Inequality of Wealth in the Ottoman Empire: War, Weather, and Long-term Trends in Eighteenth Century Kastamonu

Metin Cosgel () and Bogac A. Ergene
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Bogac A. Ergene: University of Vermont

No 2011-29, Working papers from University of Connecticut, Department of Economics

Abstract: This article offers a quantitative analysis of wealth inequality in the Ottoman Empire, employing data from probate inventories (terekes) of eighteenth-century Kastamonu, a town located in northern Anatolia. Extracting information on the wealth levels and personal characteristics of individuals, we estimate aggregate measures of wealth inequality, namely the Gini Coefficient, the coefficient of variation, and the wealth shares of the wealthiest 10 and 25 percents of population. We use regression analysis to identify the time trend of wealth inequality and determine how warfare, significant weather events, macroeconomic variables, and shifts in population characteristics affected it. JEL Classification: D3, D6, E3, E6, I3, J1, N3, N9, O53 Key words: Wealth, Inequality, War, Weather, Ottoman Empire

New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-his
Date: 2011-12
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Journal Article: Inequality of Wealth in the Ottoman Empire: War, Weather, and Long-Term Trends in Eighteenth-Century Kastamonu (2012)
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Persistent link: http://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uct:uconnp:2011-29

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