Wealth of nomads – an exploratory analysis of livestock inequality in the Saami reindeer husbandry

The study addresses longstanding debates about the evolution of political complexity among nomadic pastoralists, particularly the notion that livestock-based economies inherently limit inequality and thus constrain hierarchical organisation. Traditional views posit that nomadic political complexity largely mirrors the sophistication of neighboring sedentary states and arises from external pressures rather than internal pastoral dynamics. However, pastoral systems are marked by environmental stochasticity that affects herds, with competing claims about whether such variability equalizes wealth or exacerbates disparities. This paper investigates whether livestock wealth in the Saami reindeer husbandry exhibits persistent inequality over time, and whether internal pastoral dynamics (herd accumulation and rank stability) sustain differentiation. Using comprehensive administrative data on all licensed Saami reindeer herding households in Norway (2001–2018), the study examines temporal trends in inequality (Gini), cumulative ownership shares, the relationship between initial and final herd sizes, changes in household rank (wealthy/poor) over time, and regional contrasts between northern and southern Norway, where socio-ecological and institutional contexts differ.

The paper situates its inquiry within debates on nomadic empires and political complexity, where prominent theories argue that nomadic political organisation arose in response to powerful sedentary neighbors (e.g., China) and that pastoral economies lacked self-sufficiency. Classic anthropological arguments suggest environmental hazards and herd volatility could act as levellers of wealth, diminishing long-term inequality. Other strands of research contend that pastoral wealth (livestock) is defensible, accumulable, durable, and transferable, enabling persistent inequality and intergenerational transmission. Comparative ethnographic evidence from Africa and Inner Asia documents substantial wealth differentials, patron-client ties facilitated by livestock lending/leasing, and differential impacts of drought and predation that exacerbate inequality. Modeling work indicates that multiplicative gains/losses and internal pastoral dynamics can generate significant inequalities even without resource caps. Within the Saami context, prior work highlights regional differences in coordination and cooperation, historical legacies of competition vs. farmer conflict, and policy reforms that may differentially incentivize herd accumulation versus meat production.

Design and scope: A population-level, longitudinal descriptive and inferential analysis using annual governmental statistics for all licensed Saami reindeer herding households in Norway from 2001 to 2018 (data compiled and published by the Norwegian Agriculture Agency as of March 31 each year). Regions were grouped into North (West-Finnmark, East-Finnmark, Troms, Nordland) and South (North-Trøndelag, South-Trøndelag/Hedmark). Organisational context is described (siida-share licenses, siidas, and districts). Prior research indicates regional contrasts in coordination, cooperation, and reindeer abundance dynamics. Analytic plan: Two broad components: 1) Temporal trends in livestock wealth inequality: - Gini coefficient over time for all Norway and by region (North, South). Gini ranges from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (one household owns all). All households with ≥0 reindeer included (All=680; North=605; South=75). - Cumulative ownership profiles for wealthy vs. poor households defined as the top and bottom 15% by herd size, for households present with >10 reindeer in both 2001 and 2018 (North n=61 for each tail; South n=10 for each tail; overall n=471; North=406; South=65). 2) Rank dynamics and herd accumulation mechanisms: - Relationship between herd size at the start (N2001) and end (N2018) of the series, modeled on log-scale using OLS; analysis restricted to households with >70 reindeer in 2001 and present in both 2001 and 2018 (overall n=440; North=376; South=64). Model variants include regional interactions; reported parameters include intercepts, slopes, and confidence intervals. - Changes in rank (wealthy/poor) between 2001 and 2018 (counts and percentages), and distribution of herd sizes across all years for households that remained wealthy or poor in both endpoints. Statistical tools: Data wrangling in Python 3.9.13 with pandas 1.5.2 and numpy 1.23.5; OLS in statsmodels 0.13.5; visualization with matplotlib 3.5.2 and seaborn 0.12.1. Gini was computed via a modified function from Olivia Guest’s implementation. Selection criteria summarized (as above) and detailed in Table 1 of the paper.

- Inequality trends (Gini): Nationally and regionally, Gini decreased from 2001 to 2018. Across all Norway, mean Gini=0.34 (range 0.29–0.41). North: mean Gini=0.36 (0.31–0.44); South: mean Gini=0.15 (0.12–0.19). Year negatively predicted Gini in both regions; estimated yearly effect: North −0.0047 and South approximately −0.0048, implying predicted decreases from 2001 to 2018 of 20% (North) and 43.2% (South). - Cumulative ownership: North—2001: top 61 households owned 34.4% (42,995 reindeer), bottom 61 owned 3.1% (3,863). 2018: top 30.5% (48,577), bottom 4.7% (7,357). South—2001: top 10 owned 21% (5,208), bottom 10 owned 6.4% (1,587). 2018: top 19.4% (5,055), bottom 8% (2,087). Patterns show decreasing top shares and increasing bottom shares over time in both regions. - Rank persistence and mobility (2001→2018): North—22 households (36.1% of the 2001 wealthy) remained wealthy; 32 households (52.5% of the 2001 poor) remained poor. Only 1 changed wealthy→poor; 3 changed poor→wealthy. South—3 (30%) remained wealthy; 5 (50%) remained poor; 0 wealthy→poor; 1 poor→wealthy. Rank differences largely persisted, especially among the poor (~50% remained poor). - Herd accumulation dynamics: Initial herd size positively predicted final herd size. On log-scale, a 1% increase in 2001 herd size predicted ~0.54% (North) and ~0.27–0.28% (South) increases in 2018, indicating that larger initial herds tend to secure larger future herds. - Stable wealthy/poor herd sizes (mean ± SD across all years): North—wealthy: 1071.4 ± 446.8; poor: 126.6 ± 85.1. South—wealthy: 490.3 ± 30.3; poor: 230.1 ± 111.5. South’s “poor” households had, on average, larger herds than North’s “poor,” while North’s wealthy had substantially larger and more variable herds than South’s wealthy.

Findings challenge the notion that pastoral adaptation with livestock as the main wealth base inherently levels inequalities. Although Gini decreased over time and bottom ownership shares rose, substantial rank persistence remained, particularly among poorer households, and initial herd size strongly predicted future herd size. These dynamics support the view that herd accumulation is a rational risk-management strategy in stochastic environments, enhancing long-term household viability. Regional contrasts align with historical and institutional differences: in the North, coordination challenges, intra-herder competition, and policy incentives favored herd accumulation; in the South, stronger coordination, trust, and alignment with policies emphasizing meat production contributed to more equal distributions. The observed patterns mirror broader comparative evidence where pastoral societies often exhibit persistent inequality, with livestock’s properties (defensible, accumulable, durable, transferable) facilitating concentration and intergenerational transmission of wealth. External income streams (meat prices, subsidies, compensation) can be converted to livestock, reinforcing herd growth. Overall, the results indicate that internal pastoral dynamics can sustain wealth differentiation, suggesting that pastoral societies possess endogenous mechanisms compatible with social stratification and, by extension, political complexity.

Using population-level data from Norwegian Saami reindeer husbandry (2001–2018), the study shows that livestock inequality decreased but did not disappear: rank positions were relatively stable, and initial herd size predicted future herd size, indicating persistent advantages for larger herds. These results nuance the common portrayal of pastoral egalitarianism and suggest that, contrary to views emphasizing only external drivers, internal pastoral dynamics with livestock as a wealth base do not inherently level inequality. The findings imply that pastoral wealth inequality follows general wealth-accumulation patterns and can provide a foundation for hierarchical relations and organizational complexity. Future research could integrate multi-dimensional wealth indicators (livestock, monetary income, assets), examine causal impacts of specific policies and market conditions on inequality dynamics, and extend comparative analyses across pastoral systems with varying ecological and institutional contexts.

- Wealth measured primarily as reindeer numbers; other income and asset forms (e.g., subsidies, wages, non-livestock assets) were not directly incorporated, which may influence observed inequality dynamics. - Context of a modern welfare state: access to subsidies and compensation may affect herd dynamics; although comparative evidence suggests inequalities persist elsewhere, generalizability beyond Norway should be cautious. - Selection criteria exclude smaller herds in some analyses (e.g., >70 reindeer for N2001–N2018 relation; >10 reindeer for cumulative ownership), potentially affecting representation of the smallest operations. - Data on individual-level herd sizes are restricted (identifiability concerns), limiting public reproducibility; analyses rely on administrative statistics and derived metrics (e.g., Gini). - Regional grouping (North vs. South) aggregates heterogeneous areas; unobserved local factors may vary within regions.