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American Economic Review Vol. 96 No. 1 2006

Wealth Concentration in a Developing Economy: Paris and France, 1807–1994

Thomas Piketty1; Gilles Postel-Vinay2; Jean-Laurent Rosenthal3

1 Paris-Jourdan Science Economiques (UMR CNRS-EHESS-ENS-ENPC), 48 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris, France. · 2 Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique and Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, 48 boulevard Jourdan, 75014 Paris, France. · 3 Department of Economics, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1477.

Abstract

Using large samples of estate tax returns, we construct new series on wealth concentration in Paris and France from 1807 to 1994. Inequality increased until 1914 because industrial and financial estates grew dramatically. Then, adverse shocks, rather than a Kuznets-type process, led to a massive decline in inequality. The very high wealth concentration prior to 1914 benefited retired individuals living off capital income (rentiers) rather than entrepreneurs. The very rich were in their seventies and eighties, whereas they had been in their fifties a half century earlier and would be so again after World War II. Our results shed new light on ongoing debates about wealth inequality and growth.

DOI
10.1257/000282806776157614
Volume
96
Issue
1
Pages
236-256
Language
en
Sources
bibtex:phds-export.bib crossref openalex

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