Light thrown on global economics elite

Swedes are marvellous researchers and innovators. Recently Lund university of Sweden published a thought provoking article on “Ten things research tells us about the global economic elite”. I reproduce in verbatim the findings by giving credit to the author and the web page:

“Economic elites are interesting because they hold enormous power. They influence people’s working conditions, national prosperity, and financial destinies. This is the first database of its kind, and many researchers will continue to develop it and use it in various capacities,” comments Håkan Johansson, professor in social work at Lund University in Sweden, and chair of the network of researchers who have worked on the database of the global economics elite.

Web page: https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/ten-things-research-tells-us-about-global-economic-elite

Contact:

Håkan Johansson

Professor, Social Work

Lund University

hakan.johansson@soch.lu.se

+46708494867

 

Here are ten takeaways from the database:

1. The individuals largely resemble one another – but differences exist.

2. They are predominantly male

3. The oldest elite is found in the U.S., with a median age of 62; the youngest are in China and Poland, where the median is 55 and a larger share are ultra-wealthy individuals under 40.

4. China stands out in terms of birthplace: nearly half were born in small villages.

5. Only one percent of China’s elite were born abroad, compared to 20–36 percent in the US, Denmark, Switzerland, and Chile. The UK tops the list with 45 percent born abroad.

6. Up to 20 percent of the UK’s economic elite come from the country’s former colonies

7. Sweden stands out in one area of education: only 5 percent of Sweden’s economic elite have a doctoral degree, compared to Germany that tops the list with 35 percent, followed by Poland, China, Switzerland, the US, and Finland.

8. A master’s degree is the most common level of education, except in Argentina, Italy, and the UK, where a bachelor’s degree is more prevalent. The lowest level of education is found among those who have inherited their wealth.

9. So what should you study if you want to become part of the economic elite? The safest bet is to study economics. This field tops the list in every country except China and Finland, where an engineering degree is slightly more common.

10. The UK, Poland, and Switzerland are the countries where degrees in the humanities or law are most valued – in these countries, at least 20 percent of the top tier have studied these subjects. The corresponding figure for Sweden, Denmark, and Norway is below 10 percent.

My submission: billionaires such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Mark Zuckerberg who are part of the global economic elite have cast log shadow in the area of geoeconomics!

 

Cheers!

 

Muthu Ashraff Rajulu

Business Strategist

Mobile: + 94 777 265677

E-mail: cosmicgems@gmail.com

Blog:   Business Strategist