Dynamics of Wealth Inequality in Simple Artificial Societies

TL;DR

This paper presents a simple generative model demonstrating how wealth inequality naturally emerges in artificial societies, influenced by dynamics, reproduction costs, and evolutionary pressures, with implications for understanding inequality's origins.

Contribution

It introduces a generative model showing how wealth inequality arises from agent interactions and dynamics, highlighting the role of non-equilibrium states and evolutionary factors.

Findings

Wealth inequality emerges from identical agents in a simple foraging model.

Non-equilibrium regimes exhibit the highest inequality levels.

Reproduction costs influence the extent of inequality.

Abstract

A simple generative model of a foraging society generates significant wealth inequalities from identical agents on an equal opportunity landscape. These inequalities arise in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium regimes with some societies essentially never reaching equilibrium. Reproduction costs mitigate inequality beyond their affect on intrinsic growth rate. The highest levels of inequality are found during non-equilibrium regimes. Inequality in dynamic regimes is driven by factors different than those driving steady state inequality. Evolutionary pressures drive the intrinsic growth rate as high as possible, leading to a tragedy of the commons.