Economic stratification refers to the condition within a society where social classes are separated, or stratified, along economic lines. Various economic strata or levels are clearly manifest. While in any system individual members will have varying degrees of wealth, economic stratification typically refers to the condition where there are meaningful gaps between the wealth controlled by various groups, and few instances in the transitional regions.
Economic stratification should not be confused with the related concept, economic inequality. This deals with the range of wealth, rather than the existence of distinct strata. Economic inequality and economic stratification can coincide, of course.
Famous quotes containing the word economic:
“Society’s double behavioral standard for women and for men is, in fact, a more effective deterrent than economic discrimination because it is more insidious, less tangible. Economic disadvantages involve ascertainable amounts, but the very nature of societal value judgments makes them harder to define, their effects harder to relate.”
—Anne Tucker (b. 1945)