Socioeconomic Inequality In Israel

This volume addresses different aspects and areas of inequality in Israel, a country characterized by high levels of economic inequality, poverty, and social diversity. The book expands on the mechanisms that produce and maintain inequality, and the role of state policies in influencing those mechanisms.

This study of the social and economic disparities in Israel spans the period from the early 1920s up to the present. An investigation into historical development is combined with a thorough analysis of causes of economic inequality and poverty. Special attention is paid to the socio-economic differences between and within the communities -- the two main Jewish groups (European and Oriental) and the Arab population. Further subjects include the examination of the impact of economic growth and structural changes on inequality; the analysis of income distribution by family types; and the influence of the working wife on family income and inequality. International comparisons and the analysis of inequality in the world show Israel in a wider perspective and lend the study a more general character. Contents: Introduction: Concepts and Measurement / The Mandatory Period / Socioeconomic Development of Income Distribution / An Historical Aspect / Factors Affecting Earning and Income Differentials / Determinants of Family Income / Poverty in Israel / Israel in the World / Income Distribution in the World

The Arab Minority in Israel's Economy considers the Arab population as an integral, albeit disadvantaged, part of Israeli society. Using data from a thirty-year period, the book looks at Arab participation in the economy, especially in the labor market, showing how significant socioeconomic inequality persists despite a fundamental tenet of Israel's declaration of independence asserting equality of political and social rights of all its citizens. Taking an ethnic competition perspective, the authors explore the extent of inequality, uncovering the institutional and social processes that influence it. They examine the role of local labor markets and individual human resources, giving special attention to the growing labor force participation of Arab women. They also consider the gains of the majority Jewish population that have resulted from competition and economic discrimination against Arabs. Although the Arab community in Israel has been studied in the past, this book in unique in its detailed analysis of employment activity within and outside of the Arab sector and in examining both Arabs and Jews within the stratification system. The book fosters deeper understanding of Israeli society and of multiethnic societies more generally.

From its beginning as an independent state, Israel has been beset by the divisions and tensions that characterize most ethnically mixed societies. This extensively detailed analysis accounts for status attainment in Israeli society by investigating the process of stratification. It documents what happened to Arabs as well as Jewish immigrants and their children by tracing not only the socioeconomic locations, but also the proximate social determinants of the locations of significant ethnic, cultural, gender, and religious groups. Many of the research findings in this timely study have significant implications for social policy in Israel and elsewhere.

The Arab Minority in Israel's Economy considers the Arab population as an integral, albeit disadvantaged, part of Israeli society. Using data from a thirty-year period, the book looks at Arab participation in the economy, especially in the labor market, showing how significant socioeconomic inequality persists despite a fundamental tenet of Israel's declaration of independence asserting equality of political and social rights of all its citizens. Taking an ethnic competition perspective, the authors explore the extent of inequality, uncovering the institutional and social processes that influence it. They examine the role of local labor markets and individual human resources, giving special attention to the growing labor force participation of Arab women. They also consider the gains of the majority Jewish population that have resulted from competition and economic discrimination against Arabs. Although the Arab community in Israel has been studied in the past, this book is unique in its detailed analysis of employment activity within and outside of the Arab sector and in examining both Arabs and Jews within the stratification system. The book fosters deeper understanding of Israeli society and of multi-ethnic societies more generally.

This open access book investigates the link between income inequality and socio-economic residential segregation in 24 large urban regions in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. It offers a unique global overview of segregation trends based on case studies by local author teams. The book shows important global trends in segregation, and proposes a Global Segregation Thesis. Rising inequalities lead to rising levels of socio-economic segregation almost everywhere in the world. Levels of inequality and segregation are higher in cities in lower income countries, but the growth in inequality and segregation is faster in cities in high-income countries. This is causing convergence of segregation trends. Professionalisation of the workforce is leading to changing residential patterns. High-income workers are moving to city centres or to attractive coastal areas and gated communities, while poverty is increasingly suburbanising. As a result, the urban geography of inequality changes faster and is more pronounced than changes in segregation levels. Rising levels of inequality and segregation pose huge challenges for the future social sustainability of cities, as cities are no longer places of opportunities for all.

A data-based analysis of social life and social problems in contemporary Israel that draws a vivid portrait of a dynamic and rapidly changing society