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Inequality, poverty and the Kuznets curve in Spain, 1850–2000

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2008

LEANDRO PRADOS DE LA ESCOSURA
LEANDRO PRADOS DE LA ESCOSURA*
Affiliation:
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Departamento de Historia Económica e Institucionesand Instituto Figuerola, Calle Madrid 126, 28903 Getafe (Madrid), Spain, leandro.prados.delaescosura@uc3m.es
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Abstract

Economic rather than political forces appear to dominate inequality trends in Spain. Inequality evolution fits a Kuznets curve. Wars increased inequality but had non-permanent effects, while progressive taxation had no impact until 1980, at odds with Atkinson, Piketty, Saez and associates' findings. A substantial fall in absolute poverty resulted from growth but also from inequality reduction in the interwar period and the late 1950s. Rising inequality and extreme poverty are not found at the roots of the Spanish Civil War. Between the mid 1950s and 1974, inequality contraction and absolute poverty eradication represented a major departure from Latin America's performance while matching the OECD's.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Review of Economic History , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , December 2008 , pp. 287 - 324
Copyright
Copyright © European Historical Economics Society 2008

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