The Distribution of Income in the United States in 1798: Estimates Based on the Federal Housing Inventory
利用1798年美国住房普查数据，通过7%样本和住房收入弹性假设，估算当时收入分配基尼系数在0.63-0.71之间，远高于现代水平，且调整拥挤和弹性后结论不变。
A census of all housing values was made in the United States in 1798 which provides the basis for obtaining an estimate of the distribution of income in that year. A 7% sample of the 576,800 dwelling units was adjusted for the number of families in a house and various assumptions were made concerning the elasticity of housing with respect to income. The relative inequality of income with a Gini coefficient of between 0.63 and 0.71 was much greater than it is today. Similar results were found for housing distributions then and now. How much income inequality existed in the United States two centuries ago? Was the Gini coefficient, G, less than now? These are questions that can be answered by studying the 1798 census of housing. This data set provides an excellent opportunity for the study of income groups in America, including a detailed quantification of the extremes, the affluent groups and their mansions and the many who lived in humble circumstances. This data set shows such surprising inequality that adjustments for crowding (the number of famlies in each house) and for possible income-rent elasticities have little effect. Analysis of the data supports the hypothesis that income inequality in the United States at the end of the 18th century was quite large, and that it is more tenable than is a hypothesis of mild