Russian Inequality on the Eve of Revolution

Steven Nafziger and Peter Lindert

No 2013-13, Department of Economics Working Papers from Department of Economics, Williams College

Abstract: Just how unequal were the incomes of different classes of Russians on the eve of Revolution, relative to other countries, to Russia's earlier history, and to Russia's income distribution today? Careful weighing of an eclectic data set provides provisional answers. In 1904, on the eve of military defeat and the 1905 Revolution, Russian income inequality was middling by the standards of that era, and less severe than inequality has become today in such countries as China, the United States, and Russia itself. We enrich this emerging story by noting some distinctive fiscal and relative-price features of Imperial Russia. We hope that this report sets the stage for comparisons to Russian before the serf Emancipation of 1861.

Keywords: Russia; inequality; economic history (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N30 N33 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 51 pages
Date: 2011-03, Revised 2013-09
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Related works:
Journal Article: Russian Inequality on the Eve of Revolution (2014)
Working Paper: Russian Inequality on the Eve of Revolution (2012)
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