Affiliation:
1. Bocconi University, Department of Social and Political Sciences Milan Italy
2. Carlo F Dondena Centre for Research on Social Dynamics and Public Policy Milan Italy
3. IGIER – Innocenzo Gasparini Institute for Economic Research Milan Italy
4. Stone Center on Socio‐Economic Inequality New York USA
Abstract
AbstractThis article provides an overview of long‐term trends in income and wealth inequality, from ca. 1300 until today. It discusses recent acquisitions in terms of inequality measurement, building upon earlier research and systematically connecting preindustrial, industrial, and post‐industrial tendencies. It shows that in the last seven centuries or so, inequality of both income and wealth has tended to grow continuously, with two exceptions: the century or so following the Black Death pandemic of 1347–52, and the period from the beginning of World War I until the mid‐1970s. It discusses recent encompassing hypotheses about the factors leading to long‐run inequality change, highlighting their relative merits and faults, and arguing for the need to pay close attention to the historical context.
Funder
FP7 Ideas: European Research Council
H2020 European Research Council