Unequal Family Ties, Wealth Transmission and Social Mobility Among Congolese Traders in Kinshasa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19213631 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Héritier Mesa (0000-0002-1673-6501, University of Ottawa), Joël Noret (Université Libre de Bruxelles) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | British Journal of Sociology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0007-1315 • E-ISSN: 1468-4446 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/1468-4446.70132 |
| PMID | 42162570 |
| OpenAlex | W7162004985 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Congolese traders operating in Kinshasa's urban economy, this article examines how differentiated family ties and wealth transmission shape social mobility and the intergenerational reproduction of inequality. We show that family support is neither uniform nor equally productive: its effects depend on both class position and the specific relationships mobilised. While assistance among siblings and extended kin is widespread, it tends to remain modest and short-lived, supporting entry into trade or crisis management rather than sustained accumulation. By contrast, marital and intergenerational ties more often enable threshold-crossing mobility by providing access to larger volumes of capital, protective connections, and resources for children's education, business developments, and migration trajectories. We argue that these unequal forms of intra-family wealth transmission contribute to the durability of class positions across generations
Ethnography · Interpersonal ties · Marital status · Position (finance) · Reproduction · Social class · Social mobility · Social reproduction · Transmission (telecommunications) · China's Global Influence and Migration · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Migration and Labor Dynamics
Social Im/Mobilities in Africa
Identity Economics
Foundations of Pierre Bourdieu's class analysis
The Forms of Capital
Precarious Youth and Everyday Improvisation in Kinshasa
Congo-Paris
Reinventing Order in the Congo
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L’accès à l’emploi à Lubumbashi
Becoming a Diplômé in Kinshasa. Education at the Intersection of Politics and Urban Livelihoods
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Class in the 21st Century
Informal Trade, Cross Border Networks and Contraband of Asian Textiles from Brazzaville to Kinshasa
Market Institutions in Sub-Saharan Africa
The Personal Networks of Entrepreneurs in an Informal African Urban Economy
Lineage Structure, Marriage and the Family Amongst the Central Bantu
Is There a (Viable) Crucial-Case Method
Contestation, négociation et résistance
La corruption quotidienne en Afrique de l'Ouest
Wage Labor and Social Inequality in Kinshasa's Informal Economy
Youth prospects in a time of economic recession
Young Adults' Pathways into Homeownership and the Negotiation of Intra-Family Support
On Social Class, Anno 2014
Introduction
Rethinking Regulation beyond the Normative Threshold
Intramarital Status Differences Across Africa's Educational Expansion
Morality in the middle
Wandering women
Mobutu's Ghost
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |