Kuznets' tides: An archaeological perspective on the long-term dynamics of sustainable development.

ABSTRACT: Understanding the relationship between inequality and economic growth is a critical science problem that hinders sustainable development. In 1955, Simon Kuznets hypothesized that rising economic growth raises inequality, which levels off as that growth continues. Kuznets' "curve," which is a cornerstone of development economics, was based on data from a small sample of rich capitalist economies. Here, we draw on the GINI database, which includes area measurements of 53,464 residences from 1,176 settlements dating from 21,000 BC to the present, and published data from the Spatial Analysis in Maya Studies (SAMS) group, to radically reevaluate Kuznets' curve. We use Gini coefficients of residential disparity, a proxy of inequality, and mean residence area, a proxy of productivity, to investig

SUBMITTER: Green AS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12037042 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature