), and Uruguay (1870). We find an increasing trend towards inequality between 1870 and 1920, which can be explained as a process of inequality both within individual countries and among countries. This trend is discussed along three lines: the relationship between inequality and per capita income levels; the dynamics of the expansion to new areas; and movements of relative factor prices and of the terms of trade. During the current globalization process inequality remained apparently stable, as a result of contradictory movements: within-country inequality increased, especially in the three countries with the highest per capita income; on the other hand, between-country inequality was reduced due to the process of club-convergence among the Southern Cone countries. Divergence with core countries was deepened. Some implicit results seem to show that state-led industrialization was featured by decreasing inequality, both within and among countries.

Remapping Inequality in Europe: The Net Effect of Regional Integration on Total Income Inequality in the European Union

Beckfield, J. — 2009-09-23

Research on the determinants of inequality has implicated globalization in the increased income inequality observed in many advanced capitalist countries since the 1970s. Meanwhile, a different form of international embeddedness — regional integration — has largely escaped attention. Regional integration, conceptualized as the construction of international economy and polity within negotiated regions, should matter for inequality. This article offers theoretical arguments that distinguish globalization from regional integration, connects regional integration to inequality through multiple theoretical mechanisms, develops hypotheses on the relationship between regional integration and inequality, and reports fresh empirical evidence on the net effect of regional integration on inequality in Western Europe. Three classes of models are used in the analysis: 1) time-series models where region-year is the unit of analysis, 2) panel models where country-year is the unit of analysis, and 3) analysis of variance to identify how the between- and within-country components of income inequality have changed over time. The evidence suggests that regional integration remaps inequality in Europe. Regionalization is associated with both a decrease in between-country inequality, and an increase in within-country inequality. The analysis of variance shows that the net effect is negative, and that within-country inequality now comprises a larger proportion of total income inequality.

Sector Bias and Sector Dualism: The Knowledge Society and Inequality

Rohrbach, D. — 2009-09-23

There are several explanations for the inequality upswing in the literature: rising globalization, the institutional re-structuring of the nation-states, as well as changes in the relation between the demand for and the supply of skills. Concerning demand changes, Kuznets and Lewis identified two inequality affecting mechanisms with regard to the agriculture-to-industry transition: sector bias — that is, inequality within sectors — and sector dualism — that is, inequality between sectors. In this article it is analyzed whether there are analogue effects on inequality from the sectoral change to the knowledge society. Following the strategy of a most-similar design and a variable oriented approach the hypotheses are tested cross-nationally and longitudinally in 19 OECD countries between 1970 and 1999. To verify sectoral effects, error component models are computed regressing the Gini-coefficient on a globalization measure, the union density, the educational attainment as well as the employment and income differential in the knowledge sector. The results show that some amount of the inequality upswing in the last few decades can be explained by the sectoral change to the knowledge society.

Ecologically Unequal Exchange in Comparative Perspective: A Brief Introduction

Jorgenson, A. K., Clark, B. — 2009-05-20

The Transnational Organization of Production and Uneven Environmental Degradation and Change in the World Economy

Rice, J. — 2009-05-20

The intent of the present article is to expand upon the discussion concerning the transnational organization of production, the treadmill logic which drives this organization, and highlight theoretical and empirical research regarding ecological unequal exchange, which we envision as a central dynamic enhancing capital accumulation within the world economy. Ecological unequal exchange refers to the environmentally damaging withdrawal of energy and other natural resources and the addition or externalization of environmentally damaging production and disposal activities within the periphery of the world-system as a consequence of exchange relations with more industrialized countries. It is based upon both the obtainment of natural capital and the usurpation of sink-capacity or waste assimilation properties of ecological systems in a manner that enlarges the domestic carrying capacity of the industrialized countries to the detriment of peripheral societies. Future research oriented towards further articulating the political-economic processes underlying ecological unequal exchange dynamics holds the potential to contribute to a more refined dialogue and debate regarding the prospects for the sustainable development of human societies.

Zero-Sum World: Challenges in Conceptualizing Environmental Load Displacement and Ecologically Unequal Exchange in the World-System

Hornborg, A. — 2009-05-20

This article discusses various ways in which conventional discourse on sustainability fails to acknowledge the distributive, political, and cultural dimensions of global environmental problems. It traces some lineages of critical thinking on environmental load displacement and ecologically unequal exchange, arguing that such acknowledgement of a global environmental `zero-sum game' is essential to recognizing the extent to which cornucopian perceptions of `development' represent an illusion. It identifies five interconnected illusions currently postponing systemic crisis and obstructing rational societal negotiations that acknowledge the political dimensions of global ecology: 1) The fragmentation of scientific perspectives into bounded categories such as `technology', `economy', and `ecology'. 2) The assumption that the operation of market prices is tantamount to reciprocity. 3) The illusion of machine fetishism, that is, that the technological capacity of a given population is independent of that population's position in a global system of resource flows. 4) The representation of inequalities in societal space as developmental stages in historical time. 5) The conviction that `sustainable development' can be achieved through consensus. The article offers some examples of how the rising global anticipation of socio-ecological contradiction and disaster is being ideologically disarmed by the rhetoric on `sustainability' and `resilience'.

Ecologically Unequal Exchange and the Resource Consumption/Environmental Degradation Paradox: A Panel Study of Less-Developed Countries, 1970--2000

Jorgenson, A. K., Austin, K., Dick, C. — 2009-05-20

Ecologically unequal exchange theory posits that the vertical flow of exports is a structural mechanism allowing for more-developed countries to partially externalize their consumption-based environmental impacts to lesser-developed countries. It is argued that these structural relationships contribute to environmental degradation in the latter while directly suppressing resource consumption opportunities for domestic populations, often well below globally sustainable thresholds. To assess the validity of the propositions, the authors conduct fixed effects and random effects panel regression analyses of the effects of the vertical flow of primary sector exports on deforestation and a refined per capita footprint measure for two samples of less-developed countries, 1970—2000. Results support the stated arguments of ecologically unequal exchange theory and point to the need for more rigorous comparative analyses to increase our collective understanding of the environmental and human well-being consequences of such relationships for less-developed countries.

Ecologically Unequal Exchange, World Polity, and Biodiversity Loss: A Cross-National Analysis of Threatened Mammals

Shandra, J. M., Leckband, C., McKinney, L. A., London, B. — 2009-05-20

There have been a few cross-national studies published that examine the determinants of threatened mammal species. However, these studies neglect insights from both ecologically unequal exchange theory and world polity theory. We seek to address this gap in the literature using cross-national data for a sample of 74 nations to construct negative binomial regression models with the number of threatened mammal species as the dependent variable. In doing so, we find substantial support for ecologically unequal exchange theory that flows of primary sector exports from poor to rich nations are associated with higher levels of threatened mammals in poor nations. We also find support for world polity theory that environmental non-governmental organizations are associated with lower levels of threatened mammals in poor nations. We conclude with a discussion of the findings, some policy implications, and possible directions for future research.

Ecological Imperialism and the Global Metabolic Rift: Unequal Exchange and the Guano/Nitrates Trade

Clark, B., Foster, J. B. — 2009-05-20

Transfers in economic values are shadowed in complex ways by real material-ecological flows that transform ecological relations between city and country, and between the core and periphery. Directing material flows is a vital part of intercapitalist competition. Ecological imperialism creates asymmetries in the exploitation of the environment, unequal exchange, and a global metabolic rift. The 19th-century guano/nitrates trade illustrates the emergence of a global metabolic rift, as guano and nitrates were transferred from Peru and Chile to enrich the soils of Britain and other imperial countries. This global metabolic rift entailed the decline of soil fertility in Britain, importation of Chinese labor to Peru, mass export of natural fertilizer, degradation of the Peruvian/Chilean environment, war over possession of nitrates, and creation of debt-laden economies. It allowed Britain and other imperial countries to maintain an `environmental overdraft' in their own countries, imperialistically drawing on the natural resources of the periphery. The social metabolic order of capitalism is inseparable from such ecological imperialism, which is as basic to the system as the search for profits itself.

The Thermodynamics of Unequal Exchange: Energy Use, CO2 Emissions, and GDP in the World-System, 1975--2005

Lawrence, K. S. — 2009-05-20

Energy flow — the capture and transformation of energy, and the output of pollution generated during that process — is essential to increases in complexity, but with the cost of growing disorder, or entropy. In world-systems, energy flow has been, and continues to be, a basis for intersocietal conflict and competition, including unequal exchange that generates inequality in levels of development and ecological degradation across societies. This article builds upon extant research on the role of energy flow in world-systems through an analysis of data on energy use and GDP in the world-system from 1975 to 2005 and for 1975—2004 for CO₂ emissions. Using a panel of 87 countries, a world-system core, semiperiphery, and periphery is generated based on population-weighted energy use. Analysis of energy flows through this world-system provides support for the existence of unequal ecological exchange — the core countries are using more energy, emitting more CO₂, and attaining more GDP per capita relative to the semiperiphery, with the periphery lagging well behind both. This relationship also holds for net importers of energy as compared to net energy exporters. This demonstrates the inequality in resource use that leads to the development of the core and the underdevelopment of the periphery. But gains are being made by countries in the semiperiphery and periphery relative to the core for both per capita and percentage of world total measures. This potential for development may place the planet in peril, however, as efficiency gains in the core are being offset by growth in emissions by the semiperiphery and periphery.

Rethinking Global Commodity Chains: Integrating Extraction, Transport, and Manufacturing

Ciccantell, P., Smith, D. A. — 2009-05-20

The global commodity chains (GCCs) approach is an insightful way to understand issues of `development' and production and consumption differentials across space. It potentially offers insight into the issue of `ecologically unequal exchange'. However, we propose three revisions to conventional GCC analysis. First, many of the GCC studies tend to focus on only part of the commodity chain — and we need, in effect, to `lengthen' the chains. Stephen Bunker (1984) emphasized that `commodities can emerge only from locally based extractive and productive systems' (p. 1017). Beginning GCC analysis with these primary products forces the examination of various modes, techniques and technologies of extractive regimes, as well as the key roles of transportation and communications systems. Second, focusing on this `longer chain' requires analysis of spatially based disarticulations and contestations. Mineral deposits and agricultural economies tend to be tied to specific `natural' geographies — thus, `enclave economies' frequently develop that are globally integrated but locally disarticulated. Transportation systems (especially of bulk products) are extremely vulnerable to disruption and change dramatically over time. Third, we explicitly focus on tightly integrated social and natural processes across a range of industries. The goal is to focus on the relationship between long-term changes in the world economy and the natural environment, as well as on research in environmental studies that examines `ecologically unequal exchange' and points to prospects for sustainable development.

Ecologically Unequal Exchange, Ecological Debt, and Climate Justice: The History and Implications of Three Related Ideas for a New Social Movement

Roberts, J. T., Parks, B. C. — 2009-05-20

Building on structuralist perspectives of the world economy, a small but growing group of researchers have forged a new literature on `ecologically unequal exchange' and documented that energy and materials disproportionately flow from the Global South to the Global North. These findings have begun to influence efforts to negotiate a `post-Kyoto' global climate regime. Since the extraction of resources and energy is one of the most damaging stages of the chain of commodity production, a logical next step is the mounting cry from developing countries that they are owed an `ecological debt' by the North. The G-77 and China have seized on these ideas and a movement for `climate justice' is now gaining strength in and exerting influence in international negotiations, including the UNFCCC meetings in Delhi, Bali, and Poznan. This article reviews the history of these related three ideas and examines their potential to reshape the discussion of `burden sharing' in the post-Kyoto world where development is constrained by climate change.

Introduction to Special Issue on International Migration

Cheney, G. — 2009-03-17

Divided or Convergent Loyalties?: The Political Incorporation Process of Latin American Immigrants in the United States

Portes, A., Escobar, C., Arana, R. — 2009-03-17

This article describes findings from three successive empirical studies that examine the determinants of participation in transnational organizations by Latin immigrants in the United States, the character of the membership and activities of these organizations, and their bearing on the political incorporation of their respective communities. Results from these studies reveal that older, better-educated, and higher-status migrants are most likely to participate in transnational organizations linking them to their home countries. So are those with longer periods of US residence. Since migrants with these characteristics are precisely those with greater chances for US citizenship acquisition and participation in American politics, findings suggest that transnational activism and immigrant political integration are not at odds. Quantitative analyses of the determinants of political contact and political activism of immigrant organizations in the US indicate, unsurprisingly, that wealthier groups and those with a membership formed by better-educated and longer residents are most likely to be politically active. The societies left behind make a difference in the propensity toward political activism by different nationalities. Despite such differences, the overall trend is for immigrant transnational activism, individual and collective, not to retard political incorporation in the United States. Both processes occur simultaneously and appear, under certain circumstances, to reinforce each other. This conclusion contradicts both conventional assimilation theory and nativistic rhetoric. Contrary to assimilation expectations, older and better-educated immigrants rather than recent arrivals are those most likely to initiate and maintain ties with their home countries. Contrary to nativistic rhetoric, there is no zero-sum relationship between such activities and successful political incorporation to the United States.

The Globalization of Economic Production and International Migration: An Empirical Analysis of Undocumented Mexican Migration to the United States

Sanderson, M., Utz, R. — 2009-03-17

This article empirically investigates the relationship between the globalization of economic production and international migration by focusing on the case of Mexico. We describe undocumented Mexican migration to the US in the context of global economic restructuring and review previous studies. We then apply a multilevel modeling technique to retrospective data gathered by the Mexican Migration Project in order to test whether the density of manufacturing operations in Mexican communities explains variation in individuals' odds of making an undocumented migration to the US in the previous five years. The analysis indicates that higher densities of manufacturing operations are associated with lower odds of undocumented migration, net of controls. Moreover, this effect is stronger in Mexican communities located in northern border states. We discuss the findings in the context of previous research and elaborate on potential future research directions.

Demographic, Psychological, and Social Environmental Factors of Loneliness and Satisfaction among Rural-to-Urban Migrants in Shanghai, China

Ming Wen, , Guixin Wang, — 2009-03-17

This study examined factors of loneliness and satisfaction among rural-to-urban migrants in Shanghai, China. Data used in this study were from the Shanghai Rural-to-Urban Migrant Worker Survey conducted by the Institute of Demographic Research, Fudan University. Ordinal logit models were fit to test the hypotheses. A host of demographic, socioeconomic, psychosocial, and neighborhood factors were identified as strong correlates of loneliness and satisfaction among migrants. The effect of experienced discrimination was overwhelmingly negative on migrant mental well-being. Improving migrants' work and living environment, increasing neighborhood amenities, and taking measures to facilitate migrant family members' living together seem to be potentially fruitful ways to promote migrant mental well-being in China.

Counter-hegemonic Human Rights Discourses and Migrant Rights Activism in the US and Canada

Basok, T. — 2009-03-17

Scholarship on the dissemination of human rights norms and principles has focused predominantly on the socialization of nation-states into the values which have been widely endorsed. I argue in this article that the socialization mechanisms, discussed by such scholars as Meyer et al. (1997) and Risse and Sikkink (1999), do not capture the complex processes of the negotiation of more controversial rights. Distinguishing between hegemonic and counter-hegemonic human rights principles, I suggest that we need to explore the ways in which human rights activists advance, interpret, and negotiate counter-hegemonic human rights. Focusing on migrants' rights advocacy in the US and Canada, I argue that pro-migrant activists draw on other human rights principles that do enjoy a greater degree of recognition and/or on instrumental reasons to pressure nation-states to grant more rights to migrants.

A New Trichotomous Measure of World-system Position Using the International Trade Network

Clark, R., Beckfield, J. — 2009-01-30

Snyder and Kick's (1979) measure of world-system position continues to serve as the premier trichotomous network indicator of a state's location in the capitalist world economy. In this study, we identify several problems with this orthodox measure concerning its age, informal construction, and incorporation of inappropriate networks. We introduce a trichotomous network measure of world-system position that addresses these concerns, applying Borgatti and Everett's (1999) core/periphery model to a three-tiered partition using international trade data. Our trichotomous measure of the trade network identifies an expanded core, consisting of an old orthodox core joined by a set of upwardly mobile states. We estimate the effect of world-system position on economic growth and find that our trade measure significantly outperforms Snyder and Kick's orthodox measure. When controlling for human capital, the strong effects of our trade measure persist, while the weaker effects estimated by the orthodox measure largely disappear. Moreover, our models with human capital reveal that states economically converge within world-system zones, while continuing to diverge between zones.

Diversity and Postmaterialism as Rival Perspectives in Accounting for Social Solidarity: Evidence from International Surveys

Janmaat, J. G., Braun, R. — 2009-01-30

This article explores the empirical support for the two rival perspectives of diversity and postmaterialism, each of which predicts different patterns and trends of social solidarity in the Western world. The diversity perspective holds that ethnocultural heterogeneity undermines social solidarity, and consequently expects social solidarity to be weaker in more heterogeneous societies. In the diversity logic, social solidarity should have declined in Western societies as these societies have become more diverse due to continuous immigration. Postmaterialism theory, by contrast, posits a positive link between postmaterialism and social solidarity, and would expect social solidarity to have increased because of rising levels of postmaterialism across the Western world. This article found no relation between diversity and social solidarity at either the individual or the national level in cross-sectional analyses of WVS and EVS survey data. Neither was the diversity argument supported by trend data on opinions about the poor. The positive relations between postmaterialism and social solidarity on the other hand did confirm the postmaterialism perspective. Still, as postmaterialism contributed little to explaining the variance in social solidarity at the individual level and as there was no connection between postmaterialism and social solidarity at the macro-level, it can be questioned whether the solidaristic sentiments expressed by postmaterialists are sufficiently deep and lasting to underpin robust welfare policies.

Decoupling Values from Action: An Event-History Analysis of the Election of Women to Parliament in the Developing World, 1945--90

Swiss, L. — 2009-01-30

World polity explanations of the isomorphism of institutions and values among nation-states have not focused sufficient attention on explaining the decoupling or gap between granting rights and actually implementing them. This article examines the decoupling phenomenon by exploring what factors influenced the gap between granting women the right to stand for election and the eventual election of the first woman to parliament in 92 countries of the developing world from 1945 to 1990. Both the influence of the world society and concepts of state-weakness are examined as determinants of this decoupling gap. This article shows that world polity influence on the nation-state extends beyond the adoption of policy scripts to bear on the actual implementation of world cultural models.