Who are the people that make up the world’s economic elite – and do they differ between countries? In a new, unique database, an international team of researchers has compiled individual data from 16 countries that together account for a third of the world’s population and more than half of the world’s GDP.
The economic elite examined in this particular scenario includes CEOs and board members of major corporations, the world’s wealthiest individuals, and those with the power to regulate the economy. The World Elite Database (WED) contains over 3,500 names from 16 countries that together represent 54 percent of global GDP, and includes gender, age, education and place of birth.
“Economic elites are interesting because they hold enormous power. They influence people’s working conditions, national prosperity, and financial destinies. This is the first database of its kind, and many researchers will continue to develop it and use it in various capacities,” comments Håkan Johansson, professor in social work at Lund University in Sweden, and chair of the network of researchers who have worked on the database.
Here are ten takeaways from the database:
British Journal of Sociology
Varieties of Economic Elites? Preliminary Results From the World Elite Database (WED)