Labor, land, and the global dynamics of economic inequality.

ABSTRACT: Here, we assess the extent to which land use relating to food acquisition (farming, herding, foraging) and associated value regimes shaped past economic inequality. We consider the hypothesis that land-use systems in which production was limited by heritable material wealth (such as land) sustained higher levels of inequality than those limited by (free) human labor. We address this hypothesis using the Global Dynamics of InequalIty (GINI) project database, estimating economic inequalities based on disparities in residential unit area and storage capacity within sites in different world regions and through time. We find that inequality was significantly greater in land-limited than labor-limited regimes, whether based on residence area or storage capacity, though governance could moderate

SUBMITTER: Bogaard A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12037039 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature