IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/hal/journl/hal-05027410.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Varieties of Economic Elites? Preliminary Results From the World Elite Database (WED)

Author

Listed:
  • Felix Bühlmann

    (UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne)

  • Caroline Ahler Christesen

    (Roskilde Universitet [Roskilde])

  • Bruno Cousin

    (CEE - Centre d'études européennes et de politique comparée (Sciences Po, CNRS) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • François Denord

    (CESSP - Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Christoph Houman Ellersgaard

    (CBS - Copenhagen Business School [Copenhagen])

  • Paul Lagneau‐ymonet

    (IRISSO - Institut de Recherche Interdisciplinaire en Sciences Sociales - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Anton Grau Larsen

    (Roskilde Universitet [Roskilde])

  • Mike Savage

    (LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Sylvain Thine

    (CESSP - Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CURAPP-ESS - Centre universitaire de recherches sur l'action publique et le politique. Epistémologie et Sciences sociales - UMR CNRS UPJV 7319 - UPJV - Université de Picardie Jules Verne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Kevin Young

    (UMass Amherst - University of Massachusetts [Amherst] - UMASS - University of Massachusetts System)

  • Pedro Araujo

    (UNICAMP - Universidade Estadual de Campinas = University of Campinas)

  • Paola Arrigoni

    (UNIBO - Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna = University of Bologna)

  • Jorge Atria

    (COES - Universidad Mayor and Center for Social Conflictand Cohesion Studies)

  • Pierre Benz

    (UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne)

  • Johanna Behr

    (UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne)

  • Maria Do Carmo Botelho

    (ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon)

  • Asif Butt

    (LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Pedro Casanova

    (ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon)

  • Luís Clemente-Casinhas

    (BRU-IUL - Business Research Unit)

  • Ana Castellani

    (Universitad de Buenos Aires = University of Buenos Aires [Argentina])

  • Fabio Cescon

    (FORS - Swiss centre of expertise in the social sciences, UvA - University of Amsterdam [Amsterdam] = Universiteit van Amsterdam)

  • Joselle Dagnes

    (UNITO - Università degli studi di Torino = University of Turin)

  • Hanna Debska

    (University of the National Education Commission)

  • Anne‐sophie Delval

    (UNIL - Université de Lausanne = University of Lausanne)

  • Vitalina Dragun

    (CREST - Centre de Recherche en Économie et Statistique - ENSAI - Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Analyse de l'Information [Bruz] - GENES - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - ENSAE Paris - École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique - GENES - Groupe des Écoles Nationales d'Économie et Statistique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Andreia Egas

    (ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon)

  • Kajsa Emilsson

    (Lund University)

  • Xiaoguang Fan

    (Zhejiang University [Hangzhou, China])

  • Fan Fu

    (NU - National University [San Diego])

  • Julia Gentile

    (UBA - Universidad de Buenos Aires [Buenos Aires])

  • Orlando Gomes

    (ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon)

  • Victoria Gronwald

    (LSE - London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Mariana Heredia
  • Johannes Hjellbrekke
  • Jorge Honório
  • Jie Huang
  • Johnathan Inkley
  • Håkan Johansson
  • Ilkka Koiranen
  • Aki Koivula
  • Hanna Kuusela
  • Gabriel Levita
  • Chao Ling
  • Peng Lu
  • Michael Lukas
  • Jacob Lunding
  • Mina Mahmoudzadeh
  • Sean Mcquade
  • María Luisa Méndez
  • Nuno Nunes
  • Shay O'Brien
  • Gabriel Otero
  • Marta Pagnini
  • Alejandro Pelfini
  • Jéssica Pereira
  • Catalina Roa
  • Thierry Rossier
  • Marte Lund Saga
  • Dulce Santana
  • Christian Schneickert
  • Elisabeth Schimpfössl
  • François Schoenberger
  • Izaura Solipa
  • Łukasz Trembaczowski
  • Maren Toft
  • Sofia Vale
  • Pedro Vasconcelos
  • Jorge Quesada Velazco
  • Tomasz Warczok
  • Xinguo Yu

Abstract

The strategies, decisions and beliefs of those who occupy prominent positions of economic power have influence on very large corporations and the markets they dominate, on vast amounts of economic resources, and on the rules of the game. However, the sociology of elites faces a dual challenge: divergent conceptualisations of what can be considered as a position of economic power and internationally incompatible sources of information hinder comparative analysis. The World Elite Database (WED) addresses this dual challenge, by generating, based on a consistent definition, standardised data for 16 countries. This research note introduces WED, its construction principles, and presents preliminary findings on how economic elites differ across countries

Suggested Citation

  • Felix Bühlmann & Caroline Ahler Christesen & Bruno Cousin & François Denord & Christoph Houman Ellersgaard & Paul Lagneau‐ymonet & Anton Grau Larsen & Mike Savage & Sylvain Thine & Kevin Young & Pedro, 2025. "Varieties of Economic Elites? Preliminary Results From the World Elite Database (WED)," Post-Print hal-05027410, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05027410
    DOI: 10.1111/1468-4446.13203
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05027410v1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-05027410v1/document
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/1468-4446.13203?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lamoreaux, N., 2019. "The Problem of Bigness: From Standard Oil to Google," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1963, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    2. Kevin Young & Stefano Pagliari, 2017. "Capital united? Business unity in regulatory politics and the special place of finance," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 11(1), pages 3-23, March.
    3. Schmalz, Martin, 2018. "Common Ownership Concentration and Corporate Conduct," CEPR Discussion Papers 12598, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. Naomi R. Lamoreaux, 2019. "The Problem of Bigness: From Standard Oil to Google," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(3), pages 94-117, Summer.
    5. Amable, Bruno, 2003. "The Diversity of Modern Capitalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199261147, Decembrie.
    6. Martin C. Schmalz, 2018. "Common-Ownership Concentration and Corporate Conduct," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 413-448, November.
    7. Windolf, Paul, 2002. "Corporate Networks in Europe and the United States," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199256976, Decembrie.
    8. Benjamin Braun, 2022. "Exit, Control, and Politics: Structural Power and Corporate Governance under Asset Manager Capitalism," Politics & Society, , vol. 50(4), pages 630-654, December.
    9. Bruno Cousin & Shamus Khan & Ashley Mears, 2018. "Theoretical and methodological pathways for research on elites," Post-Print hal-02184100, HAL.
    10. Bruno Cousin & Shamus Khan & Ashley Mears, 2018. "Theoretical and methodological pathways for research on elites," SciencePo Working papers Main hal-02184100, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Bühlmann, Felix & Christesen, Caroline Ahler & Cousin, Bruno & Denord, François & Ellersgaard, Christoph Houman & Lagneau‐Ymonet, Paul & Larsen, Anton Grau & Savage, Mike & Thine, Sylvain & Young, Kev, 2025. "Varieties of economic elites? Preliminary results from the World Elite Database (WED)," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 127763, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Emmanuel Petrakis & Panagiotis Skartados, 2022. "Vertical Opportunism, Bargaining, and Share-Based Agreements," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 60(4), pages 549-565, June.
    3. Hariskos, W. & Königstein, M. & Papadopoulos, K.G., 2022. "Anti-competitive effects of partial cross-ownership: Experimental evidence," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 193(C), pages 399-409.
    4. Dasgupta, Amil & Fos, Vyacheslav & Sautner, Zacharias, 2021. "Institutional investors and corporate governance," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112114, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Chen, Shenglan & Ma, Hui & Wu, Qiang & Zhang, Hao, 2023. "Does common ownership constrain managerial rent extraction? Evidence from insider trading profitability," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    6. Samuel Haas & Johannes Paha, 2021. "Non-Controlling Minority Shareholdings and Collusion," Review of Industrial Organization, Springer;The Industrial Organization Society, vol. 58(3), pages 431-454, May.
    7. Albert Banal-Estanol & Jo Seldeslachts & Xavier Vives, 2022. "Ownership Diversification and Product Market Pricing Incentives," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 2023, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    8. Wing Man Wynne Lam & Jacob Seifert, 2023. "Regulating Data Privacy and Cybersecurity," Journal of Industrial Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(1), pages 143-175, March.
    9. Newham, M. & Seldeslachts, J. & Banal-Estanol, A., 2018. "Common Ownership and Market Entry: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry," Working Papers 18/03, Department of Economics, City University London.
    10. Babina, Tania & Barkai, Simcha & Jeffers, Jessica & Karger, Ezra & Volkova, Ekaterina, 2023. "Antitrust Enforcement Increases Economic Activity," HEC Research Papers Series 1488, HEC Paris.
    11. Brito, Duarte & Ribeiro, Ricardo & Vasconcelos, Helder, 2018. "Quantifying the coordinated effects of partial horizontal acquisitions," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 108-149.
    12. Gurneeta Vasudeva & Jennifer W. Spencer & Hildy J. Teegen, 2013. "Bringing the Institutional Context Back In: A Cross-National Comparison of Alliance Partner Selection and Knowledge Acquisition," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 319-338, April.
    13. Miguel Antón & Florian Ederer & Mireia Giné & Martin Schmalz, 2023. "Common Ownership, Competition, and Top Management Incentives," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(5), pages 1294-1355.
    14. Hamza Nizar & Taher Hamza & Faten Lakhal, 2024. "How does institutional cross‐ownership affect firm productivity? The importance of the corporate social responsibility channel," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 1988-2010, April.
    15. Hennig, Jan C. & Oehmichen, Jana & Steinberg, Philip J. & Heigermoser, Judith, 2022. "Determinants of common ownership: Exploring an information-based and a competition-based perspective in a global context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 690-702.
    16. Sánchez, M. & Nerja, A., 2024. "The role of asymmetric innovation’s sizes in technology licensing under partial vertical integration," Research in Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2).
    17. Naudé, Wim, 2024. "Entrepreneurship Is Dangerously Obsessed with Growth and Incompatible with Current Visions of a Post-growth Society," IZA Discussion Papers 17158, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Ruichang Lu & Qiaowei Shen & Tenghui Wang & Xiaojun Zhang, 2022. "Frenemies: Corporate Advertising Under Common Ownership," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 68(6), pages 4645-4669, June.
    19. Watzinger, Martin & Schnitzer, Monika, 2022. "The Breakup of the Bell System and its Impact on US Innovation," CEPR Discussion Papers 17635, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Hirose, Kosuke & Matsumura, Toshihiro, 2022. "Common ownership and environmental Corporate Social Responsibility," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05027410. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: CCSD (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.