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Income Concentration in British India, 1885-1946

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  • Facundo Alvaredo
  • Augustin Bergeron
  • Guilhem Cassan

Abstract

We use a novel income tax data set to present evidence on the evolution of income concentration in the last 60 years of colonial rule in India. These data allow us to study the evolution of income concentration at the country level as well as the location of top income earners across provinces. We identify three key facts: (1) the evolution of income concentration in British India was non linear, following a U-shape, (2) the majority of top income earners were non-Europeans, and (3) the geographical location of top income earners changed over time with the province of Bombay gaining in importance in the early XXth century. We provide an interpretation of these results in the light of the economic and political changes in British India over the period.

Suggested Citation

  • Facundo Alvaredo & Augustin Bergeron & Guilhem Cassan, 2017. "Income Concentration in British India, 1885-1946," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 1701, CEPREMAP.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpm:docweb:1701
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    Cited by:

    1. Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty, 2019. "Indian Income Inequality, 1922‐2015: From British Raj to Billionaire Raj?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(S1), pages 33-62, November.
    2. Atkinson, Tony & Alvaredo, Facundo, 2016. "Top Incomes in South Africa Over a Century," INET Oxford Working Papers 2016-06, Institute for New Economic Thinking at the Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford.
    3. Rishabh Kumar, 2019. "The evolution of wealth-income ratios in India, 1860-2012," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02876998, HAL.
    4. Alvaredo, Facundo & Cogneau, Denis & Piketty, Thomas, 2021. "Income inequality under colonial rule. Evidence from French Algeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Vietnam and comparisons with British colonies 1920–1960," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    5. Facundo Alvaredo & A. B. Atkinson, 2022. "Top incomes in South Africa in the twentieth century," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 16(3), pages 477-546, September.
    6. Yajna Govind, 2020. "Post-colonial Trends of Income Inequality: Evidence from the Overseas Departments of France," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-03022303, HAL.
    7. Roy, Tirthankar, 2018. "Inequality in colonial India," Economic History Working Papers 90409, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    8. Li, Chengyou & Yu, Yangcheng & Li, Qinghai, 2021. "Top-income data and income inequality correction in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 210-219.
    9. Alvaredo, Facundo & Cogneau, Denis & Piketty, Thomas, 2020. "Income inequality under Colonial Rule: Evidence from French Algeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Vietnam and comparisons with the Br," CEPR Discussion Papers 14969, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    10. Piketty, Thomas & Chancel, Lucas, 2017. "Indian income inequality, 1922-2014: From British Raj to Billionaire Raj ?," CEPR Discussion Papers 12409, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    11. Rishabh Kumar, 2020. "Top Indian wealth shares and inheritances 1966–1985," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(3), pages 551-580, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; India; Colonization; Top Incomes;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • O10 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - General
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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