scholarly journals Assessing Classic Maya multi-scalar household inequality in southern Belize

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. e0248169
Author(s):  
Amy E. Thompson ◽  
Gary M. Feinman ◽  
Keith M. Prufer
Keyword(s):  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Classic Maya ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Exchange Networks ◽  
Gini Coefficients ◽  
Household Inequality ◽  
House Size

Inequality is present to varying degrees in all human societies, pre-modern and contemporary. For archaeological contexts, variation in house size reflects differences in labor investments and serves as a robust means to assess wealth across populations small and large. The Gini coefficient, which measures the degree of concentration in the distribution of units within a population, has been employed as a standardized metric to evaluate the extent of inequality. Here, we employ Gini coefficients to assess wealth inequality at four nested socio-spatial scales–the micro-region, the polity, the district, and the neighborhood–at two medium size, peripheral Classic Maya polities located in southern Belize. We then compare our findings to Gini coefficients for other Classic Maya polities in the Maya heartland and to contemporaneous polities across Mesoamerica. We see the patterning of wealth inequality across the polities as a consequence of variable access to networks of exchange. Different forms of governance played a role in the degree of wealth inequality in Mesoamerica. More autocratic Classic Maya polities, where principals exercised degrees of control over exclusionary exchange networks, maintained high degrees of wealth inequality compared to most other Mesoamerican states, which generally are characterized by more collective forms of governance. We examine how household wealth inequality was reproduced at peripheral Classic Maya polities, and illustrate that economic inequity trickled down to local socio-spatial units in this prehispanic context.

scholarly journals Household Inequality, Entrepreneurial Dynamism, and Corporate Financing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Braggion ◽  
Mintra Dwarkasing ◽  
Steven Ongena
Keyword(s):  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Home Equity ◽  
Corporate Financing ◽  
Land Distribution ◽  
Business Dynamics ◽  
Household Inequality ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Firm Entry And Exit

Abstract Economic theories posit conflicting hypotheses on how wealth inequality affects entrepre-neurial dynamism. We investigate the impact of wealth inequality on business dynamics by constructing local measures of household wealth inequality based on financial rents, home equity, and 1880 farmland. We then identify the effect of wealth inequality on entrepre-neurship by instrumenting it with land distribution under the 1862 Homestead Act. Wealth inequality decreases firm entry and exit, and the proportion of high-tech businesses across metropolitan statistical areas. Wealth inequality also lowers the supply of public goods, such as education. Growth in income per capita consequently lags.

Measuring Hohokam Household Inequality with Construction Costs of Domestic Architecture at Pueblo Grande

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-27
Author(s):  
David R. Abbott ◽  
Douglas B. Craig ◽  
Hannah Zanotto ◽  
Veronica X. Judd ◽  
Brent Kober
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Domestic Architecture ◽  
High Status ◽  
Construction Costs ◽  
Architectural Styles ◽  
House Construction ◽  
Public Areas ◽  
Household Inequality ◽  
Over Time

Recent archaeological efforts to explain the emergence and persistence of social inequality have been hampered by little information about how wealth was transmitted across generations, and how it may have accumulated or diminished over time. Building on studies that have shown domestic architecture to be an excellent material expression of household wealth, we provide a method for reconstructing the amount of labor invested in house construction among the Hohokam of southern Arizona. We also account for different architectural styles from different time periods. To illustrate the utility of the method for addressing broader social issues, we investigate the relationship among population increases, resource shortages, and wealth differentials at Pueblo Grande—one of the preeminent settlements in the Hohokam region. Inequality at Pueblo Grande was tracked over time and compared to similar results at the Grewe site. High-status households at both sites were distinguished architecturally by larger and, in some instances, more elaborate houses. The proximity of these households to public areas for ceremonial expression further suggests that access to ritual played a key role in creating and maintaining inequality in Hohokam society.

scholarly journals Wealth Inequality as a Predictor of Subjective Health, Happiness and Life Satisfaction among Nepalese Women

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 2836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhifei He ◽  
Zhaohui Cheng ◽  
Ghose Bishwajit ◽  
Dongsheng Zou
Keyword(s):  
Economic Status ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Subjective Health ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
The Body ◽  
Status Report ◽  
Wealth Status ◽  
Cross Sectional

Socioeconomic status has shown to be associated with subjective health, well-being, satisfaction with overall life and estimation of happiness. The body of research concerning the question of whether higher economic status leads to better health and well-being are mostly from developed countries. The present study was therefore conducted among women in Nepal with an aim to investigate whether household wealth status is associated with satisfaction about (1) self-reported health, (2) happiness, and (3) life overall. Methods: Subjects were 5226 Nepalese women aged between 15 and 24 years. Cross-sectional data were extracted from round 5 of the Nepal Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (NMICS), conducted in 2014, and analyzed using chi-square tests of association, bivariate and multivariable regression methods. Results: Wealth status was significantly associated with satisfaction about health, estimation of happiness and satisfaction. Compared with women in the poorest households, the odds of positive estimation about overall happiness were respectively 30% higher for poorer (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.653–3.190), 80% higher for middle (p = 0.001; 95% CI = 1.294–2.522), 64% higher for richer (p = 0.006; 95% CI = 1.155–2.326), and 40% higher for richest households. The odds of reporting satisfaction about life were respectively 97% higher for poorer (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.680–2.317), 41% higher for middle (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.165–1.715), 62% higher for richer (p < 0.0001; 95% CI = 1.313–2.003), and 31% higher for richest households (p = 0.043; 95% CI = 1.008–1.700). Conclusion: Our results conclude that women in households with lower wealth status report poorer subjective health, quality of life and happiness. However, the findings need to be interpreted in light of the existing sociocultural conditions mediating the role of household wealth status on women’s lives.

scholarly journals Wealth Inequality in the Ancient Near East: A Preliminary Assessment Using Gini Coefficients and Household Size

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-704
Author(s):  
Pertev Basri ◽  
Dan Lawrence
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Iron Age ◽  
Near East ◽  
Social Systems ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Household Size ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
Ancient Near East ◽  
Rural Sites

Investigating how different forms of inequality arose and were sustained through time is key to understanding the emergence of complex social systems. Due to its long-term perspective, archaeology has much to contribute to this discussion. However, comparing inequality in different societies through time, especially in prehistory, is difficult because comparable metrics of value are not available. Here we use a recently developed technique which assumes a correlation between household size and household wealth to investigate inequality in the ancient Near East. If this assumption is correct, our results show that inequality increased from the Neolithic to the Iron Age, and we link this increase to changing forms of social and political organization. We see a step change in levels of inequality around the time of the emergence of urban sites at the beginning of the Bronze Age. However, urban and rural sites were similarly unequal, suggesting that outside the elite, the inhabitants of each encompassed a similar range of wealth levels. The situation changes during the Iron Age, when inequality in urban environments increases and rural sites become more equal.

scholarly journals Global Mapping of GDP at 1 km2 Using VIIRS Nighttime Satellite Imagery

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xuantong Wang ◽  
Paul C. Sutton ◽  
Bingxin Qi
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Socioeconomic Development ◽  
Infrared Imaging ◽  
Learning Algorithm ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Line System ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Gini Coefficients ◽  
Data Products ◽  
Global Mapping

Frequent and rapid spatially explicit assessment of socioeconomic development is critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at both national and global levels. Over the past decades, scientists have proposed many methods for estimating human activity on the Earth’s surface at various spatiotemporal scales using Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Operational Line System (DMSP-OLS) nighttime light (NTL) data. However, the DMSP-OLS NTL data and the associated processing methods have limited their reliability and applicability for systematic measuring and mapping of socioeconomic development. This study utilized Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) NTL and the Isolation Forest machine learning algorithm for more intelligent data processing to capture human activities. We used machine learning and NTL data to map gross domestic product (GDP) at 1 km2. We then used these data products to derive inequality indexes (e.g., Gini coefficients) at nationally aggregate levels. This flexible approach processes the data in an unsupervised manner at various spatial scales. Our assessments show that this method produces accurate subnational GDP data products for mapping and monitoring human development uniformly across the globe.

scholarly journals Macroprudential Policy and Household Wealth Inequality

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Frannois Carpantier ◽  
Javier Olivera ◽  
Philippe Van Kerm
Keyword(s):  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Household Wealth ◽  
Macroprudential Policy

scholarly journals The Gini Coefficient as a useful measure of malaria inequality among populations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Abeles ◽  
David Conway
Keyword(s):  
Global Health ◽  
Confidence Intervals ◽  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Malaria Incidence ◽  
Potential Range ◽  
Gini Coefficients ◽  
The Gini Coefficient ◽  
World Regions ◽  
Village Communities ◽  
High Level

BACKGROUND: Understanding inequality in infectious disease burden requires clear and unbiased indicators. The Gini coefficient, conventionally used as a macroeconomic descriptor of inequality, is potentially useful to quantify epidemiological heterogeneity. With a potential range from 0 (all populations equal) to 1 (populations having maximal differences), this coefficient is used here to show the extent and persistence of inequality of malaria infection burden at a wide variety of population levels. METHODS: We first applied the Gini coefficient to quantify variation among WHO world regions for malaria and other major global health problems. Malaria heterogeneity was then measured among countries within the geographical sub-region where burden is greatest, among the major administrative divisions in several of these countries, and among selected local communities. Data were analysed from previous research studies, national surveys, and global reports, and Gini coefficients were calculated together with confidence intervals using bootstrap resampling methods. RESULTS: Malaria showed a very high level of inequality among the world regions (Gini coefficient, G = 0.77, 95% CI 0.66-0.81), more extreme than for any of the other major global health challenges compared at this level. Within the most highly endemic geographical sub-region, there was substantial inequality in estimated malaria incidence among countries of West Africa, which did not decrease between 2010 (G = 0.28, 95% CI 0.19-0.36) and 2018 (G = 0.31, 0.22-0.39). There was a high level of sub-national variation in prevalence among states within Nigeria (G = 0.30, 95% CI 0.26-0.35), but more moderate variation within Ghana (G = 0.18, 95% CI 0.12-0.25) and Sierra Leone (G = 0.17, 95% CI 0.12-0.22). There was also significant inequality in prevalence among local village communities, generally more marked during dry seasons when there was lower mean prevalence. The Gini coefficient correlated strongly with the Coefficient of Variation which has no finite range. CONCLUSIONS: The Gini coefficient is a useful descriptor of epidemiological inequality at all population levels, with confidence intervals and interpretable bounds. Wider use of the coefficient would give broader understanding of malaria heterogeneity revealed by multiple types of studies, surveys and reports, providing more accessible insight from available data.

scholarly journals The Robin Hood Index Adjusted for Negatives and Equivalised Incomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 1047-1058
Author(s):  
Marion van den Brakel ◽  
Reinder Lok
Keyword(s):  
Gini Coefficient ◽  
Wealth Inequality ◽  
Income Transfer ◽  
Income Share ◽  
Robin Hood ◽  
Inequality Measures ◽  
The Poor ◽  
The Gini Coefficient ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Original Index

Abstract Indisputable figures on income and wealth inequality are indispensable for politics, society and science. Although the Gini coefficient is the most common measure of inequality, the straightforward concept of the Robin Hood index (namely, the income share that has to be transferred from the rich to the poor to make everyone equally well off) makes it a more attractive measure for the general public. In a distribution with many negative values – particularly wealth distributions – the Robin Hood index can take on values larger than 1, indicating an intuitively impossible income transfer of more than 100%. This article proposes a method to normalise the Robin Hood index. In contrast to the original index, the normalised Robin Hood index always takes on values between 0 and 1 and ends up as the original index in a distribution without negatives. As inequality measures are commonly applied to equivalised income, we also introduce a method for adequately transferring equivalised incomes from the rich to the poor within the framework of the (normalised) Robin Hood index. An empirical application shows the effect of normalisation for the Robin Hood index, and compares it to the normalisation of the Gini coefficient from previous research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document