Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets
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...
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| Language: | English |
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Society for Sociological Science
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Sociological Science |
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| Online Access: | https://sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12-14-294/ |
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| author | Cristobal Young Benjamin Cornwell Barum Park Nan Feng |
| author_facet | Cristobal Young Benjamin Cornwell Barum Park Nan Feng |
| author_sort | Cristobal Young |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | 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. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-eccecc2e39f94ec7a3f62899f789a6d0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2330-6696 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Society for Sociological Science |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sociological Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-eccecc2e39f94ec7a3f62899f789a6d02025-08-20T02:59:11ZengSociety for Sociological ScienceSociological Science2330-66962025-05-01121429432110.15195/v12.a14Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data SetsCristobal Young0Benjamin Cornwell1Barum Park2Nan Feng3Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell UniversityNew York UniversityWhat 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. https://sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12-14-294/social tiesinequalitynetworkseconomyjob search |
| spellingShingle | Cristobal Young Benjamin Cornwell Barum Park Nan Feng Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets Sociological Science social ties inequality networks economy job search |
| title | Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets |
| title_full | Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets |
| title_fullStr | Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets |
| title_short | Inequality and Social Ties: Evidence from 15 U.S. Data Sets |
| title_sort | inequality and social ties evidence from 15 u s data sets |
| topic | social ties inequality networks economy job search |
| url | https://sociologicalscience.com/articles-v12-14-294/ |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cristobalyoung inequalityandsocialtiesevidencefrom15usdatasets AT benjamincornwell inequalityandsocialtiesevidencefrom15usdatasets AT barumpark inequalityandsocialtiesevidencefrom15usdatasets AT nanfeng inequalityandsocialtiesevidencefrom15usdatasets |