Long-term trends in economic inequality: the case of the Florentine state, c. 1300-1800

Abstract

This article provides an overview of economic inequality, particularly of wealth, in the Florentine state (Tuscany) from the early fourteenth to the late eighteenth century. Regional studies of this kind are rare, and this is only the second-ever attempt at covering such a long period. Consistent with recent research conducted on other European areas, during the early modern period we find clear indications of a tendency for economic inequality to grow continually, a finding that for Tuscany cannot be explained as the consequence of economic growth. Furthermore, the exceptionally old sources we use allow us to demonstrate that a phase of declining inequality, lasting about one century, was triggered by the Black Death from 1348 to 1349. This finding challenges earlier scholarship and significantly alters our understanding of the economic consequences of the Black Death.

Figure 1

The Florentine state: Contado and Distretto (c. 1406) Note: Only the communities included in our analysis, plus the capital city of Florence, are indicated on the map.

Figure 2

Economic inequality in Poggibonsi, 1338–1789 (Gini indexes) Sources: See online app. S3.

Figure 3

Long‐term trends in economic inequality (Gini indexes) Sources: See online app. S3. [Color figure can be viewed at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com]

Figure 4

Economic inequality in the Florentine Contado—looking for sources‐induced structural breaks Sources: See online app. S3.

Figure 5

Economic inequality in Santa Maria Impruneta, 1307–1570 (Gini indexes, with or without standardization) Sources: See online app. S3.

Figure 6

Wealth distribution in the pre‐ and post‐Black Death years (Lorenz curves) Note: Lorenz curves have been drawn using the glcurve Stata package. Sources: See online app. S3. [Color figure can be viewed at http://wileyonlinelibrary.com]

Figure 7

Per capita GDP in central and northern Italy, 1310–1800 (indexed in base: average 1420–40) Note: The filter applied by Malanima is Hodrick‐Prescott (λ = 100) Source: Malanima, ‘Long decline’, pp. 205–17.