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The Palgrave Handbook of Political Elites: Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

26. Economic Elites

Author : Michael Hartmann

Published in: The Palgrave Handbook of Political Elites

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK

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Abstract

The economic elite has been seen by some researchers as the most dominant of the sectoral elites while being vigorously rejected as such by others. Nonetheless, there is a general consensus that the economic elite is one of the central elites. Four types of economic elite formation can be identified: the French type, the Japanese type, the British/US type and the German type. They differ with regard to the importance of elite universities and the extent of cross-sectoral mobility. However, a transnational or global business elite is difficult to discern and many researchers deny that such an elite exists. Research has shown, for example, that of the CEOs of the 1000 biggest companies of the world, only one in eight is a foreigner and three out of four have never stayed abroad for more than six months. Connections between economic and explicitly political elites clearly differ from country to country.

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Metadata
Title
Economic Elites
Author
Michael Hartmann
Copyright Year
2018
Book
The Palgrave Handbook of Political Elites

Print ISBN: 978-1-137-51903-0

Electronic ISBN: 978-1-137-51904-7

Copyright Year: 2018

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-51904-7_26