University Essay: Perspectives on Social Inequality in Canada

This essay, focusing on social inequality in Canada, examines the detrimental effects of child poverty and income inequality. The student analyzes how these issues are amplified in the Canadian context, highlighting the country's perceived inability to fully protect children from these impacts. The discussion encompasses federal evidence, the increasing proportions of affected populations, and the widening gaps in economic development. The essay explores the impacts of globalization, policy measures, and the role of social transfers in mitigating poverty. It references various studies and reports to support the arguments, and concludes with a call for a child-approachable globalization policy and the importance of targeted interventions to address the issue. The essay draws on sources such as journal articles and reports to support its claims.

Running head: PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL INEQUALITY
PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author note:

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Introduction
Children from low income families tend to at increased risk for various poor
consequences particularly deteriorated physical health and educational failure. Child poverty
typically is considered as detrimental for children’s development. Understanding by what
means children are affected by poverty and unequal distribution of wealth is vital for varied
reasons (Spencer, 2018). Firstly, cross-national assessments indicate to the fact that children
tend to encounter detrimental outcomes when they grow up in nations which have high versus
reduced levels of income inequality. The thesis statement of the essay is “Children’s
experience of poverty and income inequality is amplified in Canada, but the country is being
incompetent to protect children from its impact.”
Discussion
Federal evidences with major proportion of child and family poverty in Canada have
been significant with increasing proportions of Aboriginals, perceptible minority and single
parent families (Smeeding & Thévenot, 2016). As per reports, Canada is identified as one of
the few countries like France, Iceland and Sweden where unequal income distribution has
elevated significantly lately. Some of the gaps between children economic development have
broadened such as health symptoms and income disparity, whereas rest are stable in the
domain of physical health conditions and education inequality. Study conducted by
Suphanchaimat et al. (2015) has mentioned that uncertain decline in child poverty since 2008
recession has not altered the fact that increasing number of families have been facing
challenges in accomplishing essential needs. Meanwhile, Monsebraaten (2018) has
mentioned that reports based on current 2016 census and 2015 income tax information shed
light on the association with continual discrimination and systemic inequality instead of
providence or deteriorated individual preferences. Nations constituting increased complete
achievement as well as smaller gaps between children reflect that with adequate investment

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in child development, both the aspects can be conceivable. According to Dabla-Norris et al.
(2015), broad gaps are insignificant and get instigated with range of undesirable impacts on
children. Life “at the bottom” does not necessarily imply of having less income but sheds
light on significant decline in education, showing reduced and poor health conditions with
more risk behaviours, problematic relations as well as lower life contentment (Welander,
Lyttkens & Nilsson, 2015). Fonseca, Marre and San Román (2015) have noted that children
tend to develop feeling of exclusion at an early age with inferior prospects and lower
aspirations and tend to remain debarred throughout their lives.
There is disseminated but vital report claiming that since last two decades child
poverty has augmented in outright number and in excess of overall poverty in a substantial
number of nations. In contrast to few nations like Canada, rate of child poverty in China has
declined abruptly (Kaneko et al., 2016). The effect of globalisation on child poverty is
perceptibly a complex factor. Although, many developments brought by globalisation are
desirable, it has been noted that globalisation if correctly directed and harnessed might allow
a rapid decrease in child poverty. According to Sharipov (2015), domestic weaknesses and
global asymmetries have instigated a divergence between the gainers and losers of
globalisation. Furthermore, the policy measures introduced in order to liberalize the national
economies have in various cases fuelled an increase within the nation and its inequality which
concurrently impacts the political support for globalisation. In the view of Agénor (2015), an
upsurge in inequality actually decreases the poverty mitigation resistance of development and
consequently shows significance. Thus, reduces the predictions for poverty decrease and
global assimilation. As a result, the linkage between child poverty and globalization has been
mediated by the effect of globalization on the pace and patterns of development. The initial
situations related to the distribution of possessions, human capital as well as opportunities
prior to globalisation tends to leverage the outcomes in relation to growth as well as child

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poverty. A vital aspect of globalization in relation to whether it aims as lessening the impact
of the deep-rooted causes of poverty and inequality (Smeeding & Thévenot, 2016). In in
view of the consequence of globalization on global income inequality, there has been an
overall argument in support of endogenous growth theory, which has recommended that the
connection between globalization and growth can be recognized to facets of globalization
related to trade liberalization thus advancing to closer integration and consequently growth
(Monsebraaten, 2018).
Globalization appears to be permanent as it tends to produce winners and losers
amongst the poor. However, the question which requires to be addressed is by means of
which individuals can efficiently direct and regulate this process of globalisation and
develops higher inclusiveness and equitability in comparison to existing situations. In light of
these factors, Smeeding and Thévenot (2016) have noted that globalization not necessarily
should to be uninhibited, but it acts as a poor governance of globalization which requires to
be confronted. Nonetheless, if regulated properly managed as well as in equitable means for
the profit of all, globalization must serve as a positive dynamism. At this juncture, it has been
noted that global community must act together in a determination to increase obtainability of
the resources essential to income which can confront against poverty and disproportion.
Meanwhile, Welander, Lyttkens and Nilsson (2015) have mentioned that range of additional
factors have impacted child poverty in the last two decades. Although the association
between changes in these aspects and liberalization-globalisation has surpassed the factor of
being open and in many cases have been highly unsubstantiated whereby the unconstructive
impact produced by these changes could have been mitigated if regulations and policies
towards family revenues and other factors of family welfare had been highly proactive as
compared to what it have been until now. The risk of child poverty is likely to arise in
families with large number of children compared to the number of breadwinners. Fonseca,

4PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL INEQUALITY
Marre and San Román (2015) by drawing relevance to these factors have noted that the risk
of child poverty has been not largely affected by changes in the birth rate. For example, in
China, the `one child family policy' has contributed to the deterioration in the youth
dependency ratio as well as in child poverty. As a consequence, although elevated fertility
has remained as an essential cause of child poverty in numerous emerging nations, during the
past two decades, this has turn out to be less of an issue in majority of regions with the
exclusion of a number of African nations.
Social cash along with near cash transferences support earnings as well as alleviates
poverty. Social transfers that typically take into account child welfares and family
allowances, illness and disability allowances significantly adequate market income-based
child poverty (Agénor, 2015). In nations where market income deficiency rates for parents
tends to be closer to the average like the France and the United States and Canada, social
transfers play effectively in reducing poverty, but then again to a reduced degree in the
United States and Canada.
Conclusion
To conclude, children from incomplete families not only tend to be at excessively
higher risk of poverty, but range of additional severe problems. Thus there must be an
opportunity to underline the priority target group of any policy concentrating on children. A
child approachable globalization policy should as a result be introduced to shed light on ways
to regulate the undesirable effects on children of any kind of astonishment not only those
shocks that are instigated by variations in economic strategies.

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References
Agénor, P. R. (2015). Public capital, health persistence and poverty traps. Journal of
Economics, 115(2), 103-131.
Dabla-Norris, M. E., Kochhar, M. K., Suphaphiphat, M. N., Ricka, M. F., & Tsounta, E.
(2015). Causes and consequences of income inequality: A global perspective.
International Monetary Fund.
Fonseca, C., Marre, D., & San Román, B. (2015). Child Circulation in a globalized era:
anthropological reflections. The Intercountry Adoption Debate: Dialogues Across
Disciplines, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Kaneko, A., Kato, H., Shinozaki, T., & Yanagihara, M. (2016). Bequeathed tastes and
fertility in an endogenous growth model. Economics Bulletin, 36(3), 1422-1429.
Monsebraaten, L. (2018). Child poverty linked to discrimination and systemic inequality,
study suggests | The Star. Retrieved 23 February 2020, from
https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2018/06/18/child-poverty-linked-to-discrimination-
and-systemic-inequality-study-suggests.html
Sharipov, I. (2015). Contemporary economic growth models and theories: A literature
review. CES Working Papers, 7(3), 759.
Smeeding, T., & Thévenot, C. (2016). Addressing child poverty: How does the United
States compare with other nations?. Academic pediatrics, 16(3), S67-S75.
Spencer, N. (2018). Poverty and child health. CRC Press.
Suphanchaimat, R., Kantamaturapoj, K., Putthasri, W., & Prakongsai, P. (2015).
Challenges in the provision of healthcare services for migrants: a systematic review
through providers’ lens. BMC health services research, 15(1), 390.
Welander, A., Lyttkens, C. H., & Nilsson, T. (2015). Globalization, democracy, and child
health in developing countries. Social Science & Medicine, 136, 52-63.