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The persistence of wealth Economic inequality in a Caribbean slave colony in the very long run

Author

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  • Rönnbäck, Klas

    (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Galli, Stefania

    (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Theodoridis, Dimitrios

    (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Faust Larsen, Kathrine

    (Unit for Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

It has been proposed that slave societies were the most unequal societies in recorded human history. What little evidence there is shows an ambiguous picture. We contribute with a study on the wealth distribution in a Caribbean society, based on individual-level data for the full population, combining tax and census records into the largest comparable historical dataset from the Global South. Our results show a distribution of wealth shockingly close to perfect inequality. Our results also show a remarkable degree of persistence: even after slavery was abolished, the freedmen never managed to accumulate physical wealth to any measurable degree.

Suggested Citation

  • Rönnbäck, Klas & Galli, Stefania & Theodoridis, Dimitrios & Faust Larsen, Kathrine, 2024. "The persistence of wealth Economic inequality in a Caribbean slave colony in the very long run," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 35, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunhis:0035
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    File URL: https://hdl.handle.net/2077/80217
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Inequality; wealth; slavery; Caribbean; emancipation; long-term;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • J47 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Coercive Labor Markets
    • N36 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Latin America; Caribbean

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