Bengtsson Erik (), Mats Olsson () and Patrick Svensson ()
Additional contact information
Bengtsson Erik: Department of Economic History, Lund University, Postal: Department of Economic History, Lund University, Box 7083, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
Mats Olsson: Department of Economic History, Lund University, Postal: Department of Economic History, Lund University, Box 7083, S-220 07 Lund, Sweden
Patrick Svensson: Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Abstract: This paper maps social structure, poverty, wealth and economic inequality in Stockholm from 1650 to 1750. We begin by establishing the social structure, using census data and other sources. To study wealth and poverty, the main sources are a sample from the wealth tax of 1715, and probate inventory samples from 1650, 1700 and 1750. These provide detailed and sometimes surprising insights into the living standards of both the poor and rich. Stockholm in this period was a starkly unequal city, with the top decile of wealth holders owning about 90 per cent of total wealth. We argue that this inequality was the result of deliberate policy – the Mercantilist conviction of “just rewards” for each and every one according to his or her standing. The case of Stockholm shows the need for the historical inequality literature to consider class and power relations to understand the determinants of inequality.
Keywords: wealth; inequality; social stratification; Sweden; Stockholm; probate inventories
JEL-codes: D31; I31; N13; N33; P16
34 pages, December 12, 2019
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