Transcript Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada Indice de progrès véritable - Atlantique SOCIAL EXCLUSION & INCLUSION in PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND Charlottetown, 21 February, 2003 Prepared.

Genuine Progress Index for Atlantic Canada
Indice de progrès véritable - Atlantique
SOCIAL EXCLUSION & INCLUSION
in PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
Charlottetown, 21 February, 2003
Prepared for:
Inter-generational social
inclusion: What kind of world
are we leaving our children?
Brundtland Commission's
seminal definition
• “Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own
needs....[This] implies a concern for social
equity between generations, a concern
that must logically be extended to equity
within each generation.”
–
World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland
Commission), 1987. Our Common Future, Oxford University Press, New York.
Statistics Canada:
• “A consensus has emerged that sustainable
development refers at once to economic,
social and environmental needs.... A clear
social objective that falls out of the definition
(of sustainable development) is that of equity,
both among members of the present
generation and between the present and
future generations….”
Statistics Canada, Econnections 1997
What kind of world are we
leaving our children?
• Canada’s premier quality of life,
Nova Scotia’s QOL
• More possessions, longer lives
• But, some disturbing signs
Warning Signals:
•Higher stress rates, obesity, childhood
asthma
•Insecurity - job, debt, safety
•Greater inequality and more child poverty
•Decline of volunteerism
•Natural resource depletion, species loss
•Global warming
Sending the Wrong Messages
Growth stats= more is better
 But anything (crime, sickness, pollution,
disasters, resource depletion, stress) can
make economy grow - better off?
 GDP can grow as poverty, inequality grow
 Ignores work that contributes directly to
wellbeing (volunteers, work in home).
Indicators are Powerful
What we measure:
 reflects what we value as a society;
 determines policy agenda;
 influences behaviour (eg students)
We need measures of progress that count
vital social assets like health, equity
Valuing Equity: Trends
Average Disposable Household Income, 1980-98
Canada
Newfoundland
Prince Edward Island
Nova Scotia
New Brunswick
Quebec
Ontario
Manitoba
Saskatchewan
Alberta
British Columbia
Richest 20% : Poorest 20%
1980
1990
1998
8.2
7.1
8.5
7.6
5.8
7.3
7.4
6.2
6.7
7.1
6.2
8.5
6.7
6.1
7.0
7.6
6.9
7.9
7.8
7.1
8.3
8.8
6.7
7.6
8.1
7.3
7.4
9.1
7.4
10.4
9.3
7.6
8.0
PEI most equitable province
• Lowest rates of low income for men (7.6%),
women (8.3%), and children(6.6%) in
Canada (9.9%, 11.9%, 12.5% respectively)
• PEI has smallest income gap between
richest and poorest 20%; and r:p 40%;
smallest Gini coefficient (over all incomes)
• PEI has smallest gender wage gap (PEI
women earn 94.3c to male $1, cf 80.7c Can
• PEI single moms = 2nd highest wage in Can
Prevalence of Low incomewomen and men -1997 & 2000
Income: Female lone-parent
families - 1997 & 2000
Income:
Gender Wage gap
Change in Wage Gap- 1998-2001
- Ratio of Female to Male Hourly wages:
1998
2001
Canada
Nfld and
Labrador
81.3%
80.7%
78.8%
77.0%
PEI
Nova
Scotia
93.5% 80.4%
94.3% 80.9%
New
Brunswick
81.3%
78.7%
Regional “exclusion”
(Mike Harris and the lottery)
• Income gap between rich and poor
provinces grew in 1990s.
• 1990: Atlantic Canadians had 81c for $1 in
Ontario. 1998: 75c for $1 in Ontario
• But Ontario gain due to $9,400 household
gain for richest 20% to $97,170 disposable
income. Poor and middle income
Ontarians lost real income.
Other Forms of Exclusion
• From social benefits: Middle, higher
income Canadians get more cash transfers Transfers to poorest down 15% since 1990.
• Gender: Except PEI 20% less per hour; 1115% less adjusted for 14 factors. More
women live below LICO than men.
• Single-parent families and children have
higher rates of low income.
Clustered disadvantages:
“Social exclusion”
• Low income, unemployment, illiteracy,
health & justice problems....
• Marginalized groups at risk include:
Single mothers, children, youth,
unemployed, Aboriginals, migrants,
minorities, disabled, homeless
• Inclusion success 1980s - elderly
HRDC Index of Social
Health
• 15 components - including trends in
poverty, child abuse, infant mortality, teen
suicide, drug abuse, high school dropouts,
crime, alcohol-related fatalities, affordable
housingm etc.
• Decline in all provinces since early 1980s:
Newfoundland down 5%; NB down 8%;
PEI down 15%;
NS down 21%
Ignoring social development
means the full costs of
• ill health
• illiteracy
• poverty, unemployment
• crime
…..crowd out investment, and undermine
economic development.
Full cost accounting shows:
Unemployment, poverty, inequality, poor
education bring…
• higher stress, risk factors, costs of health
care, crime (competing resources)
• loss of innovation potential….by waste of
precious human assets (C. Leadbetter, et al;
Livingstone, 1998)
E.g.: Health costs of
poverty and inequality
• Low income women 15-39 = 62% more
likely to be hospitalized than high income
women
• Low-income men age 15-39 are 46% more
likely to be hospitalized
• For age 40-64: men = 57%, women = 92%
……excess use of physicians
• No high school diploma use 49% more
physician services than those with BA
• Lower income groups use 43% more than
higher income; lower middle = 33% more
• In NS: excess physician use due to
educational inequality = $42.2 M./yr;
excess use due to income inequality =
$27.5 M./yr = small % total health costs
……heart health costs
• Low income groups have higher risk
smoking, obesity, physical inactivity,
cardiovascular risk = costly
• NS could avoid 200 deaths, $124
million per year if all Nova Scotians
were as heart healthy as higher
income groups
……overall health status
• Poverty is the most reliable predictor
of poor health, premature death,
disability
• Low income groups are 4x more
likely to report fair or poor health =
costly
…delayed child development
• 31 indicators - as family income falls,
children have more health problems,
(NLSCY, NPHS, Statistics Canada)
• Child poverty -> higher rates
respiratory illness, obesity, high
blood lead, iron deficiency, FAS,
LBW, SIDS, delayed vocabulary
development, injury+….
……health of single mothers
• Worse health status than married
(NPHS); higher rates chronic illness,
disability days, activity restrictions
• 3x health care practitioner use for
mental, emotional reasons = costly
• Long-term single mothers have
particularly poor health
Health Cost of Inequality
• British Medical Journal: “What
matters in determining mortality
and health is less the overall
wealth of the society and more
how evenly wealth is distributed.
The more equally wealth is
distributed, the better the health
of that society.”
Socioeconomic determinants
& costs of crime...
• 42% NS prison inmates have less than Grade
10 education (cf 19% population)
• Aboriginals jailed at 4 times pop. rate
• 67% unemployed at time of admission (=5x
population rate)
= Costly:
• $44,165 inmate/year; cf 3-year university
tuition, room, board = $35,000
Crime and Unemployment
Robberies, Canada and Nova Scotia, 1962 – 1997
(per 100,000 pop)
120
100
80
60
40
20
Canada
Nova Scotia
1996
1994
1992
1990
1988
1986
1984
1982
1980
1978
1976
1974
1972
1970
1968
1966
1964
0
1962
Incidents per 100,000
140
Robbery and the
Unemployment rate
(1962 – 1997 Average Rates by Decade)
Canada
Nova Scotia
Robbery Rate
Unemployment
Robbery Rate
Unemployment
(per 100,000 )
Rate
(per 100,000)
Rate
1962-69
33.6
4.0%*
16.0
4.9%*
1970-79
68.1
6.7%
32.8
8.1%
1980-89
93.3
9.3%
38.3
11.8%
1992-97
105.7
10.0%
41.6
12.5%
Social Inclusion is CostEffective -> Savings
• High rates of health service, justice usage
are costly to taxpayers.
• Reducing poverty among most vulnerable
groups = cost savings to health care system
• Single mothers, minorities, etc - highest
poverty rates; so adequate social supports
for these groups highly cost-effective
Promoting Social Inclusion
eg: GPI CAP-Site Survey:
• Strengthening communities, enhancing
communication, reducing isolation
• Promoting equity through access to
disadvantaged groups
• Youth-senior interaction and learning
• Employment, education, training
opportunities
Social Inclusion in Policy
• Eg2: ACOA seminar (Feb) and principles:
CED, loan provision, entrepreneurship,
are “inclusive” by nature; support for
FRAM, BBI, ABSN, CEED, Women in
Business, Youth Entrepreneurs, etc.
• Social Inclusion initiatives “feel” right,
but do they help economic development?
Social Strengths are
Economic Strengths
• Retention of knowledge-based industry skilled
employees requires focus on Quality of Life.
• Industry ranks QOL factors:
1st Low crime rate
2nd Health facilities
3rd Housing costs
4th Housing availability
5th Public school rating
(Area Development Magazine - 2001 Corporate Surveys)
Atlantic Canada’s Social Capital
Advantage e.g.:
800
Serious Violent Crimes, NS, Canada, USA, 93-97
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Nova Scot ia
131
134
107
110
105
Canada
191
180
177
174
166
U.S.A.
747
714
685
637
611
Social Capital is Valuable
• PEI volunteer service hours per capita =
highest in Canada (53.3 hours cf 34.2 in Can.)
• Provides valuable training; saves government
expense; helps school-to-work transition
• Declined by 6.3% in Canada 1997-2000 in
hours per capita, increased by 50% in PEI
(largest increase in country)
Social Supports:
Volunteerism - a saving grace
• Health Canada uses volunteerism as a key
indicator of a “supportive social
environment” that can enhance health.
• All four Atlantic provinces = highest rates of
volunteer work in the country.
• More women than men volunteer
• Across Canada (except PEI), volunteerism
rests on narrower, more fragile base - fewer
volunteers - longer hours
Volunteerism:
Atlantic Provinces lead (formal rate)
But volunteerism has
declined nationally
Income Distribution, Intellectual
Capital, and Economic Growth
• Evidence shows greater equality of income brings
positive effect on economic growth. Contrasts with
old theory of Efficiency/ Equity tradeoff.
• “Policies that re-distribute income so poor children
get post-secondary education ... have proven to be
growth enhancing.” A. Sharpe, 2001
• Children deprived in first 3 years of life suffer
permanent negative consequences. (Mustard, Sharpe, et al)
Income distribution and
innovation.
• “High levels of productivity and per capita output
are consistent with low levels of income inequality.”
Altman, 2001
• “Raising the human capital of those at the top of the
skill base at the expense of those at the bottom
reduces profitability when implementing new
technologies”.
-H. Lloyd -Ellis, 2001
• Distribution of human capital investment across all
skill levels supports invention, adoption, and
implementation of technology.
Netherlands /Canada
• Netherlands: 1,370 paid work hours / year
Canada:
1,732 paid work hours / year
• Netherlands: Part-time law: equal hourly pay,
pro-rated benefits, equal promotion opportunity
• Netherlands: unemployment 12.2% —> 2.7%
* Highest rate of part-time in OECD
* Involuntary part-time = 6% = 1/6 Atlantic rate
* High hourly productivity
Work Sharing: alternative to
layoffs in tough times
• Direct cost savings through reduced EI, SA,
severance payments, maintaining tax base
• Indirect savings - lower health, social costs
• Retains valuable workplace skills
• Reduces stress, improves work-life-family
balance
To Integrate Social and
Economic Development Policy…
• Measure full cost and value of both,
account for depreciation of human
and social capital, assess needs for
reinvestment (vs label as cost)
• Equity, inclusion as explicit goal,
assigned portfolio, responsibility
• = Economic advantage, NS strength