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Wealth and demography in Ottoman probate inventories: A database in very long-term perspective

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  • Hülya Canbakal
  • Alpay Filiztekin

Abstract

This article uses a novel database of Ottoman probates and examines some of the methodological difficulties that arise in very long-term analysis. Wealth statistics, spanning from 1460 to 1920 in the longest subsample, indicate approximately an inverted U-shaped pattern that may signal the limits of extensive growth. While plausible, severity of the drop on the right side of the wealth curve does not entirely match recent scholarship on the Ottoman Empire. Examining the effect of biases and changes in probate demography on wealth, we explore how real the observed wealth pattern is. We employ descriptive statistics, linear regression and Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition, and find that demographic composition matters but does not alter the shape of the wealth curve. Explanation for the gap between probate findings and current historiography, therefore, must lie elsewhere.

Suggested Citation

  • Hülya Canbakal & Alpay Filiztekin, 2021. "Wealth and demography in Ottoman probate inventories: A database in very long-term perspective," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(2), pages 94-127, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:vhimxx:v:54:y:2021:i:2:p:94-127
    DOI: 10.1080/01615440.2020.1840469
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    Cited by:

    1. Pınar Ceylan, 2024. "Was there a ‘consumer revolution’ in the Ottoman Empire?," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(3), pages 823-848, August.
    2. Zeynep Dörtok Abacı & Jun Akiba & Metin Cosgel & Boğaç Ergene, 2022. "Judiciary and Wealth in the Ottoman Empire, 1689–1843," Working papers 2022-02, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics.

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