Southern Centre for Inequality Studies

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The Wealth Inequality research stream leads multidisciplinary research on “Wealth Inequality and Elites”, with a strong network of researchers across the Global South. 

Our work explores the dynamics of wealth concentration, the role of elites, and the impact of these processes across the global South. With a robust network of leading researchers from diverse fields, SCIS is committed to advancing critical knowledge on wealth disparities and shaping policies for a more equitable future.

Our work aims to unpack the multidimensional nature of wealth inequality in the Global South. The research agenda broadly follows these processes as themes: measurement, key features of wealth (such as inheritance), and political economy.

Current work

Estimating the wealth distribution – Measurement work
Discover how SCIS and SA-TIED examine South Africa's wealth distribution and the potential for a wealth tax.

This project first sets an agenda for the measurement of wealth and wealth inequality. In collaboration with the WID, SCIS estimates the distribution of household wealth in South Africa from 1993 to 2017 by combining household survey data, tax microdata, and macroeconomic balance sheet statistics. South Africa displays unparalleled levels of wealth concentration. The top 10 percent of South African wealth holders own more than 85 percent of household wealth, while the top 1 percent wealth share reaches 55 percent. The top 0.01 percent (about 3,500 adults) own a higher share of wealth than the bottom 90 percent as a whole (about 32 million individuals). SCIS and WID also investigate the feasibility of a wealth tax, arguing that the nature of the wealth distribution makes it a viable tool to raise revenue.

Special Issue: Wealth Inequality and Elites in the Global South
Explore how this project uncovers the hidden dynamics of wealth distribution, focusing on elites where power and wealth converge.

This special edition arises out of a workshop of economists, anthropologists and sociologists from the global South at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies in April 2019. The academics came from Chile, Mexico, Ghana, Uganda, Brazil, India, and South Africa.

The workshop explored how to meaningfully study wealth inequality in countries in the global South. This special issue brings together papers looking at important topics in the production and reproduction of wealth inequality in these countries.

The special edition has two principal aims. The first is to highlight the need for a distinctive research agenda for countries in the global South, as wealth inequality manifests itself in a different institutional environment to the global North, where much of the research agenda is determined and universalised. Secondly, it demonstrates how an inter- and multi-disciplinary approach is crucial in understanding how wealth inequality is produced and reproduced.

Global Business Communities

Explore how this project uncovers the history, growth, and impact of peer advisory groups for senior executives.

This research is undertaken collaboratively by Dr Ujithra Ponniah, University of Witwatersrand and Dr Katie Higgins, University of Oxford.

The research project aims to expand our knowledge about the historical development, international spread, and impact of peer advisory groups for senior executives, which have otherwise been rarely studied. Alongside these aims, the project wants to learn how peer advisory groups support senior executives’ personal and professional development and how they foster collaboration. In doing so, it aims to contribute to the fields of business studies, geography and sociology.

A total of 75 senior business executives in Britain, India and South Africa who are members of peer advisory groups, and 30 professionals who support the running of these groups, will be interviewed for this project. The interviews will be completely confidential, and there are elaborate practices in place to protect confidentiality.

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