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Elite Participation as a Measure of Global Development

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Abstract

Treating development as the ability to participate in complex, non-subsistence, globally comparable activities, this paper proposes participation in elite activities as an indicator of global development. Using standardized rankings from 1970 to 2025 across domains, including sports, chess, supercomputing, and fine dining, adjusted Shannon diversity and Herfindahl concentration indices are calculated. Results show that global elite diversity has increased and concentration has decreased across all studied areas. Global convergence is nearly complete for the measure with the lowest bar (having a national football team). These trends provide a development perspective less sensitive to purchasing power parity distortions.

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  • Bergh, Andreas, 2026. "Elite Participation as a Measure of Global Development," Working Paper Series 1561, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1561
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    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • I32 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Measurement and Analysis of Poverty
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • Z20 - Other Special Topics - - Sports Economics - - - General

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