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Wealth transmission and inequality among hunter-gatherers - PubMed

Wealth transmission and inequality among hunter-gatherers

Eric Alden Smith et al. Curr Anthropol. 2010 Feb.

Abstract

We report quantitative estimates of intergenerational transmission and population-wide inequality for wealth measures in a set of hunter-gatherer populations. Wealth is defined broadly as factors that contribute to individual or household well-being, ranging from embodied forms such as weight and hunting success to material forms such household goods, as well as relational wealth in exchange partners. Intergenerational wealth transmission is low to moderate in these populations, but is still expected to have measurable influence on an individual's life chances. Wealth inequality (measured with Gini coefficients) is moderate for most wealth types, matching what qualitative ethnographic research has generally indicated (if not the stereotype of hunter-gatherers as extreme egalitarians). We discuss some plausible mechanisms for these patterns, and suggest ways in which future research could resolve questions about the role of wealth in hunter-gatherer social and economic life.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1

Parent-offspring wealth data for three representative cases: (a) Ache hunting success (β=0.08, embodied wealth); (b) Lamalera boat shares (β=0.12, material wealth); (c) Ju/’hoansi exchange partners (β=0.21, relational wealth). The line in each graph shows the underlying linear regression upon which the β estimates are based.

Figure 1
Figure 1

Parent-offspring wealth data for three representative cases: (a) Ache hunting success (β=0.08, embodied wealth); (b) Lamalera boat shares (β=0.12, material wealth); (c) Ju/’hoansi exchange partners (β=0.21, relational wealth). The line in each graph shows the underlying linear regression upon which the β estimates are based.

Figure 1
Figure 1

Parent-offspring wealth data for three representative cases: (a) Ache hunting success (β=0.08, embodied wealth); (b) Lamalera boat shares (β=0.12, material wealth); (c) Ju/’hoansi exchange partners (β=0.21, relational wealth). The line in each graph shows the underlying linear regression upon which the β estimates are based.

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