Volume 75-Issue 3-August 2022
ISSUE INFORMATION
Pages 641-642
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13092
SURVEYS AND SPECULATIONS
Wealth inequality in pre-industrial Europe: What role did associational organizations have?
Bas Van Bavel
Pages 643-666
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13137
Abstract: A host of studies on wealth inequality in pre-industrial Europe has recently been published. Out of these, a narrative emerges of rising inequality in a context of emerging markets and growing state taxation, punctuated by calamities. By surveying the available material, this article highlights an element that is less systematically discussed in this literature: the role of associational organizations. They developed less regressive forms of taxation and redistribution, embedded the transfer and use of land and capital in coordination systems that curtailed accumulation, and sometimes even imposed maximums of wealth ownership. The article tentatively argues that the resulting downward effect on wealth inequality was found most conspicuously in societies where associations of middling groups of owners-producers held strong positions in economic and political life, even despite the exclusive character of their organizations. Such societies were gradually eroded in the early modern period, most notably as a result of the emergence of factor markets and state centralization, and the associated processes of proletarianization and scale enlargement. This did not happen without opposition and conflict, however, as the process was sometimes halted and showed distinct geographical patterns, which in turn influenced patterns of wealth inequality.
ARTICLES
The hidden wealth of English dynasties, 1892–2016
Neil Cummins
Pages 667-702
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13120
Abstract: Using individual-level records of all wealth-at-death in England from 1892 to 1992, together with new estimates of the wealth-specific rate of return on wealth, this study estimates a plausible minimum level of the amount of inherited wealth that is hidden. Elites conceal around 35 per cent of their inheritance. Among dynasties, this hidden wealth, independent of declared wealth, predicts appearance in the Offshore Leaks Database of 2013–16 and is correlated with postcode house-value in 1999 and Oxbridge attendance in 1990–2016. Accounting for hidden wealth eliminates about 28 per cent, at minimum, of the observed decline of the top 1 per cent wealth-share, at the dynastic level, over the past century. Findings show 9 077 dynasties that are hiding £8.9 billion.
Human capital transfer of German-speaking migrants in eastern Europe, 1780s–1820s
Matthias Blum，Karl-Peter Krauss,Dmytro Myeshkov
Pages 703-738
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13111
Abstract: Prior to the ‘Age of Mass Migration’, Germans left central Europe to settle primarily in modern-day Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia. Despite the harsh conditions that the first generation of settlers had to endure, their descendants often fared better, rather than worse, compared to native population groups. This study offers a possible explanation for this surprising outcome. It makes use of data on approximately 11 500 individuals to estimate and compare the basic numeracy scores of German settlers and other population groups in target regions. The findings show that German settlers generally had superior basic numeracy levels, which suggests that these settlers must have contributed positively to the human capital endowment in their target regions. The numeracy of Germans was somewhat higher than the numeracy of Hungarians and substantially higher than that of Russians, Ukrainians, and Serbs. No noteworthy differences are found in terms of numeracy between German emigrants and the population they left behind, which suggests the absence of substantial migrant selection.
Early inventory management practices in the foreign exchange market: Insights from sixteenth-century Lyon
Nadia Matringe
Pages 739-778
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13112
Abstract: Studies of the early modern exchange market have usually focused on the strategies of traders who made profits from differences in exchange rates. This article instead focuses on the inventory management practices of exchange dealers, who traded almost exclusively on behalf of third parties while acting as market makers in the Lyon fairs in the sixteenth century. Using evidence from 1 937 transactions performed by one of the major Lyon banks (Salviati), it uncovers a specific rebalancing technique based on the use of the bill of exchange as a netting instrument. Thanks to a system of limit orders, the Lyon exchange dealers were able to offset order flows, thus minimizing their credit risk while remaining exposed to reputational risk. Such a rebalancing mechanism involved multiple clients and markets and contributed to the clearing of international payments once bills reached maturity. Double-entry bookkeeping both facilitated and limited the use of the bill of exchange as a multilateral netting instrument.
Peer pressure: The puzzle of aristocrats’ tax compliance in early nineteenth-century Moscow
Elena Korchmina
Pages 779-800
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13114
Abstract: How can developing countries successfully implement an income tax in the absence of a strong state? Recent theoretical research has suggested a possible solution: relying on voluntary compliance with tax demands can avoid the need for costly enforcement. This article provides empirical evidence for such a mechanism by investigating the introduction of the income tax in Russia in 1812. It uses a novel dataset to estimate the individual-level tax compliance of Russian nobles. The dataset is constructed from self-reported tax returns of all Russian aristocrats (around 4 000) who owned real estate in Moscow province. On the basis of both private narrative sources and state financial documents, findings show that the Russian nobility reliably declared their income: only 10 to 30 per cent of aristocrats evaded tax despite the limited legal repercussions of doing so. This surprisingly high level of tax compliance was achieved by the threat of public disclosure, whereby nobles had to declare their incomes to their peers. Nobles could face reputational risks from attempted evasion, particularly in the shadow of the looming Napoleonic invasion. Russia thus achieved its fiscal aims despite its low administrative capacity and without resorting to coercion.
Business representation in an autocratic regime: Tariff policy and exchange committees in late Tsarist Russia
Marina Chuchko
Pages 801-829
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13116
Abstract: Studies on the role of interest groups in the formation of public policy are generally focused on those in democratic countries. However, the emerging literature on interest groups in autocratic regimes suggests that business in such states is actively involved in policy formation. On the basis of the first dataset on the 1891 tariff reform in the Russian Empire, this study carries out an empirical examination of the role of business in policymaking in one of the most autocratic states in history. Dominance analysis is used to estimate the contribution of participants to tariff reform. The results show that while the state had an overriding influence on tariff formation, the contribution of business representatives is noteworthy. The addition of business associations to the model explaining tariff changes leads to an increase in the explained variance of the model by about seven percentage points. Additional regression analysis confirms that the success of lobbying depended on the homogeneity of the proposals presented by regional business associations.
Large-scale Victorian manufacturers: Reconstructing the lost 1881 UK employer census
Leslie Hannah,Robert Bennett
Pages 830-856
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13118
Abstract: This study presents the first available—and near-complete—list of large UK manufacturers in 1881, by complementing the employer data from that year's population census (recovered by the British Business Census of Entrepreneurs project) with employment and capital estimates from other sources. The 438 largest firms with 1 000 or more employees accounted for around one-sixth of manufacturing output. Examples can be found in most industries. Exploiting powered machinery, intangible assets, new technologies, and venture capital and generally operating in competitive markets, their exports approximately equalled domestic sales. The more capital-intensive firms accessed stock markets, more—and in larger firms—than in follower economies. Some alleged later causes of UK decline relative to the US or Germany cannot be observed in 1881. Indeed, contemporary overseas observers—capitalist and socialist—correctly recognized the distinctive features of UK manufacturing as its exceptional development of quoted corporations, professional managers, and ‘modern’, scalable, factory production.
Wiring China: The impact of telegraph construction on grain market integration in late imperial China, 1870–1911
Yu Hao,Yuanzhe Li,John V. C. Nye
Pages 857-880
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13119
Abstract: How did the telegraph improve market integration in late imperial China? This study exploits differences in the exogenous timing of telegraph construction in different prefectures from 1870 to 1911. The empirical results show that the arrival of the telegraph within a prefecture pair reduced the ratio of the two prefectures’ monthly high-grade rice prices by 6.6 percentage points in nine southern Chinese provinces, or 17.2 per cent of the mean of the dependent variable. The main results are robust to controlling for institutional or transportation changes occurring during the same period, to using an alternative measure of market integration, to using prices of mid-grade and low-grade rice, and to excluding outliers with low data quality. In addition, the effect of the telegraph was stronger for prefecture pairs in which information transmission was more costly, and traditional long-distance traders played an important role in the telegraph's promotion of market integration. In conclusion, our findings help us understand how a new information technology enhanced market integration in a premodern agrarian society with an established commercial network.
Analysing the actions of the rebels in the English Revolt of 1381: The case of Cambridgeshire
Mingjie Xu
Pages 881-902
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13122
Abstract: This article throws new light on the forces that propelled the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 by focusing closely on the actions of the rebels, the number and nature of the attacks they carried out, and the identities, status, and roles of their victims. The exceptionally rich and comprehensive records of the violence and disorder that occurred in Cambridgeshire have been systematically studied and each incident analysed, categorized, and quantified. The results reveal that attacks in this region were overwhelmingly directed against political and judicial officials operating at a national and local level, and that attacks against landlords arising from oppressive manorial lordship constituted less than one-tenth of recorded violent incidents. The use of similar analysis of the actions of rebels recorded in the judicial proceedings of revolts in other regions may lessen the scale of the contention that still exists over the grievances that provoked this momentous uprising and who the rebels judged to be their main adversaries.
Fringe banking and financialization: Pawnbroking in pre-famine and famine Ireland
Eoin McLaughlin,Rowena Pecchenino
Pages 903-931
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13132
Abstract: Pawnbroking, one of the oldest and most accessible forms of credit, was a common feature of life in pre-famine and famine Ireland. This article studies the role of pawnbroking in the Irish financial system during this important period, applying insights from modern studies on fringe banking. In the period under study, a formal tiered financial system existed; regulated joint-stock banks offered services to industry and the better off, while fringe banks provided financial services largely, but not exclusively, to unbanked groups. The main findings are that pawnbrokers provided a steady source of credit throughout the island of Ireland and that this credit stream was more durable than that provided by alternative financial service providers in the fringe banking market, especially during the famine. Our findings suggest a nuanced interpretation is needed as we find strong interrelationships between the various financial service providers.
English farmers’ wheat storage and sales in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries
Liam Brunt,Edmund Cannon
Pages 932-959
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13133
Abstract: Harnessing previously unused farm inventories and corn books, we provide data on wheat storage and sales by English farmers, 1750–1850. Wheat was predominantly stored outdoors in thatched stacks (or ‘ricks’)—often for more than a year, sometimes for multiple years—although carryover volumes were generally small. Farm stocks tended to be threshed and sold evenly across the year to meet demand. Storage costs were low, and carried over wheat sold at a premium as the natural drying process raised its quality. Wheat was frequently sold directly to millers, bypassing the open market, but private sale prices tracked market prices closely.
Rethinking age heaping again for understanding its possibilities and limitations
Joerg Baten,Giacomo Benati,Sarah Ferber
Pages 960-971
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13139
Abstract: A'Hearn, Delfino, and Nuvolari recently argued in this journal that the indicator function of age heaping for education, and numeracy in particular, is quite limited. In contrast, we show empirically that by applying the methodological elements that were developed over the past decade, age-heaping-based numeracy research can be an important tool for economic history.
Age heaping and its discontents: A response to Baten, Benati, and Ferber
Brian A'Hearn,Alexia Delfino,Alessandro Nuvolari
Pages 972-980
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13140
Abstract: This note is a rejoinder to Baten, Benati, and Ferber. We reiterate that, on close inspection, nineteenth-century Italian census data contain a number of anomalies that sit uncomfortably with a straightforward age-heaping-as-numeracy interpretation. In particular, we respond to Baten, Benati, and Ferber on the technical matters they have raised; then we show that our findings are robust to such criticism. Finally, we conclude with some general reflections on age heaping as a numeracy indicator.
BOOK REVIEWS
Steven Press, Blood and Diamonds: Germany's Imperial Ambitions in AfricaCambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pp. v+336. 10 photos. 3 maps. Hbk. ISBN 9780674916494 Hbk. £28.95
Thaddeus Sunseri
Pages 981-982
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13178
Mircea Raianu, Tata: The Global Corporation That Built Indian CapitalismBoston Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2021. Pp. 291. Hardcover £31.95. ISBN 9780674984516
Tirthankar Roy
Pages 982-984
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13179
Andy Cook, The Politics of Decimalisation in the UK: Britain's Other D-DayCambridge Scholars Publishing, Pp. 225. ISBN: 9781527576964
Duncan Needham
Pages 984-985
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13180
Adam Goodman, The Deportation Machine: America's Long History of Expelling ImmigrantsPrinceton: Princeton University Press, 2020. Pp. 336. Hbk. 9780691182155 Hbk. £25.00/$29.95
Julia G Young
Pages 986-988
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13181
Dael A. Norwood, Trading Freedom: How Trade with China Defined Early AmericaChicago and London: University of Chicago Press, 2022. Pp. 270. 9 figs. ISBN 13: 978-0-226-81558-9 Hbk. $45.00
Peter A. Coclanis
Pages 988-989
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13182
Jan Lucassen, The Story of Work: A New History of HumankindNew Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2021. Pp. xvii+524, 27 plates. 6 maps. 3 figs. ISBN Hbk. 978-0-300-25679-6 Hbk £25.00
Alka Raman
Pages 989-991
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13183
David Freeman, A Silver River in a Silver World: Dutch Trade in the Rio de la Plata, 1648–1678Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020. Pp. xiv+226. ISBN 9781108417495 Ebk. 9781108281164 Hbk. £75 Ebk. $80
Joris Van Den Tol
Pages 991-992
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13184
