How agricultural practices and governance have shaped wealth inequality over the last 10,000 years

When Wealth Inequality Matters and When It Doesn’t

When it comes to wealth inequality, does the source of the wealth matter? Might there be a different economic impact of wealth derived from entrepreneurial riches versus that of inherited fortunes? A just-published SSRN paper “Concentrated Wealth and Total Factor Productivity: When Does the Equality-Efficiency Tradeoff Apply?” concludes it does matter how wealth is amassed. When wealth derives from entrepreneurial innovation—what Joseph Schumpet…

Wealth Gaps Aren’t Modern: Archaeologists Reveal Inequality Began Over 10,000 Years Ago

Wealth inequality began over 10,000 years ago, gradually increasing after the advent of agriculture due to population growth and social complexity. Wealth inequality began influencing human societies more than 10,000 years ago, well before the emergence of ancient empires or the invention of writing, according to a new study led by Washington State University archaeologist [...]

Study of over 1,000 sites suggests inequality emerged long after agriculture

It must have been Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778), the philosopher and one of the fathers of the Enlightenment, who was one of the first to link the emergence of wealth disparities — both moral and material — with the development of complex societies. This was an argument explained in his Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality Among Men.Seguir leyendo

How agricultural practices and governance have shaped wealth inequality over the last 10,000 years

A new study led by Amy Bogaard, Professor of European Archaeology, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, reveals that high wealth inequality in human societies over the past 10,000 years was encouraged by land-hungry farming practices. Where land became scarce, wealth inequality often grew among households, but where land was abundant, wealth was more equally distributed.

© Elena / Adobe Stock Study shows that wealth inequality began in the Neolithic period – long before capitalism and great civilizations.

How agriculture and governance have shaped wealth inequality

New research shows land-hungry farming and scarce land drove wealth inequality over the past 10,000 years A study led by Amy Bogaard, Professor of European Archaeology, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford, provides insight into the role of agriculture in wealth inequality in human societies. “Past societies are often presumed to be egalitarian, but our research shows that high wealth inequality could become entrenched where ecological an…