Was There Ever a Ruling Class? A Proposal for the study of 800 Years of Social Mobility

Authors

  • Gregory Clark

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1698-6989(10)70049-7

Keywords:

Intergenerational Mobility, Inequality, N33, N34, N62

Abstract

This paper reports on a preliminary investigation of surnames distributions as a measure long run social mobility. In England this suggests two surprising claims. First, England, all the way from the heart of the Middle Ages in 1250 to at least 1860, was a society without persistent social classes. It was a world of social mobility, with no permanent over-class and under-class, a world of complete equal opportunity. There was, however, a gain from being in the upper class in any generation in the form of leaving more copies of your DNA permanently in later populations. Second, signs of persistent social classes have only emerged in societies like England and the United States in recent years. Instead of moving from a world of immobility and class rigidity to a world of equal opportunity, we have moved in the opposite direction.

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How to Cite

Clark, G. (2019). Was There Ever a Ruling Class? A Proposal for the study of 800 Years of Social Mobility. Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 6(17), 11–38. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1698-6989(10)70049-7

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ARTICLES