Globalisation and poverty in the UK
Globalisation has been described as an unstoppable force; a fact of modern life; a great opportunity for global poverty eradication; or a source of growing inequality within and between countries. Whatever your perspective, globalisation forms an important part of the environment in which we work if we are going to address poverty, inequality and to build community well-being in the UK.
Saturday 20 February is the United Nation's World Day of Social Justice. It marks the UK and other member states' commitment to support efforts to eradicate poverty, promote employment and decent work, achieve gender equity and access to social well-being and justice for all. The UN and other global and regional institutions and processes play an important role in the UK's approach to poverty eradication globally. JRF will explore their relevance for addressing poverty in the UK as one part of a new programme on globalisation, UK poverty and communities.
The recent economic crisis has shown how inter-connected the economic well being of the UK is with that of the global economy. Similarly, it demonstrated that some of the solutions to crises are global in nature and need coordinated international action.
However, globalisation is not just about the economy and states' policy making. It is also about the social connections between people in the UK and other parts of the world. Globalisation means that more people in the UK can, and do, link with people in other parts of the world than ever before. Global media, transportation and global communication technology mean money, people, ideas, and information can connect and move across borders more quickly than ever before.
The implications of these connections are being explored in the new JRF programme which is considering:
- Who and how are people taking advantage of new opportunities that globalisation enables?
- How are local politics and conflict outside of the UK influencing UK community dynamics?
- What new challenges are people facing as a result of globalisation?
- How is globalisation affecting options to address poverty and inequality in the UK?
- To what extent can poverty and inequality be addressed domestically and what aspects require global solutions?
- How is globalisation influencing the economic challenges people face and the ways they respond?
Further information on the next stage of this programme will be available in March.
