Is Inequality Unstoppable?
The ERC-funded EINITE (Economic Inequality across Italy and Europe, 1300-1800) project led by Bocconi Professor Guido Alfani reached the surprising conclusion that in Western Europe at the beginning of the 14th century the share of material wealth owned by the richest 10% was about as large as today. The study shows a trend towards an increasingly unequal distribution of wealth, that only the Black Death and wars have been able to reverse in absence of redistributive fiscal policies.
The ERC-funded EINITE (Economic Inequality across Italy and Europe, 1300-1800) project led by Bocconi Professor Guido Alfani reached the surprising conclusion that in Western Europe at the beginning of the 14th century the share of material wealth owned by the richest 10% was about as large as today. The study shows a trend towards an increasingly unequal distribution of wealth, that only the Black Death and wars have been able to reverse in absence of redistributive fiscal policies.