Wealth Inequality and Public Finance in Pre-Industrial Germany, 1350 to 1800
This presentation offers the first wealth inequality estimates for Germany between 1300 and 1800. It traces four alternating phases of inequality decline and growth. The Black Death (1347–1352) led to inequality decline, until about 1450. Thereafter, inequality rose steadily. The Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and the 1627–1629 plague triggered a second phase of inequality reduction. This distinguishes Germany from other European areas where inequality grew monotonically. Inequality growth resumed from about 1700, well before the Industrial Revolution. Besides demographic and economic forces, this presentation will investigate taxation and credit practices as a driving force of inequality in pre-industrial times. It suggests that increasing consumption taxation and the expansion of public credit prior and during the Thirty Years’ War contributed to increasing inequality.
Date: 20 October 2022, 13:00 (Thursday, 2nd week, Michaelmas 2022)
Venue: Manor Road Building, Manor Road OX1 3UQ
Venue Details: Seminar Room A
Speaker: Victoria Gierok (University of Oxford)
Organising department: Department of Economics
Part of: Department of Economics Seminar
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Melis Clark