Pre‐Industrial Inequality

Milanović, Branko; Lindert, Peter H.; Williamson, Jeffrey G.

doi:10.1111/j.1468-0297.2010.02403.x

Cited by 248 publications

(201 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(20 reference statements)

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“…In 1950, Europe and its "offshoots" (defined as "European-populated countries in the Americas and the Pacific) accounted for 81 percent of the top income decile; by 1992, this figure had fallen to 66 percent, while Japan, Korea, and Taiwan climbed from 2 to 18 percent. (For an examination of pre-industrial inequality, see Milanovic et al [18] [20]. ).…”

Section: Measuring Equitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Tragedy of Maldistribution: Climate, Sustainability, and Equity

Stanton

2012

Sustainability

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This essay is an initial exploration of the dimensions of the equity/sustainability linkage from the perspective of public goods analysis. Sustainability requires an abundance of public goods. Where these commons lack governance, sustainability is at risk. Equity is a critical component of sustainability that can itself be viewed as a public good, subject to deterioration (maldistribution) when left ungoverned. As is the case for so many forms of environmental degradation, the private benefits of maldistribution tend to overshadow the larger social costs, and the result is a degradation of equity. This article sketches out the analogy of equity as a public good by: examining the evidence regarding current and historical income equality within and between countries; introducing the characteristics of public goods and grounding equity in this idiom; reviewing several theories explaining the sub-optimal provision of environmental goods; applying these theoretical frameworks to the case of equity, with an examination of the potential causes of, and solutions to, maldistribution; and, finally, addressing equity's critical role as a component of sustainability in the case of climate change, with implications for climate policy.

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Section: Measuring Equitymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Tragedy of Maldistribution: Climate, Sustainability, and Equity

Stanton

2012

Sustainability

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“…Major contributions by Williamson (2009) and Milanovic et al (2011) suggested that the degree of economic inequality at any point in time and space was not only positively correlated with its level of per capita income. It was also connected with the varying ability of elites to extract resources from the above-subsistence surplus produced by the community.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…It is also the one which is hardest to handle in terms of quantification and the exact specification of the variables considered. It has nevertheless been usefully invoked by several studies (Van Zanden 1995;Milanovic et al 2011;Alfani 2015) even if, for the time being, its implementation has tended to be of a residual and speculative nature.…”

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confidence: 99%

Deviant behaviour? Inequality in Portugal 1565–1770

Reis

2016

Cliometrica

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This study offers an estimate of Portuguese income inequality over a period of more than 200 years. It is presented in three widely spaced benchmarks: 1565, 1700 and 1770. This entirely new index is based in large measure on a littleresearched annual personal income tax (décima) instituted in 1641. It covered all social classes, including nobility and clergy and every form of household earnings, and permits therefore a singularly accurate measure. It allows us to conclude that, in contrast with early modern Europe in general, Portugal experienced a notable decline in economic inequality. Several freshly minted quantitative indicators enable us to conclude that the burden of the explanation for this apparently 'deviant' behaviour can be ascribed to changes in the functional distribution of income. Significant transformations in Portuguese agriculture-towards labour-intensive products like maize and wine-permanently shifted the wage-rental ratio in favour of labour. The skill premium fell but its contribution was relatively modest. It was a time of sustained economic growth, but this was not associated with pronounced urbanization or industrialization.

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“…11 See, e.g., Soltow and van Zanden (1998), Milanovic (2006), Borgerhoff Mulder et al (2008), Scheidel andFriesen (2009) andMilanovic, Lindert andWilliamson (2011). 12 Chapter 6 in the Handbook of Income Distribution, Volume 1, (Piketty, 2000) provides an overview of theories of persistent inequality.…”

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confidence: 99%

Long-Run Trends in the Distribution of Income and Wealth

Roine

Waldenström

2015

Handbook of Income Distribution

165

157

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Abstract This paper reviews the long run developments in the distribution of personal income and wealth. It also discusses suggested explanations for the observed patterns. We try to answer questions such as: What do we know, and how do we know, about the distribution of income and wealth over time? Are there common trends across countries or over the path of development? How do the facts relate to proposed theories about changes in inequality? We present the main inequality trends, in some cases starting as early as in the late eighteenth century, combining previous research with recent findings in the so-called top income literature and new evidence on wealth concentration. The picture that emerges shows that inequality was historically high almost everywhere at the beginning of the twentieth century. In some countries this situation was preceded by increasing concentration, but in most cases inequality seems to have been relatively constant at a high level in the nineteenth century. Over the twentieth century inequality decreased almost everywhere for the first 80 years, largely due to decreasing wealth concentration and decreasing capital incomes in the top of the distribution. Thereafter trends are more divergent across countries and also different across income and wealth distributions. Econometric evidence over the long run suggests that top shares increase in periods of above average growth while democracy and high marginal tax rates are associated with lower top shares. Terms of use: Documents in

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Pre‐Industrial Inequality

Cited by 248 publications

References 28 publications

The Tragedy of Maldistribution: Climate, Sustainability, and Equity

The Tragedy of Maldistribution: Climate, Sustainability, and Equity

Deviant behaviour? Inequality in Portugal 1565–1770

Long-Run Trends in the Distribution of Income and Wealth

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