Where have all the wealthy gone? Spatial decomposition of wealth trends in France, 1820-1940

Jérôme Bourdieu (1, 2) , Marta Menéndez (1, 2, 3, 4) , Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann (1, 2) , Gilles Postel-Vinay (1, 2)

1 PSE - Paris School of Economics
2 LEA - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée
3 LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine
4 Université Paris Dauphine-PSL

This paper examines the evolution of wealth distribution in France during the urbanization process of the nineteenth century, based on a comprehensive dataset of individual inheritances. It presents a spatial decomposition between rural and urban areas, distinguishing Paris from other cities. We use a non-parametric approach based on wealth density functions. Changes in the level of wealth explained most of the spatial evolution of wealth during 1820-1939; at the turn of the century however, the effect of urbanization on wealth distribution increased gradually.

Mots clés: Decomposition; Semi-parametric and nonparametric methods; Wealth distribution

Domaines: Economies et finances

Jérôme Bourdieu, Marta Menéndez, Akiko Suwa-Eisenmann, Gilles Postel-Vinay. Where have all the wealthy gone? Spatial decomposition of wealth trends in France, 1820-1940. Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies, 2008, 87 (2), pp.5-25. ⟨halshs-00824330⟩