Alumni

Dr. Zina Nimeh

Thesis:
Social citizenship rights: Inequality and exclusion

Year: 2012

Promotor(s):
Chris de Neubourg & Gøsta Esping-Andersen

Abstract:
This study looks at social citizenship rights, and sets out to explore the conditions that can explain an outcome of stratification, inequality and social exclusion of newly entering groups of migrants/refugees into a host country’s society. The case of the Palestinian refugees in Jordan is examined and the impact of the variation and social inclusivity in policy towards different groups is analysed. The study presents a methodological discussion on how the Capability Approach with the contribution it has made in the field of measurement presents a clear synthesis of the available methodological approaches that can be uses to assess inequality and social exclusion. A general frame work on the dynamics of group entry is presented which focuses on the interaction between the inclusivity of social policy and the mean socio-economic attributes of the entering group. This is incorporated into a frame work with the concept of the social divisions (fault lines) and the probability of their formation. The empirical results indicate that groups who were not part of an inclusive social policy fare consistently worse off than any other group in the society on most socio-economic indicators. This study links the concepts of stratification, inequality, exclusion and citizenship and applies them beyond the western and industrialised societies, while still benefiting from the wealth of knowledge accumulated in studying these societies.

UNU-MERIT