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Multigenerational Transmission of Wealth: Florence, 1403–1480

Author

Listed:
  • Marianna Belloc
  • Francesco Drago
  • Mattia Fochesato
  • Roberto Galbiati

    (ECON - Département d'économie (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

By using hand-collected data on households' wealth assessments, we study multigenerational mobility in Florence during the late Middle Ages. We find that Florentine society was more mobile than one would expect but also that multigenerational mobility was lower than implied by two-generation estimates. We reconcile these findings by showing their consistency with a model where wealth transmission is governed by an unobserved latent factor. We also show that, given our estimates, this model is compatible with the long run persistence obtained by previous studies. Finally, we find that participation in marriage networks and politics correlates with persistence of economic status across generations. (JEL D31, G51, J12, J62, N33)

Suggested Citation

  • Marianna Belloc & Francesco Drago & Mattia Fochesato & Roberto Galbiati, 2024. "Multigenerational Transmission of Wealth: Florence, 1403–1480," Post-Print halshs-04799050, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04799050
    DOI: 10.1257/app.20220137
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-04799050v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wealth transmission social mobility multiple generations latent factors; Wealth transmission; social mobility; multiple generations; latent factors;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • G51 - Financial Economics - - Household Finance - - - Household Savings, Borrowing, Debt, and Wealth
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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