The new capitalism: Changing elites in the US and China

Branko Milanovic (City University of New York)

Monday 20 January 2025 16:30 - 18:00

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About this event

The presentation will discuss the characteristics of the new elites created by global neoliberalism in the United States and China. The American elite is increasingly composed of people with high labor incomes and high capital incomes. One-third of the people in the top US income decile also belong to the top decile by labor income and top decile by capital income. The elite thus combines high educational achievement (giving rise to high-paying jobs) with ownership of property. This is a type of elite probably never seen in history. The evolution of the Chinese elite is studied over a thirty-year period using the data for the top 5% of the urban population. The top has been transformed from a group that depended on state sector incomes to an elite that is largely capitalistic or has high-paying management jobs. A part of the capitalistic elite combines property ownership with membership of the Communist party which is especially lucrative for them.

This event is organised by the LSE Programme on Cohesive Capitalism

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For further information please contact Lubala Chibwe by email: l.chibwe@lse.ac.uk.