What insights does the concept of social exclusion offer the development studies literature? How is it relevant to key Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? This paper argues that the challenges that social exclusion presents to current policy concerns suggest that the ‘business as usual’ approach to development has been inadequate.
Economic theories have focussed on resource-based paradigms of disadvantage, taking the individual or household as the unit of analysis. Sociologists, however, have focussed on forms of disadvantage based on the cultural devaluation of groups or categories of people in society based on who they are perceived to be.
The social exclusion perspective covers the overlap between these two experiences of disadvantage: Focussing on those who, in addition to their poverty, face discrimination on the basis of their identity. Social exclusion may also have a spatial dimension. The analysis of social exclusion is concerned with institutional rules, relationships and processes through which resources are distributed and value is assigned in society.
The paper examines a wide range of empirical evidence from across the developing world to examine the relevance of social exclusion to achievement of the MDGs. It focuses on poverty, health and education outcomes, and the extent to which shortfalls in achievement of the goals can be explained by economic variables, and how they also reflect aspects of group identity. For example:
- Poverty: A number of studies in indicate that the poverty of excluded groups cannot be fully explained by group inequalities in assets and education. One study found that while holding characteristics such as education, occupation and age constant, scheduled tribes were still 19 per cent more likely to be poor than the general population.
- Health: The greater poverty of socially excluded groups translates into poorer levels of health, particularly when combined with locational disadvantages. A study in found that immunisation coverage was lower in the marginal Chittagong Hill Tracts than the national average, and lower still among excluded ethnic groups.
- Education: Excluded groups are disproportionately represented in educational shortfalls. In , non-white families are 1.4 times more likely than white children to be illiterate.
The absence of disaggregated data has invisibilised excluded groups and the problem of social exclusion. Socially excluded groups not only have fewer assets than the rest of the poor, but they also find it harder to translate them into income due to discrimination. They are also likely to be denied access to ‘normal’ forms of social provisioning, and less likely to participate in ‘normal’ models of democracy. Policies should therefore:
- Adopt a multi-pronged approach to deal with the multiple and overlapping disadvantage that social exclusion represents.
- Address cultural norms and values that lead to discrimination, through the education system, the media, public campaigns and an appropriate legal framework.
- Be tailored to the particular forms of vulnerability of excluded groups. Some form of basic security may be essential.
- Strengthen the voice of the excluded in policy and political processes, by changing the way such processes are carried out. This may include decentralisation, which should avoid local hierarchies.
- Promote civil society networks which help to mobilise excluded groups to allow them to exercise voice.
- Ensure that the principles of equality and rights expressed in the Millennium Declaration infuse the interpretation and implementation of the MDGs. Bilateral donors should ensure these principles are built into their policy dialogues with governments.
