In this book, Hans-Jürgen Burchardt and Irene Lungo-Rodríguez lead a transdisciplinary team of experts to advance our understanding of wealth in Latin America.

Combining conceptual discussions with empirical research, they analyze characteristics of wealth, and the implications for inequality. Three thematic sections provide a unique overarching structure to understand the economic, social, political, and cultural complexity of wealth. Questions examined include:

• What economic, institutional, and structural factors contribute to the excessive accumulation of wealth?


• What political dynamics promote the concentration of wealth and power?


• What type of social, political, and economic relations are generated in these contexts of extreme wealth concentration?


• What socio-cultural processes contribute to legitimizing and reproducing wealth?


• What are the local, regional, and national socio-ecological effects of these dynamics?

Wealth, Development and Social Inequalities in Latin America provides thought-provoking reading for students and researchers alike who wish to look beyond the Global North for answers on the importance of studying wealth.