Work

Wealth mobility in the United States: 1860–1870

Year: 2022

Type: article

Abstract: We offer new evidence on the dynamics of wealth holding in the United States over the Civil War decade based on a hand-linked random sample of wealth holders drawn from the 1860 census. Despite the wealth shock caused by emancipation, we find that patterns of wealth mobility were broadly similar for northern and southern residents in 1860. Looking at the determinants of individual wealth holding in 1870, we find that the elasticity with respect to 1860 wealth was quite low in both regions – consistent with high levels of wealth mobility.

Source: Social Science History

DOI: 10.1017/ssh.2022.19

Authors: Brandon Dupont, Joshua L. Rosenbloom

Institutions: Western Washington University, National Bureau of Economic Research, Iowa State University

Language: English

Topic: Historical Economic and Social Studies

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,255

OpenAlex ID: W4312913783