Abstract
What were the economic consequences of serfdom? To shed light on this question, we investigate gross income and the income distribution in Moscow Province in 1811. We collect new data on household income from tax returns for almost 8,000 households. Our data includes all aristocrats and merchants registered in the province and captures total income from serf labor and from factories. We also estimate the average incomes of 21 other social groups using financial accounts of governmental and private enterprises. Combining these data sources, we construct a social table and measure Gross National Income, a Gini Coefficient, and hence the Inequality Extraction Ratio. We find that serfdom was highly extractive, with inequality close to its theoretical maximum.
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