268 Social Development 38036 November 2006 Findings reports on ongoing operational, economic, and sector work carried out by the World Bank and its member governments in the Africa Region. It is published periodically by the Operations Results and Learning Unit on behalf of the Region. The views expressed in Findings are those of the author/s and should not be attributed to the World Bank Group. On "Inequality Traps" and Development Policy There are inequalities in the An easy way to see this is to world, among individuals and consider the status of women in among groups, that get reproduced patriarchal societies. Women are across generations. In the World often denied property and inherit- Development Report 2006 these are ance rights. They also have their referred to as "inequality traps." freedom of movement restricted by But how does an inequality trap strictly enforced social norms that differ from a poverty trap? Speak- serve to create separate "inside" ing a little facetiously--if a poverty and "outside" spheres of activity for trap describes a situation where women and men respectively. The "the poor are poor because the poor consequence of this is that girls are poor," an inequality trap would are less likely to be sent to school, say that "the poor are poor because and women less likely to work out- the rich are rich." side the home. This reduces the Inequality traps are similar to options for women outside mar- poverty traps in that they serve to riage and increases their eco- keep people poor and destitute. But nomic dependence on men. All this they differ from them in that they not only makes women earn less refer to a reinforcing system of eco- than men, it also makes them less nomic, political and social struc- likely to participate in important tures that lead to what social sci- decisions both within and outside entists have called "durable in- the home. In other words men are equality" (Tilly 1998). Poverty traps "rich" while women are "poor." tell us about situations where This nexus of unequal social and people at the low end of the income economic structures tends to be distribution are stuck in a cycle of easily reproduced. If a woman has poverty because a lack of re- not been educated and has grown sources generates more resources up to believe that "good," "decent" constraints. Inequality traps, on women abide by existing social the other hand, describe situations norms, she is likely to transmit Findings where the entire distribution is this to her daughters and to en- stable because the various dimen- force such behaviors among her sions of inequality (in wealth, daughters-in-law. Thus an in- power and social status) interact equality trap is created which pre- to protect the rich from downward vents generations of women from mobility, and to prevent the poor getting educated, restricts their from being upwardly mobile. participation in the labor market, and reduces their ability to make the other hand, are bequeathed that the dominant race has on free, informed choices and realize with much more economically pro- their ability to perform in standard- their full potential as individuals. ductive social networks that facili- ized tests, or in occupations that This reinforces gender differences tate the maintenance of economic have historically been controlled by in power that tend to persist over rank­for instance parents are able dominant groups (Steele 1999). time. to use their social connections to This can affect a discriminated The unequal distribution of ensure that their child gets into a group's "capacity to aspire" power between the rich and the good school, or call up a few good (Appadurai)­the better-off are bet- poor ­between dominant and sub- friends to make sure that their son ter able to navigate their way to- servient groups, helps elites main- gets a good job, while poor parents wards potentially actualizing their tain control over resources. Con- are more subject to the vicissitudes aspirations. It also implies that sider an agricultural laborer work- of chance. Connections open doors "voice," the capacity of an indi- ing for a large landlord. Illiteracy and reduce constraints. vidual to influence the decisions and malnourishment are likely to Thus, social networks constitute that shape their lives, is also un- make him unable to break through a form of "capital" which is un- equally distributed and that "effort" the cycle of poverty. But he is also equally distributed. Social net- and "ability" are not necessarily likely to be heavily indebted to his works are closely allied with cul- exogenous (Rao and Walton 2004a, employer which puts him in the tural factors. By "culture" we mean for more on such "inequalities in landlord's control. Even if there those aspects of life that deal with agency"). were laws in place that would al- "relationality"­the relationships Thus, economic, political, cul- low him to challenge his landlord's among individuals within groups, tural and social inequalities are dictates, being illiterate he would among groups, and between ideas usually correlated and reinforce find it particularly hard to navigate and perspectives. Subordinate one another. An individual born a the political and judicial institu- groups may face adverse "terms of woman or into a discriminated ra- tions that would help him assert recognition" (Appadurai 2004)--the cial group or region is not only his rights. In many parts of the cultural framework within which more likely to be poorer than some- world this distance between land- they negotiate their social lives. one born into the majority group, lords and laborers is compounded One obvious expression of this is he or she is also more likely to be by entrenched social structures­ explicit forms of discrimination at the receiving end of material landlords typically belong to a domi- which can lead to an explicit de- and symbolic power structures that nant group defined by race or caste, nial of opportunities and to a ratio- restrict their access to economic while tenants belong to a subser- nal choice to invest less on the opportunities, to legal rights, to vient group. Since the members of margin. opportunities to make their voices these groups face severe social But it can also be less overt. A heard, and to a reduced risk of vio- constraints from inter-marrying, person born into a low social class lence. group-based inequalities are per- or an excluded group may internal- This has two important implica- petuated across generations. ize the dominant group's value sys- tions for public action: Economic and political inequali- tem. Religious beliefs may help in · from a focus on individuals to ties do not occur in a vacuum. this process of internalization­ a recognition that relational and They are embedded within un- women may take on gendered be- group-based phenomena shape equal social and cultural institu- liefs on their economic and social and influence individual aspira- tions. The social networks that the role, discriminated castes may ab- tion, capabilities, and agency; poor have access to are substan- sorb the view that upper castes · to provide for debate and deci- tially different from those that the have on their "inferior" status. sion-making when there are rich can access. For instance, a This may also be transmitted via several distinct culturally deter- poor person's social network may institutionalized mechanisms mined perspectives, and in par- be primarily geared towards sur- such as schools­a discriminated ticular, assure that poorer, sub- vival with limited access to net- race may face a "stereotype threat" ordinate groups have voice and works that would link her to better where they internalize the view opportunities for redress. jobs and opportunities. The rich on Implications for policy Learning by doing and the Shaping institutions to manage incorporation of context difference Development initiatives need to Political and culturally informed The recognition that societies be shaped in ways that recognize public action is not easy. The pro- consist of different groups, often the relative disempowerment of cess requires paying close atten- structured in hierarchies, with weaker or subordinate groups in tion to context in shaping inter- unequal social and cultural capi- cultural, economic and political ventions both globally and locally. tal, suggests that mechanisms of terms. This approach involves un- It therefore argues against the inter-group exchange and delibera- derstanding how context matters in idea of "best practice"--that an in- tion need to be set up in a manner ways that are conditioned by such tervention that worked wonders in that changes the "terms of recog- inequalities and the need to design one context would do the same in nition." In this area, as in many public action in ways that foster another. Good interventions are others, there are no magic insti- greater "equality of agency" with very difficult to design ex-ante. A tutional solutions. One possibility respect to social hierarchies, in- cultural lens thus teaches us that is to employ "deliberative democ- cluding those involving public, pri- public action, particularly when it racy" as in the participatory bud- vate and international actors. is participatory, aspiration-build- geting process developed in Porto ing and aware of "common-sense", Alegre in Brazil--but this has some Policy design requires an element of experimen- preconditions. The promotion of At the level of the policymaker, a tation and learning. Ironically the democracy is key, but in order for point of departure is the recogni- best practice may be the absence democracy to work at the grass- tion that actions occur within un- of a best practice. roots, it has to be deepened and lo- equal social, cultural and political Projects need to be closely moni- cal institutions need to be trans- structures. Since a core concern tored and evaluated, not just in parent even to people at the lowest is the lack of influence or agency terms of their impact but also in rungs of society. of poorer or excluded groups, policy the processes that led to that im- Similarly, effective education choices to compensate for this are pact in order to understand how to initiatives may need multi-cul- likely to be an important element they can be shaped and modified tural designs with curricula that of strategy. in a manner that matches the di- are tailored to reflect the reality To understand local conceptions versity inherent in the local cul- and lingua-franca of students of well-being the recipients of pub- tural context. All projects will rather than of elites who tend to lic action need to be engaged as make mistakes, but so long as design curricula. Comparable ar- central agents in the formation these mistakes are recognized and guments can be made for the de- and implementation of policy. This the lessons from them incorpo- sign of health projects, commons implies that the theory and prac- rated into the next stage of design, management, etc. The recognition tice of development will be more this helps incorporate common that sub-groups can often have difficult and, necessarily, more par- sense into the development pro- conflictual interactions leads to the ticipatory. However, it also implies cess. need for effective methods of con- that participation in itself is not a A key lesson is that development flict management--for instance, panacea, precisely because of the is not easy. It is, at its core, a po- mechanisms for inter-group dia- social inequities inherent within litical, social and cultural process logue and opportunities for social group-based relations. This, conse- that requires gradual learning and cultural interaction, and fair quently, leads to a proposal that from the ground-up in order to be and effective courts that can adju- should be self-evident, but is rarely effective and sustainable. A devel- dicate differences and which poor put into practice in multi-lateral opment culture that forces projects communities can easily access. agencies: social and historical to be completed in 2 or 3 years be- analysis should inform policy de- fore they are either rapidly and International policy and the be- sign just as much as economic meaninglessly scaled up, or aban- havior of external agents analysis, and they should be placed doned, is not conducive to social How can international action on an equal footing. change or to learning-by-doing. become more culturally attuned? The issue is most commonly employment objectives, but the ef- learning with countries. But while framed in terms of the policies and fects of enforced globalization on institutional cultures are dy- cultures of international agencies, the living conditions and aspira- namic, they also take time to such as the World Bank, the IMF, tions of workers can be complex. change, and this change is helped and the World Trade Organization, Typically the diagnostic frame of an by being conscious and aware of though it also applies to the whole inequality trap would not suggest inequities of agency within the range of external actors, from bi- reversing globalization, but world of development policy. lateral donors, to UNESCO, inter- strengthening the agency of ad- national non-government agencies versely affected domestic groups to such as OXFAM and multinational influence their capacity to influ- References: companies. I touch on three areas ence, choose, or gain from the con- here: sequential economic changes. Appadurai, Arjun, "The Capacity Thus in arguing for the benefits to Aspire: Culture and the Terms Supporting development design that may accrue from more open of Recognition," Chapter 3 in V. within countries markets, the seismic cultural Rao and M. Walton (editors) Cul- The discussion of implications shifts that would ensue should not ture and Public Action, Stanford for local public action applies with be ignored, particularly when they University Press, Stanford, 2004 equal force to the international may result in new forms of domi- Bourdieu, Pierre, Outline of a sphere. Policy design needs to take nation and control. This is not to Theory of Practice, Cambridge account of local conditions, includ- say that cultural dimensions of University Press, Cambridge, 1977 ing the interaction between cul- integration are always either Bourdieu, Pierre, Distinction: A ture, power and economic struc- inequalizing or homogenizing-- Critique of the Judgement of Taste, tures. This does not mean eschew- cross-cultural interactions could Harvard University Press, Cam- ing generalization from interna- also be enriching and productivity bridge, 1984 tional experience or giving up the enhancing. Rao, Vijayendra and Michael documented lessons of history on Walton, "Culture and Public Ac- economic and social change. In- Institutional cultures tion: Relationality, Equality of deed a central function of such Last, but not least, we need to Agency and Development," Chap- agencies should precisely be the consider the cultures of the insti- ter 1 in V. Rao and M. Walton (edi- sharing of knowledge--by under- tutions themselves. Tales of arro- tors) Culture and Public Action, standing situations and processes gance in the interactions between Stanford University Press, by which policies can be made international or bilateral agencies Stanford, 2004a more effective in improving the and their "clients" abound. Some Rao, Vijayendra and Michael conditions of the poor. However, the would suggest the ease by which Walton, "Conclusion: Implications debate over what makes effective borrower countries adopt the ideo- of a Cultural Lens for Public Policy policy within a country has to be logical fashions of international and Development Thought," Chap- informed by a process of dialogue development agencies is an ex- ter 16 in V. Rao and M. Walton (edi- and deliberation within the coun- ample of internalized discrimina- tors) Culture and Public Action, try--rather than the mindless tion. Small, less affluent countries Stanford University Press, force-feeding of "best practice" eager for a loan are particularly Stanford, 2004b guidelines that are little informed vulnerable to this. However, there Steele, Claude M., "Thin Ice: by the social and historical context. is an increasing self-awareness "Stereotype Threat" and Black Col- within the organizations of this lege Students," Atlantic Monthly, International policy design issue. Recent policies in the World 284, Pp: 44-54, 1999 An Inequality Trap perspective is Bank and elsewhere have been Tilly, Charles, Durable Inequal- directly relevant to some areas of seeking to change the asymmetry ity, University of California Press, international policy. Trade liberal- of dealings with client countries Berkeley, CA, 1998 ization and foreign investment are and enable a shift towards a cul- typically desirable for income and ture of partnership and mutual This article has been reproduced from Development Outreach, The World Bank Institute, September 2005 edition, and is written by VijayendraRao,LeadEconomistwith the Development Research Group. This essay is a summary of the ar- guments in Rao and Walton (2004a and 2004b) which provide more thor- ough expositions.