Inequality in property incomes in nineteenth-century Austria

Abstract

The article examines the distribution of wealth in the alpine lands of the Habsburg Monarchy in the period 1820–1913. A moderate rise in overall inequality from the first to the second half of the period can be observed. This rise is due to sectoral shifts within the society. Inequality between various social groups shows various changes with widening as well as narrowing inequality in the different parts of society. Altogether, the changes in wealth inequality do not support the notion of widening income inequality in the early stages of industrialization in Austria.