ABSTRACT
A number of empirical studies focusing on the economic elites of several countries have been published that cast doubt on the notion of a global economic elite or present empirical material which is incompatible with the notion. We can divide the national types of elite formation into three general types on the basis of two core characteristics, namely vertical and horizontal social integration. The recruitment of elites in Great Britain has traditionally been very similar to that of France and Japan but individuals have not shifted between the different sectors of politics, business and administration. To reach an elite position in France is almost impossible without attending one of the famous elite universities in the country, the grandes ecoles. The prevalence of national elite formation systems and the concomitant huge differences between the elites of different nation states show that we are a long way from something like a transnational elite.
