Intergenerational wealth transmission and the dynamics of inequality in small-scale societies

Borgerhoff Mulder, M.; Bowles, S.; Hertz, T.; Bell, A.; Beise, J.; Clark, G.; Fazzio, I.; Gurven, M.; Hill, K.; Hooper, P.L.; Irons, W.; Kaplan, H.; Leonetti, D.; Low, B.; Marlowe, F.; McElreath, R.; Naidu, S.; Nolin, D.; Piraino, P.; Quinlan, R.; Schniter, E.; Sear, R.; Shenk, M.; Smith, E.A.; von Rueden, C.; Wiessner, P.

doi:10.1126/science.1178336

Intergenerational wealth transmission and the dynamics of inequality in small-scale societies

Borgerhoff Mulder, M.; Bowles, S.; Hertz, T.; Bell, A.; Beise, J.; Clark, G.; Fazzio, I.; Gurven, M.; Hill, K.; Hooper, P.L.; Irons, W.; Kaplan, H.; Leonetti, D.; Low, B.; Marlowe, F.; McElreath, R.; Naidu, S.; Nolin, D.; Piraino, P.; Quinlan, R.; Schniter, E.; Sear, R.; Shenk, M.; Smith, E.A.; von Rueden, C.; Wiessner, P.

Authors

M. Borgerhoff Mulder

S. Bowles

T. Hertz

A. Bell

J. Beise

G. Clark

I. Fazzio

M. Gurven

K. Hill

P.L. Hooper

W. Irons

H. Kaplan

D. Leonetti

B. Low

F. Marlowe

R. McElreath

S. Naidu

D. Nolin

P. Piraino

R. Quinlan

E. Schniter

R. Sear

M. Shenk

E.A. Smith

C. von Rueden

P. Wiessner

Abstract

Small-scale human societies range from foraging bands with a strong egalitarian ethos to more economically stratified agrarian and pastoral societies. We explain this variation in inequality using a dynamic model in which a population's long-run steady-state level of inequality depends on the extent to which its most important forms of wealth are transmitted within families across generations. We estimate the degree of intergenerational transmission of three different types of wealth (material, embodied, and relational), as well as the extent of wealth inequality in 21 historical and contemporary populations. We show that intergenerational transmission of wealth and wealth inequality are substantial among pastoral and small-scale agricultural societies (on a par with or even exceeding the most unequal modern industrial economies) but are limited among horticultural and foraging peoples (equivalent to the most egalitarian of modern industrial populations). Differences in the technology by which a people derive their livelihood and in the institutions and norms making up the economic system jointly contribute to this pattern.

Citation

Borgerhoff Mulder, M., Bowles, S., Hertz, T., Bell, A., Beise, J., Clark, G., …Wiessner, P. (2009). Intergenerational wealth transmission and the dynamics of inequality in small-scale societies. Science, 326(5953), 682-688. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1178336

Journal Article Type	Article
Publication Date	Oct 1, 2009
Deposit Date	Oct 28, 2010
Journal	Science
Print ISSN	0036-8075
Electronic ISSN	1095-9203
Publisher	American Association for the Advancement of Science
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	326
Issue	5953
Pages	682-688
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1178336