In this paper, I investigate the relevance of recent work in reproductive skew theory to explanations of the evolution of social stratification in human societies. I briefly review human social evolution and corresponding increases in stratification, as well as recent developments in skew theory. I then attempt to integrate basic factors that have been a focus of interest by skew theorists to p...

The paper describes the elite urban Merina social construction of côtiers women’s sexual identity in Antananarivo. It juxtaposes social hierarchy within women’s sex work to the broader systemof social stratification in the city of Antananarivo. Specifically, drawing from ethnically-basedimagined distinctions between street and nightclub-based sex work, this paper discusses theimport...

The research project on which this volume reports was conceived with two main aims in mind. The first and most immediate aim was to extend our knowledge of the social stratification of cultural consumption, and to do so in a cross-national perspective. In this regard, we obviously looked to build on previous research in this area, which has in fact been steadily growing in volume over recent de...

Social capital has become a much researched concept and there has been much theoretical speculation about unequal access to it. However, the cross-national empirical analysis of social capital in relation to social stratification and social inequality is lacking. In this article, we explore the relationship between social stratification and social capital across 27 European countries using the ...