ICOPEC 2020 CfP: Global Inequalities

Global Inequalities

24-26 June 2020, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey

Inequality has been on the rise across the globe and living conditions are vastly unequal between different places in the world. Currently, the richest 1% own 45% of the world’s wealth. The consequence is that some people are able to enjoy healthy, wealthy, happy lives whilst others continue to live in ill-health, poverty and sorrow. Rapid economic growth in Asia (particularly China and India) has lifted many people out of extreme poverty. Nevertheless, the wealth divide is steadily growing. According to Oxfam, between 2009 and 2018, the number of billionaires it took to equal the wealth of the world’s poorest 50 percent fell from 380 to 26. Those with extreme wealth have often accumulated their fortunes on the backs of people around the world who work for poor wages and under dangerous conditions. Women are scarce at the top and overrepresented at the bottom. Gender discrimination in the workplace contributes significantly to these persistent economic divides. There are also large differences in wealth across racial groups. Long-standing racial discrimination in many forms, including in education, hiring, and pay practices contribute to persistent earnings gaps. Inequalities have dramatically strengthened the economic and political power of those individuals at the top.

This conference aims to identify the main drivers behind the widespread increase of inequalities and how they can be reversed to achieve a level playing field. Apart from its main theme, ICOPEC 2020 also invites and welcomes all contributions that enrich the perspectives of Political Economy and expand the ground for better policy analyses and making. Indicatively, proposed papers may touch upon the following issues:

Inequalities, Income Distribution, and Poverty Alleviation

• Neo-liberal Globalisation: Divergence or Convergence?
• Financialisation, Economic Crises, and Inequalities
• Inequalities across and within Individual Countries
• Income and Wealth Distributions
• Poverty Dynamics and Poverty Alleviation
• Political Economy of Poverty and Income Disparity
• Socio-Economic Inequalities over the Life Course
• Institutions, Social Protection, and Inclusion

• Environmental Inequalities
• Artificial Intelligence and Inequalities
• Inequalities from the Lens of Cinema and Art

Gender and Identity Inequalities

• Gender and Social Justice
• Conflict, War and Gender
• Sexism and Gender-Based Discrimination
• Child and Forced Marriages
• Gender Empowerment and Religion
• Sexual Orientation Related Inequalities
• Gender Norms and Differences in Behaviour in the post-#MeToo Era
• Political Representation and Public Leadership of Women

Labour Economics and Inequalities

• Inequalities in Earnings
• Minimum Wage Impacts
• Trade Unions and Wage Levels
• Migrant Workers and Inequalities
• Labour Market Discriminations and Wage Gaps
• Unemployment, Flexible Employment, and Inequalities
• 4th Industrial Revolution and Basic Income

Public Finance, Public Management, and Inequalities

• Redistributive Fiscal Policies
• Political Economy of Fiscal Institutions

• Market-Society Tension and Social Policy
• Public Goods, Public Bads, and Public Policies
• Global Commons and Global Public Goods
• Tax Burden Fairness, Corruption, and Tax Compliance
• Public Governance Quality, Transparency, and Accountability
• Shadow Economy, Distribution of Wealth, and Unfair Competition

• International Tax Competition and Under-Investment in Public Goods

International Relations and Inequalities

• Global Political Economy and Inequalities
• Power Politics in International Relations and Inequalities
• Hegemonic Struggles, Trade Wars, and Inequalities
• International Human Rights Violations and Social Justice
• Unequal Power Relations and Human Trafficking
• Cross-Border Migration, Minorities, and Inequalities
• International Organizations, Democratic Governance, and Crises
• Cooperation, Conflict, and Security in Global Politics

Sociology, Anthropology, Demography, and Inequalities

• Race, Ethnicity, and Justice
• Analysis of Power and Inequalities
• Culture, Identity, Religion, and Inequalities
• Forms of Social Life, Violence, and Inequalities
• War Zones, Immigration, and Inequalities
• Politics of Justice Protest, Democracy, and Change
• Ageing, Intergenerational Relations, and Social Pensions
• Natural Language Processing, Big Data, and Inequalities
• Society and Politics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Economic Development, Sustainability, and Inequality

• Poverty, Growth and Inequality
• Rent-Seeking, Corruption, and Inequality
• Environmental Inequality and Poverty
• Technological Progress and Inequalities
• Shared Economy and Inclusive Development
• Institutional Quality, Administrative Capacity, and Development

For more information visit conference website: http://www.icopec.org/