Deviant behaviour? Inequality in Portugal 1565–1770

This article provides an overview of economic inequality, particularly of wealth, in the Florentine state (Tuscany) from the early fourteenth to the late eighteenth century. Regional studies of this kind are rare, and this is only the second‐ever attempt at covering such a long period. Consistent with recent research conducted on other European areas, during the early modern period we find clear indications of a tendency for economic inequality to grow continually, a finding that for Tuscany cannot be explained as the consequence of economic growth. Furthermore, the exceptionally old sources we use allow us to demonstrate that a phase of declining inequality, lasting about one century, was triggered by the Black Death from 1348 to 1349. This finding challenges earlier scholarship and significantly alters our understanding of the economic consequences of the Black Death.

Section: VImentioning

confidence: 99%

Long‐term trends in economic inequality: the case of the Florentine state, c. 1300–1800

Alfani¹,

Ammannati

2017

“…Alfani, ‘Wealth inequalities’; Reis, ‘Deviant behavior?’; Fernandez and Santiago‐Caballero, ‘Economic inequality in Madrid’; Cankabal and Filiztekin, ‘Wealth and inequality’.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Wealth inequality in Sweden, 1750–1900†

Bengtsson

Missiaia

Olsson

et al. 2017

This article examines the evolution of wealth inequality in Sweden from 1750 to 1900, contributing both to the debate on early modern and modern inequality and to the general debate on the pattern of inequality during industrialization. The pre‐industrial period (1750–1850) is for the first time examined for Sweden at the national level. The study uses a random sample of probate inventories from urban and rural areas across the country, adjusted for age and social class. Estimates are provided for the years 1750, 1800, 1850, and 1900. The results show a gradual growth in inequality as early as the mid‐eighteenth century, with the sharpest rise in the late nineteenth century. Whereas the early growth in inequality was connected to changes in the countryside and in agriculture, the later growth was related to industrialization encompassing both compositional effects and strong wealth accumulation among the richest. The level of inequality in Sweden in 1750 was lower than for other western European countries, but by 1900 Sweden was just as unequal.

“…McCants, ‘Inequality among the poor’; Reis, ‘Deviant behaviour?’; Nicolini and Ramos‐Palencia, ‘Decomposing income inequality’; Coşgel and Ergene, ‘Inequality of wealth’; Canbakal, ‘Wealth and inequality’.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Reis, ‘Deviant behaviour?’, there is evidence of growth without structural change in Portugal between the mid‐sixteenth and mid‐eighteenth century.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards an explanation of inequality in premodern societies: the role of colonies, urbanization, and high population density

Milanović

2017

Using a newly expanded set of 41 social tables from premodern societies, this article tries to identify the factors associated with the level of inequality and the inequality extraction ratio (how close to the maximum inequality the elites have pushed actual inequality). Strong evidence is found to show that elites in colonies were more extractive, and that more densely populated and less urbanized countries exhibited lower extraction ratios. Several possibilities are proposed, linking high population density to low inequality and to low elite extraction.