A temporal analysis of wealth in eighteenth-century Ottoman Kastamonu

Metin Cosgel (), Bogac A. Ergene and Atabey Kaygun
Additional contact information
Bogac A. Ergene: University of Vermont
Atabey Kaygun: Bahcesehir University

No 2013-03, Working papers from University of Connecticut, Department of Economics

Abstract: This article studies temporal variations in wealth levels and distribution in an Ottoman context during the eighteenth century. By analysing the probate estate inventories of the Muslim deceased in Kastamonu, located in north-central Anatolia, we demonstrate that real wealth levels generally declined over the course of the century. Our analysis also suggests that the economic conditions of poor men, if not women, deteriorated more so than those of the rich, fuelling growing inequality. The article explores the factors that contributed to these trends and discusses the relevance of our findings for long-term economic development patterns in the region from a comparative perspective.

Keywords: wealth; inequality; war; weather; Ottoman Empire (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D3 D6 E3 E6 I3 J1 N3 N9 O53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2013-02, Revised 2013-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ara and nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uct:uconnp:2013-03

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