Publication:
Measuring Ancient Inequality

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorLindert, Peter H.
dc.contributor.authorMilanovic, Branko
dc.contributor.authorWilliamson, Jeffrey G.
dc.date.accessioned2012-06-11T14:29:43Z
dc.date.available2012-06-11T14:29:43Z
dc.date.issued2007-11
dc.description.abstractIs 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.en
dc.identifierhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8789801/measuring-ancient-inequality
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10986/7630
dc.languageEnglish
dc.publisherWorld Bank, Washington, DC
dc.relation.ispartofseriesPolicy Research Working Paper; No. 4412
dc.rightsCC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holderWorld Bank
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/
dc.subjectABSOLUTE POVERTY
dc.subjectABSOLUTE POVERTY LINE
dc.subjectACCOUNTING
dc.subjectADVANCED COUNTRIES
dc.subjectANNUAL INCOME
dc.subjectANNUAL INCOMES
dc.subjectANNUAL WAGE
dc.subjectAVERAGE ANNUAL
dc.subjectAVERAGE INCOME
dc.subjectAVERAGE INCOMES
dc.subjectAVERAGE INEQUALITY
dc.subjectBANKS
dc.subjectBETWEEN-GROUP INEQUALITY
dc.subjectCALCULATION
dc.subjectCALCULATIONS
dc.subjectCENTRAL AMERICA
dc.subjectCONFLICT
dc.subjectCONSTANT RETURNS
dc.subjectCONSUMER
dc.subjectCONSUMER PRICE INDEX
dc.subjectDATA SET
dc.subjectDEBT
dc.subjectDEMOGRAPHIC SHIFTS
dc.subjectDEVELOPED COUNTRIES
dc.subjectDEVELOPING COUNTRIES
dc.subjectDEVELOPING WORLD
dc.subjectDIFFERENCES IN INCOME
dc.subjectDISPOSABLE INCOME
dc.subjectECONOMIC DECLINE
dc.subjectECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
dc.subjectECONOMIC GROWTH
dc.subjectECONOMIC INEQUALITY
dc.subjectECONOMIC PERFORMANCE
dc.subjectECONOMIC RESEARCH
dc.subjectECONOMIC REVIEW
dc.subjectELASTICITY
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL SUPPORT
dc.subjectEMPIRICAL WORK
dc.subjectFARM WORKERS
dc.subjectFARMERS
dc.subjectFINANCIAL SUPPORT
dc.subjectFOOD CROPS
dc.subjectGDP
dc.subjectGINI COEFFICIENT
dc.subjectGROUP INEQUALITY
dc.subjectHIGH INEQUALITY
dc.subjectHIGHER INFANT MORTALITY
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD COMPOSITION
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD HEAD
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD INCOME
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD SIZE
dc.subjectHOUSEHOLD SURVEYS
dc.subjectINCOME
dc.subjectINCOME CONCEPTS
dc.subjectINCOME DIFFERENCES
dc.subjectINCOME DISTRIBUTION
dc.subjectINCOME DISTRIBUTION DATA
dc.subjectINCOME DISTRIBUTIONS
dc.subjectINCOME GROUP
dc.subjectINCOME GROUPS
dc.subjectINCOME INEQUALITY
dc.subjectINCOME LEVEL
dc.subjectINCOME LEVELS
dc.subjectINCOME MEAN
dc.subjectINCOME SHARE
dc.subjectINCOME SHARES
dc.subjectINCOME SOURCE
dc.subjectINCOME SOURCES
dc.subjectINCOME TAX
dc.subjectINCOMES
dc.subjectINCREASED INEQUALITY
dc.subjectINCREASING FUNCTION
dc.subjectINEQUALITY
dc.subjectINEQUALITY COMPONENT
dc.subjectINEQUALITY MEASURES
dc.subjectINEQUALITY OBSERVATIONS
dc.subjectINEQUALITY RESULTS
dc.subjectINFANT MORTALITY
dc.subjectINTERNATIONAL PRICES
dc.subjectLANDLESS PEASANTS
dc.subjectLIFE EXPECTANCIES
dc.subjectLIFE EXPECTANCY
dc.subjectLIFE SPAN
dc.subjectLIFE SPANS
dc.subjectLIFETIME
dc.subjectLIVING STANDARDS
dc.subjectLOW INCOME
dc.subjectMEAN INCOME
dc.subjectMEAN INCOMES
dc.subjectMEASURED INEQUALITY
dc.subjectMEASURING INCOME INEQUALITY
dc.subjectMIDDLE CLASS
dc.subjectMONETARY ECONOMICS
dc.subjectNATIONAL ECONOMY
dc.subjectPER CAPITA GROWTH
dc.subjectPER CAPITA INCOME
dc.subjectPER CAPITA INCOMES
dc.subjectPOLICY RESEARCH
dc.subjectPOLITICAL ECONOMY
dc.subjectPOOR
dc.subjectPOOR AREAS
dc.subjectPOOR COUNTRIES
dc.subjectPOOR ECONOMIES
dc.subjectPOOR INDIVIDUALS
dc.subjectPOSITIVE IMPACT
dc.subjectPOVERTY MEASURES
dc.subjectPUBLIC SECTOR
dc.subjectRENTS
dc.subjectRESOURCE ENDOWMENTS
dc.subjectRISING INEQUALITY
dc.subjectRURAL
dc.subjectRURAL AREAS
dc.subjectRURAL DISTRICTS
dc.subjectRURAL ECONOMY
dc.subjectRURAL INCOMES
dc.subjectRURAL LABORERS
dc.subjectRURAL POOR
dc.subjectRURAL POPULATION
dc.subjectRURAL POPULATIONS
dc.subjectSAHARA
dc.subjectSALARIES
dc.subjectSECONDARY SOURCES
dc.subjectSIGNIFICANT CORRELATION
dc.subjectSOCIAL CONSEQUENCES
dc.subjectSOURCES OF INCOME
dc.subjectTAXATION
dc.subjectURBAN POPULATION
dc.subjectWAGE
dc.subjectWAGES
dc.subjectWAR
dc.subjectWELL-BEING
dc.subjectWESTERN EUROPE
dc.titleMeasuring Ancient Inequalityen
dspace.entity.typePublication
okr.doctypePublications & Research::Policy Research Working Paper
okr.doctypePublications & Research
okr.docurlhttp://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2007/11/8789801/measuring-ancient-inequality
okr.globalpracticePoverty
okr.guid803681468135958164
okr.identifier.doi10.1596/1813-9450-4412
okr.identifier.externaldocumentum000158349_20071128113445
okr.identifier.internaldocumentum8789801
okr.identifier.reportWPS4412
okr.language.supporteden
okr.pdfurlhttp://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2007/11/28/000158349_20071128113445/Rendered/PDF/wps4412.pdfen
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Poverty Impact Evaluation
okr.topicServices and Transfers to Poor
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Rural Poverty Reduction
okr.topicPoverty Reduction::Inequality
okr.unitDevelopment Research Group (DECRG)
okr.volume1 of 1
relation.isAuthorOfPublicationef885098-1480-5065-99a0-202312d457c2
relation.isAuthorOfPublication.latestForDiscoveryef885098-1480-5065-99a0-202312d457c2
relation.isSeriesOfPublication26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
relation.isSeriesOfPublication.latestForDiscovery26e071dc-b0bf-409c-b982-df2970295c87
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
wps4412.pdf
Size:
599.96 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
wps4412.txt
Size:
190.15 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Policy Research Working Papers