Center for University Studies on Social Inequality and Governance
Lines of research
The research line on inequality of opportunity and development comprises two areas of investigation. The first is related to estimating inequality of opportunity (IO) across different types of individual outcomes (income, wealth, education, health, etc.), and from various disciplinary perspectives. IO is the portion of inequality explained by factors beyond individuals' control, such as their socioeconomic status, gender, race, place of birth, and so on.
At CEDESOG, there are experts in quantitative methods (parametric and non-parametric) for estimating inequality of opportunity (IOO). In the second area, the center's researchers study the relationship between inequality, IOOO, and economic development. More specifically, there is a particular interest in measuring this relationship at the level of groups of countries and studying the channels that generate it. CEDESOG researchers produced the first report on IOOO in the Canary Islands, which stems from the CSOCTRA07 project: “Inequality of Opportunity and Intergenerational Mobility in the Canary Islands: Impact of Labor Inclusion, Education, and Health,” funded by the Caja Canarias Foundation.
They have also worked on projects of the Ramón Areces Foundation (Inequality of Opportunity in Europe and Spain: determinants and implications in the design of public policies) and, since 2010, on R&D excellence projects of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness without interruption.
Education is one of the most significant channels through which inequality and inequality of opportunity are generated. Combating educational inequalities means combating inequality of opportunity and social immobility. The obstacles individuals face when entering the labor market also contribute to inequality and mobility. A labor market that promotes meritocracy and provides equal opportunities for entry will foster a more mobile society. At CEDESOG, we have experts in the economics and sociology of education, as well as in inequality, which are closely related concepts and a focus of this research center. In addition to multiple contracts with the public administration (the latest with the Santa Cruz City Council to analyze educational inequality during the Covid-19 pandemic), CEDESOG researchers have won very important projects such as an Agustín de Betancourt grant on educational equity, or a project with the Center for Sociological Research (CIS), which consisted of carrying out a Survey Module at the Center for Sociological Research: "Social inequality, intergenerational mobility and inequality of opportunities.".
The Environmental and Energy Governance research line within CEDESOG has two main areas of specialization. The first focuses on the management and planning of natural resources, particularly the water, food, health, and energy nexus. This involves integrating methodologies and tools from the social sciences, such as participatory inclusion processes and institutional analysis with multi-criteria modeling techniques. These approaches have been applied in various competitive European research projects, such as the VALSE, VIRTUALIS, and ADVISOR projects. Currently, they are actively involved in the MICROGRID-Blue project. The second area studies the relationship between energy governance, energy efficiency, and economic development. Index construction techniques are used to synthesize energy legislation information into energy governance indicators for OECD countries. This area also analyzes the relationship between CO2 emissions and energy, specifically the role that changes in the energy mix play in the generation of greenhouse gas emissions in general and in the transport sector in particular. These topics are addressed within the framework of competitive projects of excellence of the national R&D&I plan (ECO2013-48884-C3-3-P; ECO2016-76818-C3-2-P. Inquiries in human capital and inequality, technology and the environment – 1 & 2).
Health is a fundamental human right, and therefore everyone should enjoy the highest possible level of health. However, this is influenced by numerous factors known as the social determinants of health.
The World Health Organization defines social determinants as “the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, work, live, and age, including the health system.” Reducing health inequalities is a priority that involves all sectors of society. At CEDESOG, we work to improve equity and well-being across various fields, from an interdisciplinary, intersectoral, and multidimensional perspective. In this area of health, inequality, and development, CEDESOG researchers also work on the analysis of equity and efficiency in the National Health System (Ministry project ECO2016-79588), social welfare functions related to health, altruism and public goods in health, and the economic analysis of public health spending.
The group led by Professor Gonzalez Lopez-Valcarcel López (ULPGC) contributes to the design of taxes on sugary drinks, the evaluation of public health programs, and the development of solutions to the problem of antimicrobial resistance in Europe (a European project that will begin in 2021). They also design planning tools and models for physicians and other healthcare professionals, enabling them to anticipate future needs, which is fundamental for effective planning.
Finally, there is also a very active line of research analyzing health, child health, inequality, and economic growth in Africa. This research is part of an R&D project funded by the Government of the Canary Islands, ProID2017010088, entitled "Climate, Health, and Malaria in Africa: Impacts on Poverty and Biodiversity," and recently awarded a grant of excellence by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness in the 2019 call for proposals.