Working Paper: NBER ID: w17211
Authors: Peter H. Lindert; Jeffrey G. Williamson
Abstract: Building social tables in the tradition of Gregory King, we develop new estimates suggesting that between 1774 and 1800 American incomes fell in real per capita terms. The colonial South was richer than the North at the start, but was already beginning to lose its income lead by 1800. We also find that free American colonists had much more equal incomes than did households in England and Wales. The colonists also had greater purchasing power than their English counterparts over all of the income ranks except in the top few percent.
Keywords: American incomes; colonial era; inequality; economic history
JEL Codes: N11; N91; O47; O51
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Revolutionary War and subsequent economic turmoil (N41) | American incomes fell in real per capita terms (D31) |
| colonial South was richer than the North in 1774 (N91) | colonial South began to lose its income lead by 1800 (N91) |
| free American colonists had more equal incomes than households in England and Wales (N32) | Gini coefficient of 0.437 for all households (D31) |
| colonial South lacked a large number of poor whites (I32) | contributed to its relative wealth (N93) |
| estimates of income levels in southern colonies were about 26% greater than earlier estimates (N30) | higher than previous scholars' findings (C12) |