Long-term trends in income inequality: Winners and losers of economic change in Ghana, 1891–1960

Principal Investigator(s):  View help for Principal Investigator(s) Prince Young Aboagye, Lund University, Sweden ; Jutta Bolt , Lund University, Sweden

Version:  View help for Version V1

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Complete data.xlsx application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet 56.4 KB 05/27/2021 11:36:AM

Project Citation: 

Aboagye, Prince Young, and Bolt , Jutta . Long-term trends in income inequality: Winners and losers of economic change in Ghana, 1891–1960. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2021-05-27. https://doi.org/10.3886/E141401V1

Project Description

Summary:  View help for Summary The study contributes to a growing literature on long-term trends and drivers of pre-industrial inequality by providing new stylized facts on the evolution of income inequality in Ghana from 1891 to 1960. Using newly constructed social tables, we estimate the Gini coefficient for seven consecutive decades at a time in which the adoption and expansion of cocoa cultivation transformed the Ghanaian economy. Income inequality was already high in 1891, prior to the spread of cocoa cultivation, and it remained stable for four decades. Following a small decline in the early 1930s, inequality increased, reaching its highest level at the end of the colonial era. The expansion of cocoa cultivation and increasing cocoa incomes contributed to persistent high inequality levels until the 1930s. By contrast, the increase in inequality from 1930 to 1960 was largely due to the rising incomes of government employees, skilled workers, and commercial workers.
Funding Sources:  View help for Funding Sources Jan Wallander and Tom Hedelius Foundation (P2015-0076:1); Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation (MMW 2015:0028)

Scope of Project

Subject Terms:  View help for Subject Terms Cocoa; Ghana; Inequality; Social tables
Geographic Coverage:  View help for Geographic Coverage Ghana

Methodology

Data Source:  View help for Data Source The National Archives, Kew 
London School of Economics Library
Public Records and Archives Administration Department, Ghana
British Online Archives

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Published Versions

V1 [2021-05-27]

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