How Extractive Was Russian Serfdom? Income Inequality in Moscow Province in the Early Nineteenth Century
中文摘要
我们测度了1811年莫斯科省的税前与税后收入不平等。我们收集了7,399户持有资产家庭收入的新数据，其中包括所有在册贵族和商人。我们利用政府与私营企业的财务记录估计了另外21个社会群体的平均收入。将这些数据合并后，我们构建了一个社会表 (social table)，并测度了顶层收入集中度、基尼系数与攫取率 (Extraction Ratio)。我们的发现表明，尽管国家的执行力较低，农奴制仍导致了高度的不平等与攫取，以及低下的社会流动性。我们将结果与1904年的情况进行比较，发现尽管农奴获得了解放，不平等在整个19世纪依然处于高位。这些发现凸显了俄罗斯高水平不平等的深厚历史根源及其持续性。
Abstract
We measure pre- and post-tax income inequality in Moscow Province in 1811. We collect new data on incomes for 7,399 asset-holding households, including all registered aristocrats and merchants. We estimate the average incomes of 21 additional social groups using financial records from government and private businesses. Combining this data, we construct a social table and measure top-tier income concentration, Gini coefficient, and the Extraction Ratio. Our findings reveal that serfdom resulted in high inequality and extraction levels as well as low social mobility despite of low levels of enforcement by the state. We compare our results with those for 1904 and find that, in spite of emancipation, inequality remained high during the nineteenth century. Those findings are emblematic of deep historical roots and the persistence of high inequality levels in Russia. *