REAL INEQUALITY IN EUROPE SINCE 1500

Introducing a concept of real, as opposed to nominal, inequality of income or wealth suggests some historical reinterpretations, buttressed by a closer look at consumption by the rich. The purchasing powers of different income classes depend on how relative prices move. Relative prices affected real...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of Economic History 2002-06, Vol.62 (2), p.322-355
Main Authors: Hoffman, Philip T., Jacks, David S., Levin, Patricia A., Lindert, Peter H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
Consumption
Cost of living
Cost of living indices
Economic history
Economic inequality
Economic rent
Europe
Globalization
Housing
Income inequality
Income shares
Industrialization
Long-term analysis
Nominal income
Poverty
Prices
Purchasing power
Real income
Relative prices
Wealth
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Summary:Introducing a concept of real, as opposed to nominal, inequality of income or wealth suggests some historical reinterpretations, buttressed by a closer look at consumption by the rich. The purchasing powers of different income classes depend on how relative prices move. Relative prices affected real inequality more strongly in earlier centuries than in the twentieth. Between 1500 and about 1800, staple food and fuels became dearer, while luxury goods, especially servants, became cheaper, greatly widening the inequality of lifestyles. Peace, industrialization, and globalization reversed this inegalitarian price effect in the nineteenth century, at least for England.
ISSN:0022-0507
1471-6372
DOI:10.1017/S0022050702000529