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Erik Green . Photo

Erik Green

Professor

Erik Green . Photo

Income Mobility before Industrialization: Evidence from South Africa’s Cape Colony

Author

  • Johan Fourie
  • Erik Green
  • Auke Rijpma
  • Dieter von Fintel

Summary, in English

Attempts to measure social mobility before the twentieth century are frequently hampered by limited data. In this paper, we use a new source – annual, matched tax censuses over more than 70 years – to calculate intragenerational income mobility within a preindustrial, settler society, the Dutch and British Cape Colony at the southern tip of Africa. Our unique source allows us to measure income mobility along several dimensions, helping to disentangle reasons for the high levels of persistence we find.

Department/s

  • Economic development of the Global South
  • Faculty Office
  • Department of Economic History

Publishing year

2024-09-12

Language

English

Pages

1-30

Publication/Series

Social Science History

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Topic

  • Humanities and the Arts
  • Economic History

Keywords

  • income mobility
  • social mobility
  • settler economies
  • South Africa
  • Cape Colony

Status

Epub

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0145-5532