Economic Inequality in Preindustrial Germany, ca. 1300 – 1850
利用新数据库，梳理了1300–1850年德国财富不平等的四个交替升降阶段，发现黑死病和三十年战争等事件降低了不平等，这与欧洲其他地区不同，为理解不平等变迁提供了新证据。
This article provides an overview of wealth inequality in Germany during 1300–1850, introducing a novel database. We document four alternating phases of inequality decline and growth. The Black Death (1347–1352) led to inequality decline, until about 1450. Thereafter, inequality rose steadily. The Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and the 1627–1629 plague triggered a second phase of inequality reduction. This distinguishes Germany from other European areas where inequality grew monotonically. Inequality growth resumed from about 1700, well before the Industrial Revolution. Our findings offer new material to current debates on the determinants of inequality change in western societies, past and present.