How extractive was Russian Serfdom? Income inequality in Moscow Province in the early 19th century

Elena Korchmina and Mikołaj Malinowski
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Elena Korchmina: University of Bologna

No 266, Working Papers from European Historical Economics Society (EHES)

Abstract: We measure pre- and post-tax income inequality in Moscow Province in 1811. We collect new data on incomes for 7,399 asset-holding households, including all registered aristocrats and merchants. We estimate the average incomes of 21 additional social groups using financial records from government and private businesses. Combining this data, we construct a social table and measure top-tier income concentration, Gini coefficient, and the Extraction Ratio. Our findings reveal that serfdom resulted in high inequality and extraction levels as well as low social mobility in spite of low levels of enforcement by the state. We compare our results with those for 1904 and find that, in spite despite emancipation, inequality remained high during the 19th century. Those findings are emblematic of deep historical roots and the persistence of high inequality levels in Russia.

Keywords: Russian Empire; Wealth; Income; Inequality; Pre-Industrial World (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D63 J16 N00 N13 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 61 pages
Date: 2024-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cis, nep-his and nep-lab
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hes:wpaper:0266

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