Kuznets’ tides: An archaeological perspective on the long-term dynamics of sustainable development

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dc.creatorGreen, Adam S.
dc.creatorFeinman, Gary
dc.creatorThompson, Amy
dc.creatorCruz, Pablo
dc.creatorChirikure, Shadreck
dc.creatorKerig, Tim
dc.creatorLawrence, Dan
dc.creatorPetrie, Cameron
dc.creatorOrtman, Scott
dc.date2025-04
dc.date.accessioned2026-02-25T20:21:09Z
dc.date.available2026-02-25T20:21:09Z
dc.descriptionUnderstanding the relationship between inequality and economic growth is a critical science problem that hinders sustainable development. In 1955, Simon Kuznets hypothesized that rising economic growth raises inequality, which levels off as that growth continues. Kuznets’ “curve,” which is a cornerstone of development economics, was based on data from a small sample of rich capitalist economies. Here, we draw on the GINI database, which includes area measurements of 53,464 residences from 1,176 settlements dating from 21,000 BC to the present, and published data from the Spatial Analysis in Maya Studies (SAMS) group, to radically reevaluate Kuznets’ curve. We use Gini coefficients of residential disparity, a proxy of inequality, and mean residence area, a proxy of productivity, to investigate past sustainable development in the Bronze Age Interaction Zone (BAIZ), the Mundo Maya, and Britain prior to, over the course of, and after the Roman conquest. We interpolate spatial patterns across each zone to statistically evaluate changes in inequality and economic growth. We find a recurring pattern in which phases of sustainable development, a rise in productivity without a rise in inequality, gave way to increasing inequality. These patterns resemble those Branko Milanovic termed “Kuznets’ waves,” albeit at timescales better described as “tides,” which began after the introduction of weight metrology, an early form of economic governance associated with long-distance exchange. We posit that past sustainable development was predicated on balancing reciprocity from the bottom–up with mechanisms like early weight metrology but was repeatedly forestalled as inchoate elites co-optedthese mechanisms.
dc.descriptionFil: Green, Adam S.. University of York; Reino Unido
dc.descriptionFil: Feinman, Gary. Field Museum of National History; Estados Unidos
dc.descriptionFil: Thompson, Amy. University of Texas at Austin; Estados Unidos
dc.descriptionFil: Cruz, Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Unidad Ejecutora en Ciencias Sociales Regionales y Humanidades. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Unidad Ejecutora en Ciencias Sociales Regionales y Humanidades; Argentina
dc.descriptionFil: Chirikure, Shadreck. University of Oxford; Reino Unido
dc.descriptionFil: Kerig, Tim. Christian Albrechts Universitat Zu Kiel; Alemania
dc.descriptionFil: Lawrence, Dan. University of Durham; Reino Unido
dc.descriptionFil: Petrie, Cameron. University of Cambridge; Estados Unidos
dc.descriptionFil: Ortman, Scott. State University of Colorado at Boulder; Estados Unidos
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/265917
dc.identifierGreen, Adam S.; Feinman, Gary; Thompson, Amy; Cruz, Pablo; Chirikure, Shadreck; et al.; Kuznets’ tides: An archaeological perspective on the long-term dynamics of sustainable development; National Academy of Sciences; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America; 122; 16; 4-2025; 1-9
dc.identifier0027-8424
dc.identifierCONICET Digital
dc.identifierCONICET
dc.identifier.urihttps://ri.unju.edu.ar/handle/123456789/292
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherNational Academy of Sciences
dc.relationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2400603121
dc.relationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1073/pnas.2400603121
dc.rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rightshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
dc.subjectINEQUALITY
dc.subjectSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectPRODUCTIVITY
dc.subjectECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subjecthttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1
dc.subjecthttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/6
dc.titleKuznets’ tides: An archaeological perspective on the long-term dynamics of sustainable development
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/article
dc.typeinfo:ar-repo/semantics/artículo
dc.typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
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