A Kuznets rise and a Piketty fall : income inequality in Finland, 1865–1934

Abstract

This study presents the new Gini coefficient and top income share series for Finland in the years 1865–1934 by utilizing Finnish tax statistics, which provide data on a poor country on the threshold of modern economic growth. Income inequality was relatively moderate in 1865, while famine (1867–1868) decreased it further. Income inequality increased substantially during the late nineteenth century, then declined during WWI and its aftermath, followed by another increase in inequality in the late 1920s that was halted by the Great Depression. The rising level of inequality before WWI fits well with the ideas of the Kuznets curve and maximum inequality, whereas the decline in inequality was due to shocks (e.g., civil war).