Arbeitspapier
The colonial origins of inequality: exploring the causes and consequences of land distribution
Recent literature has pointed out that the historical distribution of assets is crucial in explaining the observed rigidity in post-war income inequality levels. This paper explores the causes and consequences of historical land distribution employing new and existing estimates of land inequality in cross-country OLS regressions. The two central questions addressed are 1) what explains the cross-country variation in land inequality at the end of the colonial period? 2) how does initial land inequality relate to current income inequality? It is shown that land distribution is determined by (colonial) institutions responding to relative factor endowments and natural geographic conditions as the disease environment and the feasibility to grow particular food- or cash-crops. Local conditions and institutional responses differed largely from region to region. Whereas the direct relation between initial land inequality and income inequality appears to be weak, controlling for (colonial) institutional variables reveals a strong relation between initial land inequality and current (1990's) income inequality. High levels of income inequality, specifically in Sub Saharan Africa and Latin America, are shown to have fundamentally different colonial origins.
- Sprache
-
Englisch
- Erschienen in
-
Series: IAI Discussion Papers ; No. 119
- Klassifikation
-
Wirtschaft
Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: General, International, or Comparative
Economic History: Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment, and Extractive Industries: General, International, or Comparative
Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
Comparative Analysis of Economic Systems
- Ereignis
-
Geistige Schöpfung
- (wer)
-
Frankema, E.H.P.
- Ereignis
-
Veröffentlichung
- (wer)
-
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research (IAI)
- (wo)
-
Göttingen
- (wann)
-
2005
- Handle
- Letzte Aktualisierung
-
10.03.2025, 11:42 MEZ
Datenpartner
ZBW - Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Wirtschaftswissenschaften - Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft. Bei Fragen zum Objekt wenden Sie sich bitte an den Datenpartner.
Objekttyp
- Arbeitspapier
Beteiligte
- Frankema, E.H.P.
- Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Ibero-America Institute for Economic Research (IAI)
Entstanden
- 2005
Ähnliche Objekte (12)
The Colonial and Geographic Origins of Comparative Development
Pre-Colonial and Colonial Origins of Inclusive Peace
The colonial origins of comparative development: a skeptical note
Exploring cosmic origins with CORE: Gravitational lensing of the CMB
Colonial Origins of the Threefold Reality of Mozambique: fiscal capacity and labour systems
Exploring the Mechanisms and Motivational Origins of Children’s Early Prosociality
The Origins Of The Beguines
The origins of the beguines
The origins of the Holocaust
The origins of Yahwism
Origins Of The Orchestra
The origins of music
The Colonial and Geographic Origins of Comparative Development
Pre-Colonial and Colonial Origins of Inclusive Peace
The colonial origins of comparative development: a skeptical note
Exploring cosmic origins with CORE: Gravitational lensing of the CMB
Colonial Origins of the Threefold Reality of Mozambique: fiscal capacity and labour systems
Exploring the Mechanisms and Motivational Origins of Children’s Early Prosociality
The Origins Of The Beguines
The origins of the beguines
The origins of the Holocaust
The origins of Yahwism
Origins Of The Orchestra
The origins of music
The Colonial and Geographic Origins of Comparative Development
Pre-Colonial and Colonial Origins of Inclusive Peace
The colonial origins of comparative development: a skeptical note
Exploring cosmic origins with CORE: Gravitational lensing of the CMB
Colonial Origins of the Threefold Reality of Mozambique: fiscal capacity and labour systems
Exploring the Mechanisms and Motivational Origins of Children’s Early Prosociality
The Origins Of The Beguines
The origins of the beguines
The origins of the Holocaust
The origins of Yahwism
Origins Of The Orchestra