Piketty, Thomas; Postel-Vinay, Gilles; Rosenthal, Jean … - C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers - 2004
We use large samples of estate tax returns to construct new series on wealth concentration in Paris and France from 1807 to 1994. Wealth concentration in Paris and in France increased until World War I and then fell abruptly. The rise in inequality prior to WWI accelerated (rather than...