Inequality: A contemporary approach to race, class, and gender. Lisa A. Keister and Darby E. Southgate. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 416 pages. Paperback. $65.99

• Date: 01 November 2018
• Author: Intae Choi
• Published date: 01 November 2018
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1723

BOOK REVIEW

INEQUALITY: A CONTEMPORARY APPROACH

TO RACE, CLASS, AND GENDER

Lisa A. Keister |Darby E. Southgate

New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 2012. 416 pages. Paperback.

$65.99

Inequality: A contemporary approach to race, class, and gender.By

Lisa A. Keister and Darby E. Southgate. New York, NY: Cambridge

University Press, 2012. 416 pages. Hardcover. $121.

This book covers inequalities existing and deepening in society

and provides concrete guide to explain and analyze inequality research

issues. It is written so that the readers who are not familiar with soci-

ology and inequality can understand the contents of inequality in our

society. Furthermore, research procedures and useful date source in

this book will help readers acquire valuable insights about measuring

inequality.

The contents of this book mainly consisted of two parts. First, the

basic concepts that are used to explain inequality such as class, social

strategy, and related social theories are covered. Next is the application

of inequality in socialissues. Specific areas of application are inequalities

in class, social mobility, gender race/ethnicity, and culture. Additionally,

inequalities in the globe and public policy issues such as reducing

poverty, wage gap, and discrimination are suggested to readers.

The United States, which has accumulated a lot of wealth around

the world, is one of the most unequal countries. Specifically, the

United States has higher levels of inequality such as Gini index, which

is a common measurement about overall inequality than other devel-

oped countries (pp. 339–340). One major reason for the growing

inequality in the United States could be found in the U.S. market sys-

tem and structure. The United States has adopted economic structure

of capitalism, and it could cause inequality (p. 380). Based on this

structure, the welfare system and policy in the United States is not

as comprehensive or inclusive as what is seen in the Nordic European

countries such as Sweden and Denmark.

It should be noted that inequality issues in some countries that

focus on market roles in welfare are occurring like the United States.

What is interesting is that these countries have similar political and

market system with the United States. South Korea can be a good

example for this. The South Korean government adopted not only

the U.S. market system but also many public policies of the United

States as the government has developed their industries and econo-

mies. Moreover, South Korea is largely engaged in the market system

of the United States and follows the path that the United States has

taken in the way that inequalities and polarization are exacerbated.

On the other hand, as there is strong emphasis on the Nordic wel-

fare policy in South Korea, the government is at a crossroads in setting

policy direction. The South Korean government is in situations that too

many policies and institutions from both the United States based on

economic structure of capitalism and European nation style policy

are layered to restructure social welfare delivery system efficiently.

In this situation, government budget cannot be operated well, and pub-

lic policies for reducing inequality won't be able to be operated effec-

tively. It just makes severe political conflicts. Therefore, for preventing

deepening structural inequality and alleviating this, it should be sought

right and in‐depth public policies alternatives which are suitable for

national backgrounds and current situations rather than simply follow-

ing and adopting the policies of developed countries.

In conclusion, the book provides implications to our society where

countries are similar to the U.S. market economy and they are involv-

ing in it. Like South Korea, intensifying inequality could also happen to

them. Moreover, readers can find valuable meanings and insights in

the way that this book enables the reader to think about what inequal-

ity means specifically, how inequality can be measured, and the con-

text in which inequality appears in social science perspectives.

FUNDING STATEMENT

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in

the public, commercial, or not‐for‐profit sectors.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST DECLARATION

This research has no conflict of interest to declare.

ORCID

Intae Choi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3349-804X

Intae Choi

Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Correspondence

Intae Choi, Yonsei University, Yonhee Hall 302, 50, Yonsei‐ro, Seodaemun‐gu, Seoul

03722, Republic of Korea.

Email: intae@yonsei.ac.kr

Received: 2 April 2018 Accepted: 3 April 2018

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1723

J Public Affairs. 2018;18:e1723.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1723

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of1