[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ehl/lserod/124610.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Ethnic wealth inequality in England and Wales, 1858-2018

Author

Listed:
  • Cummins, Neil
Abstract
Using surnames from the universe of death and wealth-at-death records in England and Wales, from 1858 to 2018, I document the emergence of a modern ethnic wealth gradient. Historically, Non-British ethnicities have average wealth 2–5 times that of the English. However, this premium has decreased over the 20th century. By 1980, non-British ethnicities have no advantage over the British. However, this masks considerable heterogeneity within the non-British ethnicity group. Europeans typically die significantly richer than the English whereas the Pakistani and Swedish die significantly poorer. Some groups always have lower wealth. The Irish, have wealth around 50% of the average English throughout. Surprisingly, the most egalitarian measure of wealth is representation within the top 1%. Most ethnicities have an equal, or greater, representation in the top 1% than the English, 1980–1992. Despite large differences in average wealth between ethnicities, the vast majority of variation, 97.5% is between individuals.

Suggested Citation

  • Cummins, Neil, 2024. "Ethnic wealth inequality in England and Wales, 1858-2018," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 124610, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:124610
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/124610/
    File Function: Open access version.
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anthony B. Atkinson, 2018. "Wealth and inheritance in Britain from 1896 to the present," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 16(2), pages 137-169, June.
    2. Alvaredo, Facundo & Atkinson, Anthony B. & Morelli, Salvatore, 2018. "Top wealth shares in the UK over more than a century," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 26-47.
    3. Shorrocks, A F, 1980. "The Class of Additively Decomposable Inequality Measures," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(3), pages 613-625, April.
    4. Moritz Kuhn & Moritz Schularick & Ulrike I. Steins, 2020. "Income and Wealth Inequality in America, 1949–2016," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3469-3519.
    5. A. B. Atkinson & A. J. Harrison, 1974. "Wealth Distribution And Investment Income In Britain," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 20(2), pages 125-142, June.
    6. Cummins, Neil, 2021. "Where Is the Middle Class? Evidence from 60 Million English Death and Probate Records, 1892–1992," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(2), pages 359-404, June.
    7. Anthony B. Atkinson & Peter G. Backus & John Micklewright, 2017. "Charitable Bequests and Wealth At Death," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 1-23, October.
    8. Gregory Clark & Neil Cummins, 2015. "Malthus to modernity: wealth, status, and fertility in England, 1500–1879," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 3-29, January.
    9. Neil Cummins, 2022. "The hidden wealth of English dynasties, 1892–2016," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 667-702, August.
    10. David Blake & J. Michael Orszag, 1999. "Annual estimates of personal wealth holdings in the United Kingdom since 1948," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 397-421.
    11. Gregory Clark & Neil Cummins, 2015. "Intergenerational Wealth Mobility in England, 1858–2012: Surnames and Social Mobility," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(582), pages 61-85, February.
    12. Pablo Mateos & Paul A Longley & David O'Sullivan, 2011. "Ethnicity and Population Structure in Personal Naming Networks," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(9), pages 1-12, September.
    13. Christian Dustmann & Ian Preston, 2006. "Is Immigration Good or Bad for the Economy? Analysis of Attitudinal Responses," Research in Labor Economics, in: The Economics of Immigration and Social Diversity, pages 3-34, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    14. Marco Manacorda & Alan Manning & Jonathan Wadsworth, 2012. "The Impact Of Immigration On The Structure Of Wages: Theory And Evidence From Britain," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 10(1), pages 120-151, February.
    15. repec:cep:sticas:/178 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Dustmann, Christian & Preston, Ian, 2001. "Attitudes to Ethic Minorities, Ethnic Context and Location Decisions," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 111(470), pages 353-373, April.
    17. Harminder Battu & Yves Zenou, 2010. "Oppositional Identities and Employment for Ethnic Minorities: Evidence from England," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(542), pages 52-71, February.
    18. Morris, Stephen & Sutton, Matthew & Gravelle, Hugh, 2005. "Inequity and inequality in the use of health care in England: an empirical investigation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 60(6), pages 1251-1266, March.
    19. Anthony B. Atkinson & Peter G. Backus & John Micklewright, 2017. "Charitable Bequests and Wealth At Death," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 127(605), pages 1-23, October.
    20. Teresa Casey & Christian Dustmann, 2010. "Immigrants' Identity, Economic Outcomes and the Transmission of Identity across Generations," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(542), pages 31-51, February.
    21. Eleni Karagiannaki, 2015. "Recent Trends in the Size and the Distribution of Inherited Wealth in the UK," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 36, pages 181-213, June.
    22. Christian Dustmann & Tommaso Frattini, 2014. "The Fiscal Effects of Immigration to the UK," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 124(580), pages 593-643, November.
    23. Gregory Clark, 2015. "The Son Also Rises: Surnames and the History of Social Mobility," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 10181-2.
    24. Nicholas, Tom, 1999. "Clogs to Clogs in Three Generations? Explaining Entrepreneurial Performance in Britain Since 1850," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(3), pages 688-713, September.
    25. Jens Kandt & Paul A Longley, 2018. "Ethnicity estimation using family naming practices," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(8), pages 1-24, August.
    26. Atkinson, Anthony B & Gordon, James P F & Harrison, Alan, 1989. "Trends in the Shares of Top Wealth-Holders in Britain, 1923-1981," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 51(3), pages 315-332, August.
    27. repec:bla:revinw:v:20:y:1974:i:2:p:125-42 is not listed on IDEAS
    28. W. D. Rubinstein, 1977. "The Victorian Middle Classes: Wealth, Occupation, and Geography," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 30(4), pages 602-623, November.
    29. John D. Turner, 2010. "Wealth concentration in the European periphery: Ireland, 1858--2001," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 62(4), pages 625-646, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Neil Cummins, 2022. "The hidden wealth of English dynasties, 1892–2016," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 667-702, August.
    2. Cummins, Neil & Ó Gráda, Cormac, 2022. "The Irish in England," Economic History Working Papers 115497, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    3. Anthony B. Atkinson, 2018. "Wealth and inheritance in Britain from 1896 to the present," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 16(2), pages 137-169, June.
    4. Galli, Stefania & Dimitrios, Theodoridis, & Rönnbäck, Klas, 2024. "Thriving in a declining economy - Elite persistence in the West Indies, 1760-1914," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 37, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.
    5. Salvatore Morelli, 2020. "The Dynamics of Wealth Concentration: Thoughts on Tony Atkinson’s Contributions," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 6(1), pages 197-205, March.
    6. Stuart Campbell, 2014. "Does it matter why immigrants came here? Original motives, the labour market, and national identity in the UK," DoQSS Working Papers 14-14, Quantitative Social Science - UCL Social Research Institute, University College London.
    7. Alvaredo, Facundo & Atkinson, Anthony B. & Morelli, Salvatore, 2018. "Top wealth shares in the UK over more than a century," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 26-47.
    8. Paolo Acciari & Facundo Alvaredo & Salvatore Morelli, 2024. "The Concentration of Personal Wealth in Italy 1995–2016," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 1228-1274.
    9. Paolo Acciari & Salvatore Morelli, 2020. "Wealth Transfers and Net Wealth at Death: Evidence from the Italian Inheritance Tax Records 1995–2016," NBER Chapters, in: Measuring Distribution and Mobility of Income and Wealth, pages 175-203, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    10. Cummins, Neil, 2021. "Where Is the Middle Class? Evidence from 60 Million English Death and Probate Records, 1892–1992," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 81(2), pages 359-404, June.
    11. Mauricio De Rosa, 2022. "Accumulation, inheritance and wealth distribution: first estimates of the untold half," Documentos de Trabajo (working papers) 22-07, Instituto de Economía - IECON.
    12. Giovanni Facchini & Eleonora Patacchini & Max F. Steinhardt, 2015. "Migration, Friendship Ties, and Cultural Assimilation," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 117(2), pages 619-649, April.
    13. repec:cep:sticas:/178 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Hatton, Timothy J., 2014. "The economics of international migration: A short history of the debate," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 43-50.
    15. Braakmann Nils & Waqas Muhammad & Wildman John, 2017. "Are Immigrants in Favour of Immigration? Evidence from England and Wales," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 17(1), pages 1-16, February.
    16. Daniel Waldenström, 2021. "Wealth and History: An Update," CESifo Working Paper Series 9366, CESifo.
    17. Waldenström, Daniel, 2021. "Wealth and History: An Update," Working Paper Series 1411, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    18. Korom, Philipp, 2016. "Inherited advantage: The importance of inheritance for private wealth accumulation in Europe," MPIfG Discussion Paper 16/11, Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.
    19. Jørgen Modalsli & Kelly Vosters, 2024. "Spillover Bias in Multigenerational Income Regressions," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 59(3), pages 743-776.
    20. Clark, Gregory & Cummins, Neil, 2016. "The Child Quality-Quantity Tradeoff, England, 1780-1880: A Fundamental Component of the Economic Theory of Growth is Missing," CEPR Discussion Papers 11232, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    21. Adrian Adermon & Mikael Lindahl & Daniel Waldenström, 2018. "Intergenerational Wealth Mobility and the Role of Inheritance: Evidence from Multiple Generations," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 128(612), pages 482-513, July.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N34 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: 1913-

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:124610. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: LSERO Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/lsepsuk.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.