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The evolution of top income and wealth shares in Portugal since 1936*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 March 2010

Jordi Guilera
Jordi Guilera
Affiliation:
Facultat de Ciències Econòmiques i Empresarials. Departament d’Història i Institucions Econòmiques. Universitat de Barcelona. Diagonal, 690, 08034 Barcelona, Spain. jguilera@ub.edu
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Abstract

This paper presents new statistical evidence on the long-term evolution of economic inequality in Portugal. Portuguese tax sources have been employed to estimate top income and wealth shares (TIS and TWS) from 1936 onwards. The new series shows that the Second World War had a negative and non-permanent effect on the evolution of TIS, but not on TWS, which increased until the mid 1950s. From the mid 1950s to the early 1980s, there was a sharp decline in TIS and TWS. Finally, during the 1990s, TIS increased again. The reasons behind the Portuguese distributive pattern seem to be more economic than political.

Resumen

El objetivo de este artículo es presentar nueva información estadística sobre la evolución de las desigualdades económicas en Portugal a largo plazo. La explotación de las fuentes fiscales portuguesas ha permitido la estimación de las top income and wealth shares (TIS y TWS) desde 1936. Estas nuevas series revelan que la Segunda Guerra Mundial tuvo un impacto negativo no permanente sobre las TIS, pero no sobre las TWS. Desde mediados de los cincuenta hasta principios de los ochenta, TIS y TWS cayeron con intensidad. Finalmente, durante los años noventa las TIS volvieron a aumentar. Las razones que hay detrás de la pauta distributiva portuguesa parecen ser más de índole económica que política.

Keywords

top incomesPortugaleconomic inequalityD31, O15, H24top incomes, Portugal, desigualdades económicas
Type
Articles/Artículos
Information
Revista de Historia Economica - Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History , Volume 28 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 139 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © Instituto Figuerola de Historia y Ciencias Sociales, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2010

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References

STATISTICAL SOURCES

INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ESTATÍSTICA (1936-1966): Anuário estatístico das contribuiçoes e impostos.Google Scholar
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ESTATÍSTICA (1967-1982): Estatísticas das contribuiçoes e impostos.Google Scholar
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ESTATÍSTICA (1989-1999): Estatísticas das receitas fiscais.Google Scholar
INSTITUTO NACIONAL DE ESTATÍSTICA (1930-2000): Recenseamento geral da populaçao.Google Scholar

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