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The Fetters of Inheritance? Equal Partition and Regional Economic Development

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  • Huning, Thilo R.
  • Wahl, Fabian

Abstract

How can agricultural inheritance traditions affect structural change and economic development in rural areas? The most prominent historical traditions are primogeniture, where the oldest son inherits the whole farm, and equal partition, where land is split and each heir inherits an equal share. In this paper, we provide a theoretical model that links these inheritance traditions to the local allocation of labor and capital and to municipal development. First, we show that among contemporary municipalities inWest Germany, equal partition is significantly related to measures of economic development. Second, we conduct OLS and fuzzy spatial RDD estimates for Baden-Württemberg in the 1950s and today. We find that inheritance rules caused, in line with our theoretical predictions, higher incomes, population densities, and industrialization levels in areas with equal partition. Results suggest that more than a third of the overall inter-regional difference in average per capita income in present-day Baden Württemberg, or 597 Euro, can be explained by equal partition.

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  • Huning, Thilo R. & Wahl, Fabian, 2020. "The Fetters of Inheritance? Equal Partition and Regional Economic Development," VfS Annual Conference 2020 (Virtual Conference): Gender Economics 224512, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:vfsc20:224512
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    Cited by:

    1. Bartels, Charlotte & Jäger, Simon & Obergruber, Natalie, 2020. "Long-Term Effects of Equal Sharing: Evidence from Inheritance Rules for Land," IZA Discussion Papers 13665, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Huning, Thilo R. & Wahl, Fabian, 2021. "The origins of agricultural inheritance traditions," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 660-674.
    3. Kravtsova, Maria & Libman, Alexander, 2023. "Historical family structure as a predictor of liberal voting: Evidence from a century of Russian history," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 47(2).
    4. Boberg-Fazlić, Nina & Lampe, Markus & Sharp, Paul, 2024. "The sleeping giant who left for America: Danish land inequality and emigration during the age of mass migration," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. David E. Bloom & Victoria Y. Fan & Vadim Kufenko & Osondu Ogbuoji & Klaus Prettner & Gavin Yamey, 2021. "Going beyond GDP with a parsimonious indicator: inequality-adjusted healthy lifetime income," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 19(1), pages 127-140.
    6. Süß, Karolin, 2023. "Long-term effects of historical inheritance customs on household formation and gender disparities," Ruhr Economic Papers 1038, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    7. Boberg-Fazlić, Nina & Lampe, Markus & Martinelli Lasheras, Pablo & Sharp, Paul, 2022. "Winners and losers from agrarian reform: Evidence from Danish land inequality 1682–1895," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    8. Huning, Thilo R. & Wahl, Fabian, 2023. "You reap what you know: Appropriability and the origin of European states," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    9. Michael Fritsch & Martin Obschonka & Fabian Wahl & Michael Wyrwich, 2021. "Cultural Imprinting: Ancient Origins of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Germany," Jena Economics Research Papers 2021-012, Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
    10. Fritsch, Michael & Obschonka, Martin & Wahl, Fabian & Wyrwich, Michael, 2020. "The deep imprint of Roman sandals: Evidence of long-lasting effects of Roman rule on personality, economic performance, and well-being in Germany," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 05-2020, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inheritance rules; sectoral change; regional economic development; Baden-Württemberg; spatial inequalities;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D02 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Institutions: Design, Formation, Operations, and Impact
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General

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