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The Colonial Legacy: Income Inequality in Former British African Colonies

Author

Listed:
  • Anthony B. Atkinson
Abstract
This paper examines the distribution of top incomes in 15 former British colonies in Africa, drawing on evidence available from income tax records. It seeks to throw light on the position of colonial elites during the period of British rule. Just how unequal were incomes? How did the position of the rich in the colonies compare with that of the rich in the United Kingdom?

Suggested Citation

  • Anthony B. Atkinson, 2014. "The Colonial Legacy: Income Inequality in Former British African Colonies," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-045, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2014-045
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2014-045.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anthony B. Atkinson & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez, 2011. "Top Incomes in the Long Run of History," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-71, March.
    2. A. G. Irvine, 1955. "A Note On The National Income And Social Accounts Of Northern Rhodesia. 1945–1953," South African Journal of Economics, Economic Society of South Africa, vol. 23(4), pages 364-369, December.
    3. Simon Kuznets & Elizabeth Jenks, 1953. "Shares of Upper Income Groups in Income and Savings (1953)," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number kuzn53-1.
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    5. Dudley Seers, 1959. "An Approach To The Short-Period Analysis Of Primary-Producingeconomies," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 1-36.
    6. Anthony Atkinson & Thomas Piketty, 2010. "Top Incomes : A Global Perspective," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00754875, HAL.
    7. Gastwirth, Joseph L, 1972. "The Estimation of the Lorenz Curve and Gini Index," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 54(3), pages 306-316, August.
    8. Atkinson, A. B. & Piketty, Thomas (ed.), 2010. "Top Incomes: A Global Perspective," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199286898.
    9. A. B. Atkinson, 2005. "Top incomes in the UK over the 20th century," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 168(2), pages 325-343, March.
    10. Dudley Seers, 1952. "The Role of National Income Estimates in the Statistical Policy of an Underdeveloped Area," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 20(3), pages 159-168.
    11. Shantayanan Devarajan, 2013. "Africa's Statistical Tragedy," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 59, pages 9-15, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Alvaredo, Facundo & Bergeron, Augustin & Cassan, Guilhem, 2017. "Income concentration in British India, 1885–1946," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 459-469.
    2. Teyu Chou & Cyrus Chu, 2015. "Top Incomes in Taiwan, 1977-2013," Working Papers 201506, World Inequality Lab.
    3. Stefania Galli & Dimitrios Theodoridis & Klas Rönnbäck, 2023. "Economic inequality in Latin America and Africa, 1650 to 1950: Can a comparison of historical trajectories help to understand underdevelopment?," Economic History of Developing Regions, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(1), pages 41-64, January.
    4. Andrea Brandolini & John Micklewright, 2020. "Tony Atkinson’s new book, Measuring Poverty Around the World. Some further reflections," Working Papers 518, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    5. C. Y. Cyrus Chu & Teyu Chou & Sheng-Cheng Hu, 2015. "Top Incomes in Taiwan, 1977-2013," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-02655149, HAL.
    6. Alvaredo, Facundo & Cogneau, Denis & Piketty, Thomas, 2021. "Income inequality under colonial rule. Evidence from French Algeria, Cameroon, Tunisia, and Vietnam and comparisons with British colonies 1920–1960," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    7. C. Y. Cyrus Chu & Teyu Chou & Sheng-Cheng Hu, 2015. "Top Incomes in Taiwan, 1977-2013," Working Papers halshs-02655149, HAL.
    8. Thomas Isbell, 2024. "Where You Sit Is Where You Stand: Perceived (In)Equality and Demand for Democracy in Africa," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 174(3), pages 817-836, September.
    9. Yajna Govind, 2020. "Post-colonial Trends of Income Inequality: Evidence from the Overseas Departments of France," World Inequality Lab Working Papers halshs-03022303, HAL.
    10. Ellen Hillbom & Jutta Bolt & Michiel de Haas & Federico Tadei, 2024. "Income inequality and export‐oriented commercialization in colonial Africa: Evidence from six countries," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 77(3), pages 975-1004, August.
    11. Clementi,Fabio & Fabiani,Michele & Molini,Vasco & Schettino,Francesco, 2022. "Is Inequality Systematically Underestimated in Sub-Saharan Africa ? A Proposal toOvercome the Problem," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10058, The World Bank.

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