Long-term trends in economic inequality in southern Italy. The Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, 16th-18th centuries: First results

This paper uses new archival data collected by an ERC-funded research project, EINITE-Economic Inequality across Italy and Europe, 1300-1800, to study the long-term tendencies in economic inequality in preindustrial southern Italy (Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily). The paper reconstructs long-term trends in inequality, especially of wealth, for the period 1550-1800 and also produces regional estimates of overall inequality levels in Apulia, which are compared with those now available for some regions of central-northern Italy (Piedmont, Tuscany). As much of the early modern period the Kingdom of Naples was overall a stagnating economy, this is a particularly good case for exploring the relationship between economic growth and inequality change.