Economics Club

Order of presentations :

1. Inequality : A Genetic History

2. A selection of FT articles on inequality

3. A selection of The Economist articles on inequality

Slides¶

To what extent has inequality shaped the genomes of humans?

This cenral question has been triggered by a striking historical observation: wealthier individuals, at the time of their death, often left behind more surviving offspring than poorer individuals.

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This question is particularly intriguing considering that wealth is often passed to the offspring and therefore, if indeed their offspring had a higher chance of survival, after a few generations most people would share a small group of wealthy genealogical ancestors. Being a genealogical ancestor does not necessarily equate to being also a genetic ancestor as what 50% of the genome is passed down each generation by each parent is random. However, if being wealthier implies also having higher fitness, and wealth is transmitted to the offspring, this subset of ancestors might be disproportionately represented in the DNA of their descendants. This book builds upon the recent developments in the field of DNA analysis to explore the genetic legacy of these wealthy few, from prehistory to modern day.

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The book starts by exploring the transformative shifts in ancestry during European prehistory, following the arrival of Near Eastern agriculturalists and later the pastoralists from the Steppe. While the precise socio-economic contexts of these migrations remain unclear, Lalueza-Fox argues that the resulting genetic patterns suggest unequal dynamics between newcomers and resident populations. These genetic contributions were probably paralleled by cultural transitions, the result being the predominance of Indo-European languages spoken in Europe today. It is worth noticing that our understanding of the genetic history of the Asian peninsula that is usually referred to as Europe has been transformed by Palaeogenomics. Early studies led by the late Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza debated who, between the early hunter-gatherers and the Neolithic agriculturalists, mostly contributed to modern-day European genetic variation. Ancient DNA revealed that the former left a limited genetic signature, while the latter, together with the Steppe pastoralists, are the main source of the DNA present in European populations. Just an example of how significant the impact of Paleogenomics has been in dissecting the history of human populations.

By integrating DNA data with archaeological evidence, Lalueza-Fox builds a strong case for the co-inheritance of wealth and DNA during the European Bronze Age, particularly along male lineages. He emphasizes the male-biased contribution of Steppe pastoralists to the genetic makeup of modern Europeans—a legacy that highlights how social structures can leave indelible marks on the genome. Gender imbalance in the interactions between communities appears more as the norm than the exception, in particular when newcomers and locals interact. Textbook examples are populations across the Americas, where the genetic ancestry of European colonialists, African slaves, and Indigenous Americans is heavily sex-biased as the result of social taboos. But the same occurred also during the peopling of Polynesia when Austronesian speakers traveling East were exposed to later admixture with the populations of Near Oceania. The result? A blend of the two, where Near Oceanian males contributed more than their female counterparts to the genetic makeup of modern-day Polynesians but, contrary to events in Europe, this later major migration did not result in the replacement of the Austronesian languages of the early inhabitants. Similarly, the paternal inheritance of social status coupled with differences in the total number of children that a man and a woman can (potentially) have possibly explains the Y chromosome legacy of Genghis Khan, who (purportedly) fathered a dynasty that shaped the genetic landscape of vast regions.

An interesting example of how genetics can highlight social inequalities is the 1998 study of Thomas Jefferson’s male descendants. The work provided evidence that Jefferson fathered at least one son with one of his more than 100 slaves. Interestingly, the genetically proved male descendants of US president Thomas Jefferson and his slave Sally Hemings were denied access to the Monticello Association, which comprises confirmed descendants of Jefferson. A “morally bankrupt” outcome (Annette Gordon-Reed, 112). There are many similar small “gems” scattered across the book, which make the reading light and entertaining while keeping the focus on inequality, past and present.

Unsurprisingly, Lalueza-Fox relies heavily on ancient DNA studies and archaeology in making his case, reflecting his research focus. However, these are effectively complemented by studies of contemporary populations, all contextualized within socio-economic and historical frameworks. This holistic approach allows readers to appreciate the broader implications of the genetic findings.

Thanks to its interdisciplinary approach bringing together anthropology, archaeology, history, and genetics, this book would make an excellent addition to undergraduate reading lists in fields such as social and cultural anthropology, human sciences, and archaeology. More broadly, it will appeal to anyone interested in gaining a fresh perspective on human history, social dynamics, and ultimately, the genetic diversity of human populations.

Source :

Capelli, Cristian. Review of Inequality: A Genetic History. American Journal of Biological Anthropology [HOBOKEN], vol. 186, no. 4, no. 70054, April 1, 2025, Capelli (2025).

1. concept of ‘inequality’ :

   • almost inexistent in books between 1800 to 1960

   • wealth of 2153 richest people on earth > 60 percent of humankind (source: Oxfam’s 2020 report)

   • global billionaire wealth : $10.2 trillion (source: UBS)

2. Capital in the 21st century (Piketty)

   • globally :

     • 1% of population has more than twice as much as 6.9 bn people

     • 70% of population accounts for 3% of world’s wealth

   • US : richest 10% pssess more than 72% of national wealth

   • F, DE, UK, IT : richest 10% possess around 60% of national wealth

3. word “inequality”

   • almost inexistent in books between 1800 to 1960

   • wealth of 2153 richest people on earth > 60 percent of humankind (source : Oxfam’s 2020 report)

   • global billionaire wealth : $10.2 trillion (UBS bank)

4. Gini coefficient

   • World population

     year	Gini
     1820	43
     2000	66

   • not a steady increase

   • 0 ------------------------ 100

   • 0 : all people are equal (same income)

   • 1 : single person owns everything

   • Figure 1.1. (p.2) ----> download this figure

5. inequality is likely to continue to grow

   • ageing population

   • migratory movement (poor-to-rich countries)

   • climate change

   • pandemics (i.e. COVID) --> state resources must be shifted from redistributive policies to basic public services

   • new technologies, industrial automation --> income gap between qualified and unqualified workforce increases

6. inequality between countries

   • globalisation decreased inequality between countries

   • globalisation has also increased systemic risk

   • ongoing robotization of production --> large segments of society (those with fewer qualifications) --> will remain jobless --> countries with large number of low qualification

7. Piketty’s thesis nowadays, return on financial capital is much higher than what is yielded by economic growth --> this enables wealth to accumulate faster --> Piketty proposes a global tax on capital

8. impact of inequality on health, prosperity, life expectancy

   • studies show that citizens from disadvantages background in a highly unequal society have higher chance of becoming :

     • obese

     • sick

     • psychologically afflicted

   --> higher likelihood to be in prison --> higher likelihood to die during pandemic --> in the long term this may favor the emergence of authoritarism

9. mechanism for correcting inequalities

   • those suggested by economists

   • according to Walter Scheidel :

     • war (wars financed by high taxation of wealthy, up to 90%)

     • revolution (erases the ruling social class)

     • state collapse (impoverishment of the entire population)

     • deadly natural disasters (i.e. pandemics) --> kills population --> remaining workers have better chances for jobs

10. modern inequality

• previous mechanisms will have different effects on modern inequality --> much more complex + interconnected on a global scale (Walter Scheidel)

11. biological basis of inequality?

• violence and conflicts are part of the emergence of human nature as are their counterparts, altruism and solidarity

• a crucial question for evolutionary biologists is whether inequality does in fact have a biological basis, rooted in proactive violence (p.12)

12. different types of wealth

13. material wealth : refers to those goods - land, livestock, household, objects - that can be possessed and accumulated

14. embodied wealth : refers to health, immunity, physical strength, body weight, knowledge, practical skills stored in human bodies

15. relational wealth : consists of the individual social links that derive from social status or family ties

16. hunters and gatherers (foragers)

• Due to fluctuating and uncertain resources, foraging groups are constantly on the move, and hence cannot accumulate goods or even food

• Therefore these foragers are described as having formed more egalitarian societies - including sex equality - than agriculturalist and pastoralist groups

14. archeological signatures

• sustained economic inequalities usually leave archeological signatures --> we are interpreting today these signatures with the eyes of a rich society (p.13)

15. uncertainty about foragers being less unequal societies

• graves of foraging groups of the Upper Paleolithic (long before permanent settlements or agriculture) bear marks of :

  • symbolic behaviour (scattering of ochre soil over interred body)

  • stone tools

  • animal bones deposited alongside

• Example : Snghir near Vladimir (Russia)

  • around 3000 mammoth ivory beads were on the adult skeleton (sewn on their clothing)

  • 12 pierced fox canines

  • 25 mammoth ivory armbands

16. inequality in funerary context

• understand signs of inequalities by looking at the gener of people involved --> difficulty to identify the gender can lead to erroneous conclusions (example : Dolni Vestonice in Czechia - around 31000 years ago)

• it is difficult to really grasp what the archeological record has to tell us about how unequal societies actually were (apart from the discovery of spectacular burrials of wealthy people)

17. connection between genetics and social inequality

• Example : low level of social mobility (Sweden)

  • no new aristocratic houses were created after the 17th century, and all existing by then have been recorded in the House of Nobility (Riddarhuset)

  • noble surnames among the general population had to have been derived patrilineally from past aristocrats (exaple see p.15)

  • common Swedes tend to have the patronymic particle “son” added to their surnames

  • --> research found that surnames was still a good predictor of social status in 21st century Sweden --> similar findig in Denmark, Ireland, Great Britain, China, Korea --> social mobility is lower than traditionally ‘measured’

  • in general, it takes at least 400 years for elite surnames to converge with average-income families in society

  • --> there seems to be a strong transmission within families of the attributes needed for social success --> whether these are genetic or environmental, or a combination of the two, is more difficult to unravel

  • see research by Gregory Clark (University of California Davis)

18. to what extent has inequality shaped the genomes of humans

19. Rousseau (1754) in Discourse on the Origin and Basis of Inequality among Men

• https://www.rousseauonline.ch/pdf/rousseauonline-0002.pdf

• Rousseau asked himself, “How shall we know the source of inequality between men, if we do not begin by knowing mankind?” (p.24)For Rousseau, there are two types of inequality"

  1. natural or physical inequality : based on differences in age, health, strength, or intellectual qualities,

  2. moral or political inequality : is established by societal convention with people’s consent. It consists of people having different privileges such as being wealthier or more powerful than others.

20. The big change came with agriculture

• Rousseau argues that the big change arrived with agriculture.

• “The first man who, having fenced in a piece of land, said This is mine, and found people naive enough to believe him, that was the true founder of civil society.”

• This civilized man, unlike the savage, is never satisfied and always wants more goods, wealth, belongings, and even slaves. And though property can be acquired, it can also be lost.

Luxembourg¶

Income distribution in Luxembourg

Financial Times¶

• Inequality hasn’t risen. Here’s why it feels like it has

• Global inequality is narrowing — and that is cause for celebration

• The pandemic’s stark legacy: widening inequality between countries

• Even a PhD isn’t enough to erase the effects of class

• The limits of wealth — calling time on the super-rich

• Growing income inequality is driving public mistrust

• How disadvantage became deadly in America

• Higher rates for longer are a good thing

• French riots show how entrenched inequalities have become

• Billionaires find big wins in big government

• The truth is that schools do little to reduce inequality

• A Brief History of Equality — the newly optimistic Thomas Piketty

• Wealth inequality rises in Britain after decade of stability

• Monetary policy is not the solution to inequality

• Rich should worry more about the health of the poor

• The Economics of Belonging — can globalisation work for the left behind?

Collection of articles

• FT Collections : The harm of inequality

Videos¶

• Inequality Media Civic Action

• Robert Reich

• More Perfect Union

Books¶

• A Brief History of Equality by Thomas Piketty