Wealth as a distinct dimension of social inequality

The main research objective of my thesis is to contribute to a broader understanding of social inequality by going beyond inequalities solely derived from the labor market and find theoretical arguments as well as empirical evidence for the establishment of wealth as a distinct dimension of social stratification and, more importantly, of social inequality. With social stratification, I am referring to a society’s ranking of categories of individuals into a hierarchy of social positions. Social stratification becomes social inequality if access to these positions is unequal and if these positions are systematically related to advantageous or disadvantageous conditions of acting and living. In the course of my thesis, I will show that both these conditions apply to wealth: first, access is unequal and second, being of higher (lower) wealth is related to advantageous (disadvantageous) conditions of living. My thesis consists of five empirical studies that are knotted together by the common conception of wealth as a distinct dimension of social inequality. In order to find empirical support for this argument, in each study, I will approach the topic of wealth, or wealth inequality, from different perspectives. All studies represent theory-driven empirical analysis and are designed as international comparative studies.