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Wednesday 30 March 2016 11.00 - 13.00
U-2 SOC02 Elites, Inequality and Social Mobility
Aula 17, Nivel 1E
Networks: Elites and Forerunners , Social Inequality Chair: Yolanda Blasco-Martel
Organizer: Miguel Artola Blanco Discussant: Yolanda Blasco-Martel
Miguel Artola Blanco : The Death of the Rentier, an Unexplored Transformation: Madrid, 1930-1950
This paper seeks to investigate social mobility among Madrid economic elites during two decades marked by profound political changes (the proclamation of the Second Republic, the outbreak of the Civil War and the establishment of Franco’s dictatorship) and important economic shocks (the Great Depression, rent regulation and the emergence of ... (Show more)
This paper seeks to investigate social mobility among Madrid economic elites during two decades marked by profound political changes (the proclamation of the Second Republic, the outbreak of the Civil War and the establishment of Franco’s dictatorship) and important economic shocks (the Great Depression, rent regulation and the emergence of a sizeable black market). We rely on income tax returns as our main source, since they provide very detailed information regarding the personal situation (age, marital status and children) and income composition (land rents, dividends, salaries, business profits, etc.) of taxpayers. Our methodology consists in selecting the top 0.01% of top income groups for three different years (1933, 1941 and 1954) to analyse social mobility and income changes. Our findings suggest that the biggest rupture occurred during the 1940s, when properties families experienced a dramatic decline due to urban and rural rent control, while at the same time a new class of industrialists and managers emerged. (Show less)

Jean-Brieux Delbos : “Once in the Elite, always in the Elite? Franchised Parisian Voters, Wealth and Mobility (1845-1859, Paris, France)
Little is known about individual economic mobility in the 19th century. This paper examines this question by studying the group of franchised Parisian voters of the 1840s. Different sources are matched in order to follow longitudinally the trajectories of the individuals who belong to this particularly rich and politically important ... (Show more)
Little is known about individual economic mobility in the 19th century. This paper examines this question by studying the group of franchised Parisian voters of the 1840s. Different sources are matched in order to follow longitudinally the trajectories of the individuals who belong to this particularly rich and politically important group over time. Both short-term mobility and long-term mobility are analyzed. Short-term mobility is observed by matching individuals who appear in the electoral Parisian lists of the years 1845 and 1846. These lists show the direct taxes that were paid by the voters. Long-term mobility is revealed by exploiting the Parisian Tables of successions and absences (TSA) of the years 1845 to 1859. These contain information about the wealth at death of individuals. Because the tax-based voting franchise and wealth at death do not have the same structure, this paper studies the comparability between these two variables and explores the question of the political representation of wealth. Despite the difference in definition between the electoral franchise and wealth, the data set shows consistent correlations across time. Moreover, both in the short- and long-term, economic mobility proves to be substantial. 14 percent of individuals changed quintile between 1845 and 1846, which is considerable over a one-year period. Concerning long-term mobility, 65 percent of individuals changed quintile between 1845 and their respective years of death. All these results raise serious questions about the long-held idea of a stable plutocratic elite group. (Show less)

Clément Dherbécourt : Social Mobilty among the Top 0.1% in France (1867-1977): a "Rank-rank" Approach
This paper analyses inter-generational wealth mobility in the very rich Parisian families. It is based on an
original sample on wealth at death of French top 0.1% members and their descendants. Two periods are
differentiated : 1867-1914 and 1922-1977. The micro-data set shows how dramatically the conditions of
reproduction of the elite changed ... (Show more)
This paper analyses inter-generational wealth mobility in the very rich Parisian families. It is based on an
original sample on wealth at death of French top 0.1% members and their descendants. Two periods are
differentiated : 1867-1914 and 1922-1977. The micro-data set shows how dramatically the conditions of
reproduction of the elite changed after World War I, due to macroeconomic shocks, inflation, as well as
higher inheritance taxation rates. In average downward mobility more than doubled between the two
periods. This was due first of all to shocks on asset prices. Moreover the paper shows that longevity and number of siblings - which were strong predictors of the inheritors’ wealth before 1914 – has no affect on the wealth at death anymore after 1945. The paper questions the traditionnal measure of wealth mobility (the log-log approach) and proposes an alternative measure of intergenerational wealth moblity based on the wealth rank of the deceased and the inheritor (rank-rank). We show that log-log comparison gives misleading interpretation of wealth mobility for the 1922-1977 period. Rank-rank approach is less sensitive to changes in the distribution of wealth, which makes it a better candidate for long-run comparisons. (Show less)

Martín Rodrigo Alharilla : A Transatlantic and Cosmopolitan Elite: Cuban Planters and Merchants in Europe (1830-1900)
This paper presents a new analysis of the Cuban economic elite during the Nineteenth century by making an inductive approach on different case studies. Our aim is to highlight two set of problems. First, we point to the extraordinary ability of Cuban planters and merchants to enrich themselves in a ... (Show more)
This paper presents a new analysis of the Cuban economic elite during the Nineteenth century by making an inductive approach on different case studies. Our aim is to highlight two set of problems. First, we point to the extraordinary ability of Cuban planters and merchants to enrich themselves in a context of an extremely unequal distribution of income which kept most workers as slaves. Secondly, we inquire into the generalized perception that Cuba was an ideal space for capital accumulation but not for reinvestment, which obliged agents to follow a multinational perspective by which they acquired assets in different parts of Europe and the United States. (Show less)

Jose Miguel Sanjuan : When is an Oligarchy Formed? The Origins and Evolution of an Elite. Barcelona 1850- 1920
This paper tracks the origins and inner changes of Barcelona's economic elite in the long term. The objective is to achieve a deeper understanding of the mechanism that families and individuals developed to gain access to the elites and retain their economic position. For doing so, the paper analyzes ... (Show more)
This paper tracks the origins and inner changes of Barcelona's economic elite in the long term. The objective is to achieve a deeper understanding of the mechanism that families and individuals developed to gain access to the elites and retain their economic position. For doing so, the paper analyzes industrial and real estate tax payers in three moments (1853-1883-1919). Through this approach we can observe that in aggregate, elites (identified as the 5% of the higher taxpayers) move from a stationary state to a progressive increase of wealth concentration. For a deeper understanding of the mechanism and inner changes of this elite, we focus in 75 families and exhaustively we have tracked down their origin and evolution. The conclusion is that their initial wealth accumulation is linked with a few specific situations. Their economic promotion seem to be related to specific windows of opportunity that open at certain moments and/or places. Once these windows of opportunity close the elites seem to progressively lock on themselves. This tendency created social circles that favoured endogamy. (Show less)



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