Who are the global economic elites and where do they come from? The study that opens the black box of power
The Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano writes that the economic power in Italy is in the hands of a group of just over 330 people, of which 89% are men, with an average age of almost 60 years. Surprisingly, the United States competes the peninsula in terms of gerontocracy: there, the average age of top managers, superbogged people, politicians and bureaucrats who draw the efforts of the economy reaches 62 years.
From the point of view of gender differences, in France, but also in Germany and China – the share of women who are part of the economic elite is smaller than in Italy, notes in the article published on Tuesday Fatto Quotidiano, quoted by Rador Radio Romania.
Many confirmations, but also unique data come from the preliminary results of the World Elite Database, in which 70 researchers led by sociologist Mike Savage from London School of Economics have for the first time gathered comparable information about the economic elites in 16 big countries that produce 54% of the Global GDP and living 74% of the world. The ultimate goal is to open the black box of a power that affects the lives of many workers, shapes the market and moves huge resources.
Who are the “economic elites” included in the study
The first conclusions reached by the researchers were presented in a work (Varieties of Economic Elites? Preliminary Results from the World Elite Database) that offers an unprecedented perspective on the identity of the dominant economic class and the place from which they come.
In order to define their limits, the research adopts three criteria: the group includes the presidents and executive directors of the largest listed and unlisted companies, the richest natural persons in each country (especially those with assets that exceed half of the average capitalization of the smallest companies in the main stock market index) and those who hold the nationals in the national organization. By crossing the requirements, a list of 3,543 people appears. In Italy, 336 of them live, including 239 supermanagers and 33 “super billionaires”.
Small percentage of women
It is not surprising to anyone that there are several men, relatively old, in the control cab. “Italy is no exception in terms of age and sex, but it is not last place, or at least it is in a good company,” explains Joselle Dagnes, associate professor at the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society at the University of Turin, who is one of the authors of the work.
In fact, the peninsula has a percentage of 11% in the elite group, and the United States, Denmark, Portugal and Switzerland have similar odds.
Only in Northern Europe are higher rates, but even Norway, the leader of the class, stops at a percentage with just over 20%. A weak result in a context considered particularly attentive to the responsibility of women and the balance between professional life and private life.
The average age of elites
As for the average age of the Italian elite – 59 years – it is similar to that of France, Germany and Argentina. The American gerons say that “young countries” are those “with a more recent opening to the market economy”, continues Dagnes, one of the three Italians contributing to the database together with Paola Arrigoni, a political sociology researcher at the University of Bologna, and Bruno Cousin, professor associated with Economic Sociology PO.
“In Poland (55.5 years) and China (55 years), 7% of the elite members are under 40.” The two countries are also the only ones in which the economic regulatory authorities tend to be older than the owners and business managers.
Where do I come from
Where does the dominant economic class come from? In most countries included in the database, it comes mainly from large metropolises and important political or economic centers.
The situation is different in Italy, which is confirmed as a country of the “widely widespread industrial districts and SMEs,” says Dagnes. “In fact, most of our economic elites (55%) come from these areas, which differentiates us from other countries. And there is a significant weight of those born in extra -urban areas (24%).”
While the UK, Chile and Switzerland are noted for the largest number of elite members abroad, around 30%, “in Italy the economic elite is determined indigenous: foreigners are less than 10%”.
The level of studies
From the point of view of educational qualifications, “the comparison is not always easy due to the differences between school cycles in different countries.” For example, Italy is, along with the UK and Argentina, among the countries in which a three -year -old diploma seems to be more widespread than a master's degree (five years), “but this actually derives from the fact that the qualification equalization processes have equated the” old “four -year diplomas with a diploma with a diploma of three years. years.
In any case, as expected, university education predominates among the global elite. Italy, where the share of graduates is very low compared to the rest of the EU, “is among the countries with the highest weight of the elites without a license (12%) and among the smallest weight with a doctorate (only 7%).”
ConCluSIonS
Overall, the work shows that the “recruitment” models of the economic elite are very different between states, but at the same time it is complicated to identify the univocal tendencies.
Norway is the country where the glass ceiling that penalizes women seems to work the least, but “it is also among the darkest for strangers and the least oriented to those who have obtained a doctorate,” notes Dagnes.
Another example is China: “its economic elite is by far the youngest, but it is the most dominated by men and natives.”
