Do Inheritance Customs Affect Political and Social Inequality?

Abstract

Why are some societies more unequal than others? The French revolutionaries believed unequal inheritances among siblings to be responsible for the strict hierarchies of the ancien régime. To achieve equality, the revolutionaries therefore enforced equal inheritance rights. Their goal was to empower women and to disenfranchise the noble class. But do equal inheritances succeed in leveling the societal playing field? We study Germany-a country with pronounced local-level variation in inheritance customs-and find that municipalities that historically equally apportioned wealth, to this day, elect more women into political councils and have fewer aristocrats in the social elite. Using historic data, we point to two mechanisms: wealth equality and pro-egalitarian preferences. In a final step, we also show that, counterintuitively, equitable inheritance customs positively predict income inequality. We interpret this finding to mean that equitable inheritances level the playing field by rewarding talent, not status.

Long-Term Effects of Equal Sharing: Evidence from Inheritance Rules for Land

“…Analyzing micro-data from 19 th century Hesse-Cassel, Wegge (1998) finds some support for this hypothesis. In addition, our study is most directly related to work by Rink & Hilbig (2019) who find a long-term association between equal division in Germany and more political equality today, e.g., more women in political councils and fewer aristocrats in the social elite. Finally, our study speaks to the historical origins of entrepreneurial activity (Glaeser & Kerr 2009, Fritsch & Wyrwich 2014.…”

How Much Should We Trust Instrumental Variable Estimates in Political Science? Practical Advice Based on 67 Replicated Studies

“…First, Many studies in the theory category justify the choices of their instruments based on geography, climate, or weather conditions. For example, Zhu (2017) uses weighted geographic closeness as an instrument for the activities of multinational corporations; Hager and Hilbig (2019) use mean elevation and distance to rivers to instrument equitable inheritance customs; Henderson and Brooks (2016) use rainfall around Election Day as an instrument for Democratic vote margins. Relatedly, several studies base their choices on regional diffusion of treatment.…”

Local Gender Norms: Persistence or Change? Reply to “A Gendered Resource Curse? Mineral Ownership, Female Unemployment and Domestic Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa” by Mario Krauser, Tim Wegenast, Gerald Schneider, and Ingeborg Elgersmar

“…The persistent effects of gender norms have been documented for different types of norms across contexts. Focusing on local inheritance norms in Germany around 1800, Hager and Hilbig (2019) report an ongoing positive effect of equal inheritance, in which inheritance is divided among siblings rather than given to the firstborn son, on the local election of females. Robinson and Gottlieb (2019) show a similar effect of local gender norms on political participation on the African continent.…”