Article
Wealth Inequality: Historical Trends and Cross-National Differences
Sociology Compass
(2016)
Abstract
This article provides an overview of the recent literature on wealth inequality from a comparative and historical perspective. I first discuss how the stock, composition, and distribution of wealth changed from the 18th century onwards. In the second part of the paper, I move on to the causal questions: What factors drive wealth inequality? Why does the distribution of wealth vary across nations? In the third and concluding section I briefly discuss the socio-political challenges posed by increasing wealth inequality, and identify several key questions for research going forward.
Disciplines
Publication Date
June 2, 2016
Citation Information
BASAK KUS. "Wealth Inequality: Historical Trends and Cross-National Differences" Sociology Compass Vol. 10 Iss. 6 (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/basak_kus/18/