Measuring Ancient Inequality

Is inequality largely the result of the Industrial Revolution? Or, were pre-industrial incomes and life expectancies as unequal as they are today? For want of sufficient data, these questions have not yet been answered. This paper infers inequalit...

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Main Authors: Milanovic, Branko, Lindert, Peter H., Williamson, Jeffrey G.
Format: Policy Research Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2012
Subjects:
GDP
WAR
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8789801/measuring-ancient-inequality
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7630
id okr-10986-7630
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-76302021-04-23T14:02:34Z Measuring Ancient Inequality Milanovic, Branko Lindert, Peter H. Williamson, Jeffrey G. ABSOLUTE POVERTY ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE ACCOUNTING ADVANCED COUNTRIES ANNUAL INCOME ANNUAL INCOMES ANNUAL WAGE AVERAGE ANNUAL AVERAGE INCOME AVERAGE INCOMES AVERAGE INEQUALITY BANKS BETWEEN-GROUP INEQUALITY CALCULATION CALCULATIONS CENTRAL AMERICA CONFLICT CONSTANT RETURNS CONSUMER CONSUMER PRICE INDEX DATA SET DEBT DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES DEVELOPING COUNTRIES DEVELOPING WORLD DIFFERENCES IN INCOME DISPOSABLE INCOME ECONOMIC DECLINE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC GROWTH ECONOMIC INEQUALITY ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE ECONOMIC RESEARCH ECONOMIC REVIEW ELASTICITY EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS EMPIRICAL SUPPORT EMPIRICAL WORK FARM WORKERS FARMERS FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOOD CROPS GDP GINI COEFFICIENT GROUP INEQUALITY HIGH INEQUALITY HIGHER INFANT MORTALITY HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION HOUSEHOLD HEAD HOUSEHOLD INCOME HOUSEHOLD SIZE HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS INCOME INCOME CONCEPTS INCOME DIFFERENCES INCOME DISTRIBUTION INCOME DISTRIBUTION DATA INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS INCOME GROUP INCOME GROUPS INCOME INEQUALITY INCOME LEVEL INCOME LEVELS INCOME MEAN INCOME SHARE INCOME SHARES INCOME SOURCE INCOME SOURCES INCOME TAX INCOMES INCREASED INEQUALITY INCREASING FUNCTION INEQUALITY INEQUALITY COMPONENT INEQUALITY MEASURES INEQUALITY OBSERVATIONS INEQUALITY RESULTS INFANT MORTALITY INTERNATIONAL PRICES LANDLESS PEASANTS LIFE EXPECTANCIES LIFE EXPECTANCY LIFE SPAN LIFE SPANS LIFETIME LIVING STANDARDS LOW INCOME MEAN INCOME MEAN INCOMES MEASURED INEQUALITY MEASURING INCOME INEQUALITY MIDDLE CLASS MONETARY ECONOMICS NATIONAL ECONOMY PER CAPITA GROWTH PER CAPITA INCOME PER CAPITA INCOMES POLICY RESEARCH POLITICAL ECONOMY POOR POOR AREAS POOR COUNTRIES POOR ECONOMIES POOR INDIVIDUALS POSITIVE IMPACT POVERTY MEASURES PUBLIC SECTOR RENTS RESOURCE ENDOWMENTS RISING INEQUALITY RURAL RURAL AREAS RURAL DISTRICTS RURAL ECONOMY RURAL INCOMES RURAL LABORERS RURAL POOR RURAL POPULATION RURAL POPULATIONS SAHARA SALARIES SECONDARY SOURCES SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES SOURCES OF INCOME TAXATION URBAN POPULATION WAGE WAGES WAR WELL-BEING WESTERN EUROPE Is inequality largely the result of the Industrial Revolution? Or, were pre-industrial incomes and life expectancies as unequal as they are today? For want of sufficient data, these questions have not yet been answered. This paper infers inequality for 14 ancient, pre-industrial societies using what are known as social tables, stretching from the Roman Empire 14 AD, to Byzantium in 1000, to England in 1688, to Nueva España around 1790, to China in 1880 and to British India in 1947. It applies two new concepts in making those assessments - what the authors call the inequality possibility frontier and the inequality extraction ratio. Rather than simply offering measures of actual inequality, the authors compare the latter with the maximum feasible inequality (or surplus) that could have been extracted by the elite. The results, especially when compared with modern poor countries, give new insights in to the connection between inequality and economic development in the very long run. 2012-06-11T14:29:43Z 2012-06-11T14:29:43Z 2007-11 http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8789801/measuring-ancient-inequality http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7630 English Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4412 CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/ World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper Publications & Research
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic ABSOLUTE POVERTY
ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE
ACCOUNTING
ADVANCED COUNTRIES
ANNUAL INCOME
ANNUAL INCOMES
ANNUAL WAGE
AVERAGE ANNUAL
AVERAGE INCOME
AVERAGE INCOMES
AVERAGE INEQUALITY
BANKS
BETWEEN-GROUP INEQUALITY
CALCULATION
CALCULATIONS
CENTRAL AMERICA
CONFLICT
CONSTANT RETURNS
CONSUMER
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
DATA SET
DEBT
DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING WORLD
DIFFERENCES IN INCOME
DISPOSABLE INCOME
ECONOMIC DECLINE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
ECONOMIC RESEARCH
ECONOMIC REVIEW
ELASTICITY
EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
EMPIRICAL SUPPORT
EMPIRICAL WORK
FARM WORKERS
FARMERS
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
FOOD CROPS
GDP
GINI COEFFICIENT
GROUP INEQUALITY
HIGH INEQUALITY
HIGHER INFANT MORTALITY
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
HOUSEHOLD HEAD
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
INCOME
INCOME CONCEPTS
INCOME DIFFERENCES
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME DISTRIBUTION DATA
INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS
INCOME GROUP
INCOME GROUPS
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME LEVEL
INCOME LEVELS
INCOME MEAN
INCOME SHARE
INCOME SHARES
INCOME SOURCE
INCOME SOURCES
INCOME TAX
INCOMES
INCREASED INEQUALITY
INCREASING FUNCTION
INEQUALITY
INEQUALITY COMPONENT
INEQUALITY MEASURES
INEQUALITY OBSERVATIONS
INEQUALITY RESULTS
INFANT MORTALITY
INTERNATIONAL PRICES
LANDLESS PEASANTS
LIFE EXPECTANCIES
LIFE EXPECTANCY
LIFE SPAN
LIFE SPANS
LIFETIME
LIVING STANDARDS
LOW INCOME
MEAN INCOME
MEAN INCOMES
MEASURED INEQUALITY
MEASURING INCOME INEQUALITY
MIDDLE CLASS
MONETARY ECONOMICS
NATIONAL ECONOMY
PER CAPITA GROWTH
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOMES
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL ECONOMY
POOR
POOR AREAS
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR ECONOMIES
POOR INDIVIDUALS
POSITIVE IMPACT
POVERTY MEASURES
PUBLIC SECTOR
RENTS
RESOURCE ENDOWMENTS
RISING INEQUALITY
RURAL
RURAL AREAS
RURAL DISTRICTS
RURAL ECONOMY
RURAL INCOMES
RURAL LABORERS
RURAL POOR
RURAL POPULATION
RURAL POPULATIONS
SAHARA
SALARIES
SECONDARY SOURCES
SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION
SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES
SOURCES OF INCOME
TAXATION
URBAN POPULATION
WAGE
WAGES
WAR
WELL-BEING
WESTERN EUROPE
spellingShingle ABSOLUTE POVERTY
ABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE
ACCOUNTING
ADVANCED COUNTRIES
ANNUAL INCOME
ANNUAL INCOMES
ANNUAL WAGE
AVERAGE ANNUAL
AVERAGE INCOME
AVERAGE INCOMES
AVERAGE INEQUALITY
BANKS
BETWEEN-GROUP INEQUALITY
CALCULATION
CALCULATIONS
CENTRAL AMERICA
CONFLICT
CONSTANT RETURNS
CONSUMER
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX
DATA SET
DEBT
DEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
DEVELOPING WORLD
DIFFERENCES IN INCOME
DISPOSABLE INCOME
ECONOMIC DECLINE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH
ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
ECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
ECONOMIC RESEARCH
ECONOMIC REVIEW
ELASTICITY
EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
EMPIRICAL SUPPORT
EMPIRICAL WORK
FARM WORKERS
FARMERS
FINANCIAL SUPPORT
FOOD CROPS
GDP
GINI COEFFICIENT
GROUP INEQUALITY
HIGH INEQUALITY
HIGHER INFANT MORTALITY
HOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
HOUSEHOLD HEAD
HOUSEHOLD INCOME
HOUSEHOLD SIZE
HOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
INCOME
INCOME CONCEPTS
INCOME DIFFERENCES
INCOME DISTRIBUTION
INCOME DISTRIBUTION DATA
INCOME DISTRIBUTIONS
INCOME GROUP
INCOME GROUPS
INCOME INEQUALITY
INCOME LEVEL
INCOME LEVELS
INCOME MEAN
INCOME SHARE
INCOME SHARES
INCOME SOURCE
INCOME SOURCES
INCOME TAX
INCOMES
INCREASED INEQUALITY
INCREASING FUNCTION
INEQUALITY
INEQUALITY COMPONENT
INEQUALITY MEASURES
INEQUALITY OBSERVATIONS
INEQUALITY RESULTS
INFANT MORTALITY
INTERNATIONAL PRICES
LANDLESS PEASANTS
LIFE EXPECTANCIES
LIFE EXPECTANCY
LIFE SPAN
LIFE SPANS
LIFETIME
LIVING STANDARDS
LOW INCOME
MEAN INCOME
MEAN INCOMES
MEASURED INEQUALITY
MEASURING INCOME INEQUALITY
MIDDLE CLASS
MONETARY ECONOMICS
NATIONAL ECONOMY
PER CAPITA GROWTH
PER CAPITA INCOME
PER CAPITA INCOMES
POLICY RESEARCH
POLITICAL ECONOMY
POOR
POOR AREAS
POOR COUNTRIES
POOR ECONOMIES
POOR INDIVIDUALS
POSITIVE IMPACT
POVERTY MEASURES
PUBLIC SECTOR
RENTS
RESOURCE ENDOWMENTS
RISING INEQUALITY
RURAL
RURAL AREAS
RURAL DISTRICTS
RURAL ECONOMY
RURAL INCOMES
RURAL LABORERS
RURAL POOR
RURAL POPULATION
RURAL POPULATIONS
SAHARA
SALARIES
SECONDARY SOURCES
SIGNIFICANT CORRELATION
SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES
SOURCES OF INCOME
TAXATION
URBAN POPULATION
WAGE
WAGES
WAR
WELL-BEING
WESTERN EUROPE
Milanovic, Branko
Lindert, Peter H.
Williamson, Jeffrey G.
Measuring Ancient Inequality
relation Policy Research Working Paper; No. 4412
description Is inequality largely the result of the Industrial Revolution? Or, were pre-industrial incomes and life expectancies as unequal as they are today? For want of sufficient data, these questions have not yet been answered. This paper infers inequality for 14 ancient, pre-industrial societies using what are known as social tables, stretching from the Roman Empire 14 AD, to Byzantium in 1000, to England in 1688, to Nueva España around 1790, to China in 1880 and to British India in 1947. It applies two new concepts in making those assessments - what the authors call the inequality possibility frontier and the inequality extraction ratio. Rather than simply offering measures of actual inequality, the authors compare the latter with the maximum feasible inequality (or surplus) that could have been extracted by the elite. The results, especially when compared with modern poor countries, give new insights in to the connection between inequality and economic development in the very long run.
format Publications & Research :: Policy Research Working Paper
author Milanovic, Branko
Lindert, Peter H.
Williamson, Jeffrey G.
author_facet Milanovic, Branko
Lindert, Peter H.
Williamson, Jeffrey G.
author_sort Milanovic, Branko
title Measuring Ancient Inequality
title_short Measuring Ancient Inequality
title_full Measuring Ancient Inequality
title_fullStr Measuring Ancient Inequality
title_full_unstemmed Measuring Ancient Inequality
title_sort measuring ancient inequality
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2012
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8789801/measuring-ancient-inequality
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/7630
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