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Social
Equity and Distributional Impacts
of Science
and Technology
A joint project with the
Consortium for Science Policy and
Outcomes and
The Decision Theater
of Arizona
State University.
With the generous support of The
Kellogg Foundation, Professor Barry
Bozeman is leading a unique study to
investigate the social equity and
distributional impacts of science and
technology. This research project aims
to identify and understand the
non-economic factors that may result in
disproportionate impacts on individuals
and groups with lower economic status.
We hope that by investigating how social
and distributional inequity occurs we
may develop recommendations for
eliminating some of these inequities.
Statement of
Purpose
Access
to scientific knowledge and
technological tools enhances social
capital, but such access is highly
unequal. While there is widespread
awareness of the inequities in the
distribution of S&T benefits, there is
no theory about why this occurs and no
research documenting the skewness of
distributions.
The
purpose of the research is to develop
useful knowledge about the factors
affecting the distributional impacts of
S&T. The focus is on factors
internal to science and technology
knowledge production processes rather
than the social factors that mitigate
distributional impacts (e.g., income
inequities; lack of universal health
care).
There
is a great deal of sensitivity in the
scientific and technical community
regarding blatant abuses of human
research subjects, from the Tuskegee
Trials to inappropriate testing on
vulnerable populations such as children
or prisoners. There is also a great deal
of research and awareness of the
economic inequities in our world that
lead to science and technology policy
issues such as the “digital divide” or
limited access to advanced medical
technologies. This study aims to
investigate the more subtle ways in
which low-income populations may be
marginalized from the processes
associated with and implementation of
science and technology policy.
How do
the structural aspects of science and
the scientific enterprise marginalize
some groups of people? What role, if
any, do marginalized individuals (in
particular, those who are marginalized
due to their economic status) have in
defining scientific problems and reaping
the benefits of scientific research? Do
scientific research agendas and outcomes
differentially affect people along the
economic spectrum?
Research
Questions
The various
components of this project aim to answer
an ambitious set of research questions
including:
- How does the
coupling of public science policies
to private sector objectives lead to
differential access to S&T products?
- How do
mechanisms for setting S&T
priorities, such as budget
allocations and peer review,
influence the ultimate distributions
of benefits and costs of S&T
products?
- How do
factors internal to science and
technology influence the scale
and distribution of economic and
social benefits?
- Does a job
creation focus for S&T policies
shrink or widen income disparities?
- How do various
aspects of intellectual property
policies for S&T policy relate to
uneven access to S&T products?
- How do the
processes for disseminating S&T
knowledge affect distribution of
benefits and uneven access?
- How do
programs aimed at enhancing the
participation of minority groups in
S&T actually influence
distributional impacts?
Science, Policy and Societal Inequity
Workshop.
Saguaro Lake Ranch and
Tempe, AZ.
May 22-23, 2006.
More information.
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