Sociology

1
Sociology and Public PolicyLecture 1 Rules for
Sociologists, Inequality

• Minor Social Sciences
• Utrecht School of Economics
• René Bekkers
• April 20, 2009

2
Organization issues

• For the lectures, you now need the Ultee, Arts
  Flap book later you need the Lindblom
  Woodhouse book
• Read the chapters assigned for the lectures
  check your knowledge with the multiple choice
  tests (workshops/WebCT)
• Start thinking about a topic for your final essay
• Complete the online surveys

3
Organization issues

• Sign your name on the attendance list
• Further details on organization in the workshop
• Substance, please

4
What is Sociology?

• Sociology and other social sciences Differences
  with respect to
• Problems addressed, topics studied (dependent
  variables)
• Explanations of these problems (independent
  variables)
• Type of Data Methods used

5
Sociological Problems

• Three main problems of Sociology
• 1. Inequality
• 2. Social cohesion
• 3. Rationalization

6
An example 3 problems in 1900
Salvation Army distributes blankets to a family
in a Heathland house in Drenthe, around 1900
7
An example
US Army distributes food to Tsunami victims,
December 2004
8
Sociological explanations

• Sociology studies effects of social causes
• Effects of groups and networks
• Class interests of socio-economic groups
• Social control in communities
• Norms and values, culture
• Effects of macro-level changes
• Effects of government policy

9
Sociological Methods

• Rules for theory development
• methodological individualism
• Popperian philosophy of science
• Rules for research
• multivariate analyses of survey and archival data

10
Difference with psychology

• social phenomena instead of individual
  differences as dependent variables
• social causes instead of individual factors as
  independent variables
• behavior in everyday life rather than in
  artificial experimental conditions

11
Difference with economics

• social causes rather than individual utility
  arguments (costs/benefits)
• people are motivated by more than money alone
  context matters
• less emphasis on formal models
• BUT convergence of research interests and
  methods (economic imperialism)

12
An example

• Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness
• Although much research has examined the effect of
  income on happiness, we suggest that how people
  spend their money may be at least as important as
  how much money they earn. Specifically, we
  hypothesized that spending money on other people
  may have a more positive impact on happiness than
  spending money on oneself. Providing converging
  evidence for this hypothesis, we found that
  spending more of one's income on others predicted
  greater happiness both cross-sectionally (in a
  nationally representative survey study) and
  longitudinally (in a field study of windfall
  spending). Finally, participants who were
  randomly assigned to spend money on others
  experienced greater happiness than those assigned
  to spend money on themselves.

13
An example
Social Psychology

• Spending Money on Others Promotes Happiness
• Elizabeth W. Dunn, Lara B. Aknin Michael I.
  Norton
• Although much research has examined the effect of
  income on happiness, we suggest that how people
  spend their money may be at least as important as
  how much money they earn. Specifically, we
  hypothesized that spending money on other people
  may have a more positive impact on happiness than
  spending money on oneself. Providing converging
  evidence for this hypothesis, we found that
  spending more of one's income on others predicted
  greater happiness both cross-sectionally (in a
  nationally representative survey study) and
  longitudinally (in a field study of windfall
  spending). Finally, participants who were
  randomly assigned to spend money on others
  experienced greater happiness than those assigned
  to spend money on themselves.
• Science 21 March 2008Vol. 319. no. 5870, pp.
  1687 1688
• Dunn Aknin Department of Psychology,
  University of British Columbia, Vancouver,
  Canada Norton Marketing Unit, Harvard Business
  School, Boston, USA

Dependent variable a psychological state
Independent variable social behavior
Method experiment
14
Difference with politics

• sociology is not left or right wing oriented, it
  is a social science (apolitical)
• no value judgments
• sociology is concerned with left wing and
  right wing issues
• Inequality is leftist, but cohesion is
  conservative and rationalization is liberal
  (neo-conservative)

15
Obamas inauguration speech

• Analyze this part of the speech (4.23-6.59) from
  your knowledge gained in todays lecture on
  similarities and differences between social
  problems and the three sociological problems

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well
understood. Our nation is at war against a
far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our
economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed
and irresponsibility on the part of some but also
our collective failure to make hard choices and
prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been
lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health
care is too costly, our schools fail too many,
and each day brings further evidence that the
ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and
threaten our planet. These are the indicators of
crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less
measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of
confidence across our land a nagging fear that
America's decline is inevitable, that the next
generation must lower its sights. Today I say to
you that the challenges we face are real, they
are serious and they are many. They will not be
met easily or in a short span of time. But know
this America They will be met. On this day, we
gather because we have chosen hope over fear,
unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On
this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty
grievances and false promises, the recriminations
and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have
strangled our politics. We remain a young nation,
but in the words of Scripture, the time has come
to set aside childish things. The time has come
to reaffirm our enduring spirit to choose our
better history to carry forward that precious
gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation
to generation the God-given promise that all are
equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to
pursue their full measure of happiness.
16
The book Ultee, Arts Flap (UAF)

• Three layers
• Sociological problems and theories inequality,
  cohesion, rationalization
• Methodological rules for social scientists
• Social state of the nation

17
UAF Chapter 1 Rules

• The BPTRM scheme
• B. Background (A. Achtergrond)
• P. Sociological problems
• T. Deductive (but verbal) theories
• R. Sociological Research (O. onderzoek)
• M. Policy Measures (B. Beleidsmaatregelen)

18
Background
19
Problems

• Descriptive questions who, what, when, where?
• Trend questions now and then
• Comparative questions here and there
• Explanatory questions why?
• Testing questions which hypothesis is correct?
• Methodological rule Ask questions in the right
  order first describe, then explain, then test

20
Theories

• Deductive structure
• L general law (W wetmatige uitspraak)
• C condition (aanvangsvoorwaarde)
• E explanandum (hypothesis)
• Methodological rules
• Reduce specific cases to general laws
• Deduce as many testable predictions as possible
• Hypotheses on human behavior in sociology are
  based on schematic assumptions about motivations

21
Research

• Type of data
• - Survey data (micro)
• - Archival data (macro)
• Methods statistical analysis
• Methodological rules
• Test hypotheses as strict as possible (multiple
  occasions, reliable data, transparent procedures)
• Hypotheses that withstand most of the tests
  approximate the truth

22
Policy measures and back

• Policy measures
• Intervention and Evaluation (Part 2 'Public
  Policy')
• A new background
• Anomalies raise new research problems
• General theories can be applied to multiple
  phenomena

23
Inequality

• UAF Chapter 3 Marx' problem of inequality
• 3xBPTR-schema
• 1. your own background knowledge,
• 2. historical development of inequality,
• 3. theoretical development

24
1. B Recent inequality issues
John Thain and Ken Lewis, on Sept. 15, when Mr.
Thain's bonus was set for 40 million.
After media reports, Essent CEO Boersma donated
half of his 160,000 bonus to charity.
25
P Research problems

• Descriptive how many households live in poverty?
• Trend has poverty increased?
• Comparative Do more people live in poverty in
  the Netherlands than in UK?
• Explanatory Why has poverty increased?
• Hypothesis political stance of government
• Testing Compare poverty rates in the Netherlands
  1990-2006
• does poverty increase with right-wing government?

26
T Theory

• L Law, general rule (probabilistic)
• Under more leftist governments less poverty
• C condition, concrete situation
• Netherlands before 2001 more leftist than after
  2001
• E explanans (hypothesis)
• Poverty increased since 2001

27
R Research
28
Rules for research

• We can derive many more hypotheses from the law
  we formulated, e.g., trend for Sweden comparing
  UK-NL
• Methodological rules
• deduce as many hypotheses from a law as possible,
  and test them (remember the black swan)
• obtaining support for a hypothesis does not make
  it true search for rejections

29
2BT. History of inequality

• Background
• Poor conditions of workers in factories, 1830
• Enormous wealth among factory owners
• Theory
• Marx capitalists exploit workers by using power,
  threat of unemployment
• No Verelendung
• Workers pay increased in absolute terms, but the
  increase was much smaller than the increase of
  profits of owners (relative poverty increases)

30
Research on inequality development

• Three effects of economic development documented
  by successors of Marx
• increasing levels of education required
• larger sums of capital needed for financing new
  factories
• more supervisors required
• The position of workers improved not only because
  of their own efforts!

31
3. Inequality in UAF

• What happens in the chapter on inequality?
• Reconstruction of a theory
• "Core" frame of reference
• Core development in specific elements (a to f)
• After theory, a series of empirical tests follow,
  including historical and international
  comparisons (layer 3 of book)

32
3. The problem of inequality

• Who gets what and why? (Lenskis slogan)
• WHAT wealth (assets) and income
• WHO - social classes (owners, workers)
• WHY theory on power, force, strife
• Theory can be applied to many other what whos

33
3T. Phases of historical materialism

• 1. Precursors - (Rousseau, Ferguson, Millar)
  Inequality originates in the distribution of
  ownership of means of production.
• 2. Classics - (Marx Engels)
• Before the revolution disparities in ownership
  and income grow increasing income inequality,
  decreasing minimum wages, then revolution.
• After revolution one class, collective
  ownership, income equality.

34
Science or visionary politics?

• Das Proletariat macht verschiedene
  Entwicklungsstufen durch. Sein Kampf gegen die
  Bourgeoisie beginnt mit seiner Existenz. Im
  Anfang kämpfen die einzelnen Arbeiter, dann die
  Arbeiter einer Fabrik, dann die Arbeiter eines
  Arbeitszweiges an einem Ort gegen den einzelnen
  Bourgeois, der sie direkt ausbeutet. Sie richten
  ihre Angriffe nicht nur gegen die bürgerlichen
  Produktionsverhältnisse, sie richten sie gegen
  die Produktionsinstrumente selbst sie vernichten
  die fremden konkurrierenden Waren, sie
  zerschlagen die Maschinen, sie stecken die
  Fabriken in Brand, die suchen die untergegangene
  Stellung des mittelalterlichen Arbeiters
  wiederzuerringen.
• Marx Engels, Manifest der Kommunistischen
  Partei (1848)

35
3R and a new T

• Wages did not decline in absolute terms
• Revisionism - (Bernstein)
• increasing demand for educated workers, unions
  and socialist parties advocate workers rights
  peacefully, social rights reduce violent
  conflicts and lead to peaceful solutions
  (parliament).
• Minimum wages increase, social security develops,
  but relative income inequality increases too.

36
Even more Ts

• Critics find more flaws in theory through
  empirical research
• Berle Means (The Modern Corperation and Private
  Property) ownership of firms gets distributed
  over a larger number of (small) shareholders.
  They have more to loose than their chains.
• Burnham (Managerial Revolution) managers take
  over tasks of owners, and a distinction emerges
  between ownership and management. A class of
  professionals emerges.

37
A final important new T

• Sombart (Warum gibt es kein Sozialismus in den
  Vereinigten Staten?) Why is there socialist
  movement in the USA, where industry has developed
  most strongly (1900)?
• Collective action is less attractive when
  individuals have possibilities to achieve a
  better position American Dream!
• Social mobility in the USA is larger than in
  other countries, because of immigration, conquest
  of land, economic development.

38
Insights

• General insight individual possibilities for
  improvement of social position limit potential
  for collective protest movements
• Inequality is not just a matter of disparities
  (absolute or relative), but also of mobility (not
  current position, but upward mobility chances).

39
Methodological lessons

• Core may be developed in several ways (keep a
  good general law when anomalies arise)
• Theories have a deductive structure law
  condition explanandum
• PTRP2T2R2P3T3R3etc Theoretical developments are
  presented as reactions to empirical
  falsifications
• Optimistic (Popperian) image of everyday practice
  in social science. In practice, falsifications
  are not always published, but if so, they do not
  always lead to modifications of the theory.

40
Other general insights

• Inequality is intrinsically linked with the
  problem of social cohesion (political strife)
• Assumptions on individual behavior are left
  implicit. Historical materialism is a
  macro-sociological theory

41
Up next

• Lecture 2 Thursday
• Supporting materials at
• http//www.fss.uu.nl/soc/homes/bekkers/econ/
• Websurvey 1
• https//examine.vu.nl/cgi-bin/inferentie.pl?qst_id
  6122