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Wealth Inequality and Its Historical Context

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The Evolution and Determinants of Wealth Inequality in the North Atlantic Anglo-Sphere, 1668–2013

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Abstract

Wealth inequality is the disparity in asset ownership. Wealth provides more economic security than income and is a better indicator of economic and political power. The long-term impact of industrialization and growth in the Kuznets Curve Hypothesis postulates an optimistic inverted u-shaped inequality-growth relationship, as opposed to Piketty’s pessimism. Evidence supports and contradicts the Kuznets curve and finds additional economic, technological, demographic, social, and institutional factors affecting the long-term distribution of both wealth and income. On balance, the studies conducted suggest that economic inequality was relatively lower in pre-industrial periods, grew during industrialization, and then appears to have been mitigated in the wake of industrialization with the advent of social security, public policy, and social investments that may have broadened wealth accumulation opportunities.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Fisher et al. (2016a, b). They note that inequality has increased since 1989 in all three of these dimensions. At the same time, research has also found that the increase in consumption inequality has not been as dramatic as income inequality. Krueger and Perri (2006) find that the recent increase in US income inequality has not been accompanied by a corresponding rise in consumption inequality.

  2. 2.

    Shammas (1993: 415). Indeed , Shammas (1993: 427) argues that the tenacious hold of the top 1 percent on a quarter to one third of total American wealth has been a force in political continuity. Reeves (2017) would broaden the tenacious political class to the top 20 percent in terms of income distribution—the so-called upper middle class.

  3. 3.

    Kuz nets (1955, 1966).

  4. 4.

    Lindert and Williamson (2016). See also Abad and Junquera (2017), Alfani  and Ryckbosch (2016), Reis (2016), and Malinowski and van Zanden (2016).

  5. 5.

    See Higgins and Williamson (2002) for a discussion.

  6. 6.

    Davies and Shorrocks (1999: 3). Evidence for the late twentieth century suggests Gini coefficients for income in developed countries range from 0.3 to 0.4, while for wealth the range is 0.5–0.9. See also Davies et al. (2011: 224) who ‘find that intra-country inequality is so much larger in the case of wealth that it accounts for a larger share of global inequality than it does for income, according to the Gini coefficient. Thus it appears that a principal reason for the high global inequality of wealth may be the long-recognized high inequality of wealth within countries.’

  7. 7.

    For example, India, Indonesia, China, South Africa, and Columbia.

  8. 8.

    See Lindert (1991), Lindert and Williamson (1985), and Williamson and Lindert (1980).

  9. 9.

    Soltow (1989: 5).

  10. 10.

    The case that wealth inequality increases during industrialization is not supported unambiguously is also noted by Ohlsson et al. (2008), who find that wealth inequality in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway did not rise during their early industrialization.

  11. 11.

    For Canada: Siddiq , ‘Size Distribution’ (1988), Osberg/Siddiq , ‘Inequality’ (1993), Osberg/Siddiq , ‘Wealth’ (1993), Darroch , ‘Industrialization’ (1983), Siddiq/Gwyn, ‘Importance’ (1991), Di Matteo/George, ‘Canadian Wealth’ (1992), Di Matteo/George, ‘Patterns’ (1998), Gwyn/Siddiq , ‘Wealth Distribution’ (1992), Darroch/Soltow , Property (1994), Bouchard, ‘Economic Inequalities’ (1998), Baskerville, ‘Women’ (1999), For the United States: G allman (1969), Main, ‘Probate’ (1975), Jones, Wealth (1980), Burchell, ‘Opportunity’ (1987), Bolton, ‘Inequality’ (1982), Soltow , Men (1975), Soltow , ‘Inequality’ (1979), Atack/Bateman, ‘Egalitarianism’ (1981), Newell, ‘Inheritance’ (1986), Newell, ‘Wealth’ (1980), Herscovici, ‘Distribution’ (1993), Pope, ‘Households’ (1989), Gregson, ‘Wealth’ (1996), Ferrie, ‘Wealth’ (1994), Steckel, ‘Poverty’ (1990), Steckel/Moehling, ‘Rising Inequality’ (2001), Stewart, ‘Migration’ (2006), Clay/Jones, ‘Riches’ (2008), Walker, ‘Opportunity’ (2000), Canaday, ‘Property’ (2008), Stewart, ‘Economic Opportunity’ (2006).

  12. 12.

    Shanahan, ‘Distribution’ (1995) and Galt, ‘Wealth’ (1985) and McAloon, Idle Rich (2002). See also Rubinstein, ‘Distribution’ (1979). For a reference on the use of probate records in English economic history, see Owens et al. ‘Measure’ (2006). There are also nineteenth century studies of wealth inequality in South America. See Coatsworth (2008) and Johnson and Frank (2006).

  13. 13.

    For some recent examples, see Roine and Waldenström (2015), Nicolini and Palencia (2015, 2016), and Alfani (2015). See also Atkinson (2000) and Lindert (1986, 1991, 2000).

  14. 14.

    For Canada , Wolfson (1979) finds that adjustments to definitions of household or family size can have significant effects on measures of wealth distribution that vary by age in particularly understating the economic position of the elderly.

  15. 15.

    Shammas (1993: 421). A similar result has also been noted for Canada in Di Matteo (2016).

  16. 16.

    Australia , United Kingdom, France, United States, Switzerland , Finland, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden.

  17. 17.

    Roine and Waldenström 2015: Figure 1).

  18. 18.

    See Morissette and Zhang (2006). For 1984, Morissette and Zhang report that in Canada by 1984, the top 10 percent owned 51.8 percent of wealth, while the next 40 percent owned 42.8 percent of wealth and the bottom 50 percent 5.4 percent. By 2005, they report that the share of the top 10 percent had grown to 58.2 percent while the next 40 had declined to 38.6 percent and that of the bottom 50 percent had dropped to 3.2 percent.

  19. 19.

    See Davies (1979), Wolfson (1979), and Oja (1983).

  20. 20.

    See Higgins and Williamson (2002) for a broader discussion.

  21. 21.

    While the share of the top 1 percent of income earners has grown, it remains substantially below the wealth share of the top 1 percent of wealth holders. For example, Statistics Canada reports that in 2013, Canada’s top 1 percent of income earners earned 10.3 percent of income. See http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/151103/dq151103a-eng.htm. The wealth share of the top 1 percent in 2005 was nearly 20 percent. For an overview of income distribution and its evolution in Canada and the United States , see Saez and Veall (2005). For an overview of wealth and income inequality trends for the United States and the world , see Wolff (2010) and Davies et al. (2011).

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    Livio Di Matteo

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Di Matteo, L. (2018). Wealth Inequality and Its Historical Context. In: The Evolution and Determinants of Wealth Inequality in the North Atlantic Anglo-Sphere, 1668–2013. Palgrave Pivot, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-89773-8_2

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