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The Sonoran land grab : Native displacement and elite wealth extraction in the nineteenth century Mexico

Skoglund, William LU ; Castañeda Garza, Diego and Andersson, Jonatan LU (2026) In Economic History of Developing Regions 41(2). p.125-143
Abstract

In this article, we investigate how wealth evolved across social classes following land-encroachment policies implemented in Sonora in the late nineteenth century. Using a database of will inventories from Sonora, we find that the upper class saw large wealth gains following a policy shift, enabling encroachment, but not for other social groups. This indicates that access to previously indigenous land benefited only members of the elite in Sonora. We highlight the role of institutions in shaping wealth and inequality in the early periods of Latin American economic development.

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author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Inequality, institutions, Mexico, Sonora, wealth
in
Economic History of Developing Regions
volume
41
issue
2
pages
19 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • scopus:105033674742
ISSN
2078-0389
DOI
10.1080/20780389.2026.2645612
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
Publisher Copyright: © 2026 The Author(s). Co-published by Unisa Press and Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
id
e6846540-ce39-4879-b0a9-6cec93dfee8d
date added to LUP
2026-06-18 14:47:01
date last changed
2026-06-18 14:47:56
@article{e6846540-ce39-4879-b0a9-6cec93dfee8d,
  abstract     = {{<p>In this article, we investigate how wealth evolved across social classes following land-encroachment policies implemented in Sonora in the late nineteenth century. Using a database of will inventories from Sonora, we find that the upper class saw large wealth gains following a policy shift, enabling encroachment, but not for other social groups. This indicates that access to previously indigenous land benefited only members of the elite in Sonora. We highlight the role of institutions in shaping wealth and inequality in the early periods of Latin American economic development.</p>}},
  author       = {{Skoglund, William and Castañeda Garza, Diego and Andersson, Jonatan}},
  issn         = {{2078-0389}},
  keywords     = {{Inequality; institutions; Mexico; Sonora; wealth}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{125--143}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Economic History of Developing Regions}},
  title        = {{The Sonoran land grab : Native displacement and elite wealth extraction in the nineteenth century Mexico}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20780389.2026.2645612}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/20780389.2026.2645612}},
  volume       = {{41}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}