Wealth Concentration in a Developing Economy: Paris and France, 1807–1994
利用遗产税申报数据，构建了1807至1994年巴黎和法国的财富集中度序列，发现1914年前不平等加剧源于工业和金融财富激增，之后因不利冲击而非库兹涅茨过程大幅下降，且高财富集中主要惠及靠资本收入生活的退休者而非企业家。
Using large samples of estate tax returns, we construct new series on wealth concentration in Paris and France from 1807 to 1994. Inequality increased until 1914 because industrial and financial estates grew dramatically. Then, adverse shocks, rather than a Kuznets-type process, led to a massive decline in inequality. The very high wealth concentration prior to 1914 benefited retired individuals living off capital income (rentiers) rather than entrepreneurs. The very rich were in their seventies and eighties, whereas they had been in their fifties a half century earlier and would be so again after World War II. Our results shed new light on ongoing debates about wealth inequality and growth.