Inequality and Social Ties
Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 13090486 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Cristobal Young (corresponding author), B Cornwell (0000-0003-3204-1213), Barum Park (0000-0002-3396-7336), Nan Feng (0000-0003-4145-0705) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 12 |
| Pages | 294-321 |
| Publication date | 2025-01-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Sociological Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2330-6696 • E-ISSN: 2330-6696 |
| Publisher | Society for Sociological Science (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.15195/v12.a14 |
| OpenAlex | W4410340521 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 1 |
What is the relationship between inequality and social ties? Do personal networks, group memberships, and connections to social resources help level the playing field, or do they reinforce economic disparities? We examine two core empirical issues: the degree of inequality in social ties and their consolidation with income. Using 142,000 person-wave observations from 15 high-quality U.S. data sets, we measure the quantity and quality of social ties and examine their distribution. Our findings show that (1) the Gini coefficient for social ties often exceeds that of income and (2) social ties are concentrated among those with the highest incomes. We introduce an overall inequality–consolidation curve, demonstrating that social ties generally reinforce economic inequality. However, we identify one key exception: there is no class gradient in the use of social ties for job search. These findings contribute to debates about the role of social ties in perpetuating or mitigating inequality
Demographic economics · Econometrics · Economics · Inequality · Interpersonal ties · Social inequality · Social science · Sociology · Income, Poverty, and Inequality · Mathematics
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Highly cited | No |