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Long-term trends in income inequality: Winners and losers of economic change in Ghana, 1891–1960

Aboagye, Prince Young LU and Bolt, Jutta LU (2021) In Explorations in Economic History 82.
Abstract
This paper contributes to a growing literature on long-term trends and drivers of pre-industrial inequality by providing new stylized facts on the evolution of income inequality in Ghana from 1891 to 1960. Using newly constructed social tables, we estimate the Gini coefficient for seven consecutive decades at a time in which the adoption and expansion of cocoa cultivation transformed the Ghanaian economy. Income inequality was already high in 1891, prior to the spread of cocoa cultivation, and it remained stable for four decades. Following a small decline in the early 1930s, inequality increased, reaching its highest level at the end of the colonial era. The expansion of cocoa cultivation and increasing cocoa incomes contributed to... (More)
This paper contributes to a growing literature on long-term trends and drivers of pre-industrial inequality by providing new stylized facts on the evolution of income inequality in Ghana from 1891 to 1960. Using newly constructed social tables, we estimate the Gini coefficient for seven consecutive decades at a time in which the adoption and expansion of cocoa cultivation transformed the Ghanaian economy. Income inequality was already high in 1891, prior to the spread of cocoa cultivation, and it remained stable for four decades. Following a small decline in the early 1930s, inequality increased, reaching its highest level at the end of the colonial era. The expansion of cocoa cultivation and increasing cocoa incomes contributed to persistent high inequality levels until the 1930s. By contrast, the increase in inequality from 1930 to 1960 was largely due to the rising incomes of government employees, skilled workers, and commercial workers. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Cocoa, Ghana, Inequality, Social tables
in
Explorations in Economic History
volume
82
article number
101405
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85108544410
ISSN
0014-4983
DOI
10.1016/j.eeh.2021.101405
project
African elites: Wealth accumulation and persistence
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
23a25ddd-a900-434a-84b1-f2ba8b75ff62
date added to LUP
2021-06-09 14:47:59
date last changed
2023-12-07 13:02:23
@article{23a25ddd-a900-434a-84b1-f2ba8b75ff62,
  abstract     = {{This paper contributes to a growing literature on long-term trends and drivers of pre-industrial inequality by providing new stylized facts on the evolution of income inequality in Ghana from 1891 to 1960. Using newly constructed social tables, we estimate the Gini coefficient for seven consecutive decades at a time in which the adoption and expansion of cocoa cultivation transformed the Ghanaian economy. Income inequality was already high in 1891, prior to the spread of cocoa cultivation, and it remained stable for four decades. Following a small decline in the early 1930s, inequality increased, reaching its highest level at the end of the colonial era. The expansion of cocoa cultivation and increasing cocoa incomes contributed to persistent high inequality levels until the 1930s. By contrast, the increase in inequality from 1930 to 1960 was largely due to the rising incomes of government employees, skilled workers, and commercial workers.}},
  author       = {{Aboagye, Prince Young and Bolt, Jutta}},
  issn         = {{0014-4983}},
  keywords     = {{Cocoa; Ghana; Inequality; Social tables}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{06}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Explorations in Economic History}},
  title        = {{Long-term trends in income inequality: Winners and losers of economic change in Ghana, 1891–1960}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eeh.2021.101405}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.eeh.2021.101405}},
  volume       = {{82}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}