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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 - Universiteit van Amsterdam = University of 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

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    File URL: https://hal.science/hal-05027410v1/document
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martin C. Schmalz, 2018. "Common-Ownership Concentration and Corporate Conduct," CESifo Working Paper Series 6908, CESifo.
    2. Lamoreaux, N., 2019. "The Problem of Bigness: From Standard Oil to Google," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 1963, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
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    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.
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    6. Bruno Cousin & Shamus Khan & Ashley Mears, 2018. "Theoretical and methodological pathways for research on elites," Post-Print hal-02184100, HAL.
    7. Amable, Bruno, 2003. "The Diversity of Modern Capitalism," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199261147.
    8. Bruno Cousin & Shamus Khan & Ashley Mears, 2018. "Theoretical and methodological pathways for research on elites," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-02184100, HAL.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Preuss, Marcel & Reyes, Germán & Somerville, Jason & Wu, Joy, 2025. "Are Elites Meritocratic and Efficiency-Seeking? Evidence from MBA Students," IZA Discussion Papers 17788, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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