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The Lion's Share

Author

Listed:
  • Alfani,Guido
  • Di Tullio,Matteo

Abstract

This is the most in-depth analysis of inequality and social polarization ever attempted for a preindustrial society. Using data from the archives of the Venetian Terraferma, and compared with information available for elsewhere in Europe, Guido Alfani and Matteo Di Tullio demonstrate that the rise of the fiscal-military state served to increase economic inequality in the early modern period. Preindustrial fiscal systems tended to be regressive in nature, and increased post-tax inequality compared to pre-tax - in contrast to what we would assume is the case in contemporary societies. This led to greater and greater disparities in wealth, which were made worse still as taxes were collected almost entirely to fund war and defence rather than social welfare. Though focused on Old Regime Europe, Alfani and Di Tullio's findings speak to contemporary debates about the roots of inequality and social stratification.

Suggested Citation

  • Alfani,Guido & Di Tullio,Matteo, 2019. "The Lion's Share," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781108476218, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:cbooks:9781108476218
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fabian Siuda & Uwe Sunde, 2021. "Disease and demographic development: the legacy of the plague," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 26(1), pages 1-30, March.
    2. Goodhart, C. A. E. & Masciandaro, Donato & Ugolini, Stefano, 2021. "Pandemic recession, helicopter money and central banking: Venice, 1630," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108555, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Guido Alfani, 2022. "Epidemics, Inequality, and Poverty in Preindustrial and Early Industrial Times," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 60(1), pages 3-40, March.
    4. Irarrázaval, Andrés, 2020. "The fiscal origins of comparative inequality levels: an empirical and historical investigation," Economic History Working Papers 107491, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    5. Giovanni Federico, 2021. "Introduction to the symposium on inequality," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(3), pages 581-583, August.
    6. Kumon, Yuzuru, 2021. "The Deep Roots of Inequality," IAST Working Papers 21-125, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST).
    7. Schaff, Felix, 2020. "When ‘the state made war’, what happened to economic inequality? Evidence from preindustrial Germany (c.1400-1800)," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107046, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Irarrázaval, Andrés, 2020. "The fiscal origins of comparative inequality levels: an empirical and historical investigation," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 107491, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Alfani, Guido, 2020. "Pandemics and asymmetric shocks: evidence from the history of plague in Europe and the Mediterranean," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 478, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    10. Vincent Geloso & Peter Lindert, 2020. "Relative costs of living, for richer and poorer, 1688–1914," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(3), pages 417-442, September.
    11. Schaff, Felix, 2020. "When ‘the state made war’, what happened to economic inequality? Evidence from preindustrial Germany (c.1400-1800)," Economic History Working Papers 107046, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    12. Erik Bengtsson & Mats Olsson & Patrick Svensson, 2022. "Mercantilist inequality: wealth and poverty in Stockholm, 1650–1750†," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(1), pages 157-180, February.
    13. Kumon, Yuzuru, 2021. "Wealth Inequality in Pre-industrial Rural England," IAST Working Papers 21-124, Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse (IAST).

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