PANEL 14: Inheritance and merit in the shaping of economic and political elites (19th–20th centuries)

In recent times, the debate on the key factors involved in the shaping, reproduction and renewal of economic and political elites in the capitalist framework seems to have been revived. Some economists and sociologists are again asking whether inherited wealth —tangible and intangible— has been the essential cause of social and economic inequality or whether, in a diff erent sense, merit has proved to be an eff ective lever for social mobility. It is therefore a good time to look in greater depth at the issue from a historical perspective. The objective of this panel is to share recent empirical eff orts that, in the light of the new methodologies and tools available, aim to detect continuities and ruptures in issues such as the weight of inheritance on personal wealth, the survival of certain families among the power groups or the volume of capital transmitted between generations.