National patterns of income and wealth inequality

Abstract: The aim of this article is to show that wealth must be treated as a distinct dimension of social stratification alongside income. In a first step, we explain why social stratification researchers have largely overlooked wealth in the past and present a detailed definition of wealth by differentiating it from income. In the empirical part of the article, we analyze the distribution of wealth across 18 countries, and we describe and compare national patterns of wealth inequality to those of income inequality making use of different data sources. Our results show – first – that there is strong variation in the distribution of wealth between these 18 countries, and – second – that levels of wealth inequality significantly differ from levels of income inequality in about half of the countries analyzed. Surprisingly high levels of wealth inequality we find in Sweden and Denmark, two countries widely considered being highly egalitarian societies. Conversely, the Southern European countrie

Object Details

• Language: Englisch
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Notes: Postprint ; begutachtet (peer reviewed) ; In: International Journal of Comparative Sociology ; 55 (2014) 6 ; 463-488
• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft

Contributors, Location and Time

• Creator: Skopek, Nora ; Buchholz, Sandra ; Blossfeld, Hans-Peter
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): Mannheim
• (when): 2014

Further information

• DOI: 10.1177/0020715214565674
• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-61876-2
• Rights: Open Access unbekannt; Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 25.03.2025, 1:56 PM CET