Anna Missiaia | University of Gothenburg (original) (raw)
Papers by Anna Missiaia
Economic history review, May 25, 2024
Scandinavian Journal of History, Jun 12, 2018
The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power ... more The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power are part of the debate on the modernization of Europe's economy. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the wealth of the Swedish nobility as the country evolved from an agrarian to an industrial economy. We use a sample of 200+ probate inventories of nobles for each of the benchmark years 1750, 1800, 1850 and 1900. We show that the nobility, less than 0.5 per cent of the population, was markedly dominant in 1750: the average noble was 60 times richer than the average person, and the nobles held 29 per cent of all private wealth. 90 per cent of the nobles were richer than the average person. By 1900 the advantage of the nobles' wealth had declined; the group held only 5 per cent of total private wealth. At the same time, stratification within the nobility had increased dramatically. One group of super-rich Swedish nobles, often large land owners from the high nobility, possessed the biggest fortunes, but a large minority of nobles were no richer than the average Swede.
Regional Studies is inextricably intertwined with history. Cultural and institutional legacies in... more Regional Studies is inextricably intertwined with history. Cultural and institutional legacies inform choices between different policy options, meaning that the past plays a crucial role in how we think about regional economic development, planning and policy.Through a selection of accessible theoretical, methodological and empirical chapters, this book explores the connections between regional development and history. Drawing on the expertise of scholars in several disciplines, it links history to topics such as behavioural geography, interdependence, divergence and regional and urban policy.This innovative book will be of interest to researchers across regional studies, planning, economic geography and economic history.
This paper provides regional GDP estimates for the 24 Swedish regions (NUTS-3) for the benchmark ... more This paper provides regional GDP estimates for the 24 Swedish regions (NUTS-3) for the benchmark year 1571 and for 11 ten-year benchmarks for the period 1750-1850. The 1571 estimates are based on tax sources and agricultural statistics. The 1750-1850 estimates are produced following the widely used methodology by Geary and Stark (2002): labour force figures from population censuses at regional level are used to allocate to regions the national estimates of agriculture, industry and services while wages are used to correct for productivity differentials. By connecting our series to the existing ones by Enflo, Henning, and Sch€ on (2014) for the period 1860-2010, we are able to produce the longest set of regional GDP series to date for any single country.
Scandinavian Economic History Review, Nov 29, 2018
We present the first comprehensive, long-run estimates of Finnish wealth and its distribution fro... more We present the first comprehensive, long-run estimates of Finnish wealth and its distribution from 1750 to 1900. Using wealth data from 17,279 probate inventories, we show that Finland was very unequal between 1750 and 1850; the top decile owned about 90% of total wealth. This means that Finland was more unequal than the much wealthier economies Britain, France and the US, which goes against the common assumption of richer economies being more unequal. Moreover, when industrialisation took off in Finland, inequality started a downward trajectory. High inequality 1750-1850 was bottom-driven, by a large share of the population owning nothing or close to nothing of value, while economic development after 1850 was pro-equal since the ownership of forests, since long in the hands of the peasantry, became more valuable with the development of forest-based industries. Our findings thus contradict commonplace assumptions that economic growth and industrialisation are associated with more inequality, as well as recent arguments that very few factors beyond catastrophes can decrease inequality. We instead argue for a more inductive and open approach to the determinants of long-run inequality.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2015
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
Social Science Research Network, 2014
This paper presents annual estimates of total and per-capita GDP at 1910 prices for the regions o... more This paper presents annual estimates of total and per-capita GDP at 1910 prices for the regions of Imperial Austria from the origin of the Dual Monarchy (1867) to the eve of WWI (1913). The time paths of regional GDP are estimated from the yield of the tax on the transfer of real and financial property which is itself very highly correlated with the Schulze (2007) estimates of regional GDP for census years (1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, and 1910). The relative continuity or discontinuity of per-capita GDP growth partitions Austria's regions into two groups. Clear evidence of discontinuity (a "take-off") is present in
Annals of Regional Science, Oct 5, 2017
This paper investigates regional business cycle co-movements in Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1913... more This paper investigates regional business cycle co-movements in Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1913. Economic theory suggests that rising market integration induces sectoral specialisation, resulting in a reduction in the correlation of regional GDP cycles (Krugman effect). However, the synchronisation of business cycles is expected to increase because of the growing inter-linkages among regions led by the adoption of common currency and common economic policies (Frankel and Rose effect). We show that in the case of nineteenth-century Austria-Hungary the specialisation effect, most likely amplified by the stock market crisis of 1873, prevailed during 1867-1890, while the common currency/policy effect prevailed during 1890-1913, when the gold standard was adopted in both Austria and Hungary. However, core and peripheral regions contributed differently to the correlation of business fluctuations.
Cliometrica, May 28, 2018
This article aims to explain the location of the manufacturing industries in Italy in the period ... more This article aims to explain the location of the manufacturing industries in Italy in the period 1871-1911. The analytical framework takes into account of two competing theories on the determinants of the location of economic activity: the Heckscher-Ohlin (H-O) theory on factor endowments and the new economic geography (NEG) theory on access to markets. The methodology used here is based on Midelfart-Knarvik et al. (The location of European industry, European Economy Economic Papers 142. European Commission, 2000) and has seen several historical applications. The location of industries is explained through interactions between characteristics of the regions and characteristics of the sectors, of both H-O type and NEG type. The main finding is that endowments, and in particular energy and human capital, were the determinants of the geography of the first Italian industrialization. Market access, at this point of industrialization, mattered only in its domestic formulation and only through economies of scale.
The Economic History Review, Oct 23, 2017
By ERIK BENGTSSON , ANNA MISSIAIA, MATS OLSSON, and PATRICK SVENSSON * This article examines the ... more By ERIK BENGTSSON , ANNA MISSIAIA, MATS OLSSON, and PATRICK SVENSSON * This article examines the evolution of wealth inequality in Sweden from 1750 to 1900, contributing both to the debate on early modern and modern inequality and to the general debate on the pattern of inequality during industrialization. The preindustrial period (1750-1850) is for the first time examined for Sweden at the national level. The study uses a random sample of probate inventories from urban and rural areas across the country, adjusted for age and social class. Estimates are provided for the years 1750, 1800, 1850, and 1900. The results show a gradual growth in inequality as early as the mid-eighteenth century, with the sharpest rise in the late nineteenth century. Whereas the early growth in inequality was connected to changes in the countryside and in agriculture, the later growth was related to industrialization encompassing both compositional effects and strong wealth accumulation among the richest. The level of inequality in Sweden in 1750 was lower than for other western European countries, but by 1900 Sweden was just as unequal.
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
Research Papers in Economics, 2015
Lund Papers in Economic History. General Issues; (2017:168) (2017), 2017
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power ... more The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power are part of the debate on the modernization of the European economy. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the wealth of the Swedish nobility as Sweden evolved from an agrarian to an industrial economy. We use a sample of 200+ probate inventories of nobles for each of the benchmark years 1750, 1800, 1850 and 1900. Medieval and early modern Sweden often has been described as not fully feudal. In line with this, and the (perceived) comparative strength of the peasantry, the nobility is assumed to have been comparatively unimportant and less economically dominant than elsewhere in Europe. We show that the nobility, less than 0.5 per cent of the population, was very dominant in 1750: the average noble was 60 times richer than the average person, and the nobles held 29 per cent of private wealth while 90 per cent of the nobles were richer than the average person. In 1900 the n...
The regional dimension is fundamental to a study of the economic history of Italy. In particular,... more The regional dimension is fundamental to a study of the economic history of Italy. In particular, the forging ahead of the industrial Northwestern regions of the country since the nineteenth century and the consolidation of the “Italian economic dualism” between north and south in the twentieth century have attracted the attention of scholars. This chapter looks at the development over two centuries of the industrial sector in the NUTS-2 Italian regions. We explore what elements influenced the early location of industries in the period leading up to World War I and how the unbalanced industrial geography has largely persisted ever since. The chapter reviews the main contributions to this area, both quantitative and qualitative, and proposes an interpretative model, based on the Heckscher-Ohlin theory of factor endowment and on the new economic geography theory of market access, to explain the location of Italy’s industrial sectors between 1871 and 2001
The Economic History Review, 2019
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
Regional Studies, Regional Science, 2019
Economic history review, May 25, 2024
Scandinavian Journal of History, Jun 12, 2018
The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power ... more The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power are part of the debate on the modernization of Europe's economy. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the wealth of the Swedish nobility as the country evolved from an agrarian to an industrial economy. We use a sample of 200+ probate inventories of nobles for each of the benchmark years 1750, 1800, 1850 and 1900. We show that the nobility, less than 0.5 per cent of the population, was markedly dominant in 1750: the average noble was 60 times richer than the average person, and the nobles held 29 per cent of all private wealth. 90 per cent of the nobles were richer than the average person. By 1900 the advantage of the nobles' wealth had declined; the group held only 5 per cent of total private wealth. At the same time, stratification within the nobility had increased dramatically. One group of super-rich Swedish nobles, often large land owners from the high nobility, possessed the biggest fortunes, but a large minority of nobles were no richer than the average Swede.
Regional Studies is inextricably intertwined with history. Cultural and institutional legacies in... more Regional Studies is inextricably intertwined with history. Cultural and institutional legacies inform choices between different policy options, meaning that the past plays a crucial role in how we think about regional economic development, planning and policy.Through a selection of accessible theoretical, methodological and empirical chapters, this book explores the connections between regional development and history. Drawing on the expertise of scholars in several disciplines, it links history to topics such as behavioural geography, interdependence, divergence and regional and urban policy.This innovative book will be of interest to researchers across regional studies, planning, economic geography and economic history.
This paper provides regional GDP estimates for the 24 Swedish regions (NUTS-3) for the benchmark ... more This paper provides regional GDP estimates for the 24 Swedish regions (NUTS-3) for the benchmark year 1571 and for 11 ten-year benchmarks for the period 1750-1850. The 1571 estimates are based on tax sources and agricultural statistics. The 1750-1850 estimates are produced following the widely used methodology by Geary and Stark (2002): labour force figures from population censuses at regional level are used to allocate to regions the national estimates of agriculture, industry and services while wages are used to correct for productivity differentials. By connecting our series to the existing ones by Enflo, Henning, and Sch€ on (2014) for the period 1860-2010, we are able to produce the longest set of regional GDP series to date for any single country.
Scandinavian Economic History Review, Nov 29, 2018
We present the first comprehensive, long-run estimates of Finnish wealth and its distribution fro... more We present the first comprehensive, long-run estimates of Finnish wealth and its distribution from 1750 to 1900. Using wealth data from 17,279 probate inventories, we show that Finland was very unequal between 1750 and 1850; the top decile owned about 90% of total wealth. This means that Finland was more unequal than the much wealthier economies Britain, France and the US, which goes against the common assumption of richer economies being more unequal. Moreover, when industrialisation took off in Finland, inequality started a downward trajectory. High inequality 1750-1850 was bottom-driven, by a large share of the population owning nothing or close to nothing of value, while economic development after 1850 was pro-equal since the ownership of forests, since long in the hands of the peasantry, became more valuable with the development of forest-based industries. Our findings thus contradict commonplace assumptions that economic growth and industrialisation are associated with more inequality, as well as recent arguments that very few factors beyond catastrophes can decrease inequality. We instead argue for a more inductive and open approach to the determinants of long-run inequality.
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics, 2015
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
Social Science Research Network, 2014
This paper presents annual estimates of total and per-capita GDP at 1910 prices for the regions o... more This paper presents annual estimates of total and per-capita GDP at 1910 prices for the regions of Imperial Austria from the origin of the Dual Monarchy (1867) to the eve of WWI (1913). The time paths of regional GDP are estimated from the yield of the tax on the transfer of real and financial property which is itself very highly correlated with the Schulze (2007) estimates of regional GDP for census years (1870, 1880, 1890, 1900, and 1910). The relative continuity or discontinuity of per-capita GDP growth partitions Austria's regions into two groups. Clear evidence of discontinuity (a "take-off") is present in
Annals of Regional Science, Oct 5, 2017
This paper investigates regional business cycle co-movements in Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1913... more This paper investigates regional business cycle co-movements in Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1913. Economic theory suggests that rising market integration induces sectoral specialisation, resulting in a reduction in the correlation of regional GDP cycles (Krugman effect). However, the synchronisation of business cycles is expected to increase because of the growing inter-linkages among regions led by the adoption of common currency and common economic policies (Frankel and Rose effect). We show that in the case of nineteenth-century Austria-Hungary the specialisation effect, most likely amplified by the stock market crisis of 1873, prevailed during 1867-1890, while the common currency/policy effect prevailed during 1890-1913, when the gold standard was adopted in both Austria and Hungary. However, core and peripheral regions contributed differently to the correlation of business fluctuations.
Cliometrica, May 28, 2018
This article aims to explain the location of the manufacturing industries in Italy in the period ... more This article aims to explain the location of the manufacturing industries in Italy in the period 1871-1911. The analytical framework takes into account of two competing theories on the determinants of the location of economic activity: the Heckscher-Ohlin (H-O) theory on factor endowments and the new economic geography (NEG) theory on access to markets. The methodology used here is based on Midelfart-Knarvik et al. (The location of European industry, European Economy Economic Papers 142. European Commission, 2000) and has seen several historical applications. The location of industries is explained through interactions between characteristics of the regions and characteristics of the sectors, of both H-O type and NEG type. The main finding is that endowments, and in particular energy and human capital, were the determinants of the geography of the first Italian industrialization. Market access, at this point of industrialization, mattered only in its domestic formulation and only through economies of scale.
The Economic History Review, Oct 23, 2017
By ERIK BENGTSSON , ANNA MISSIAIA, MATS OLSSON, and PATRICK SVENSSON * This article examines the ... more By ERIK BENGTSSON , ANNA MISSIAIA, MATS OLSSON, and PATRICK SVENSSON * This article examines the evolution of wealth inequality in Sweden from 1750 to 1900, contributing both to the debate on early modern and modern inequality and to the general debate on the pattern of inequality during industrialization. The preindustrial period (1750-1850) is for the first time examined for Sweden at the national level. The study uses a random sample of probate inventories from urban and rural areas across the country, adjusted for age and social class. Estimates are provided for the years 1750, 1800, 1850, and 1900. The results show a gradual growth in inequality as early as the mid-eighteenth century, with the sharpest rise in the late nineteenth century. Whereas the early growth in inequality was connected to changes in the countryside and in agriculture, the later growth was related to industrialization encompassing both compositional effects and strong wealth accumulation among the richest. The level of inequality in Sweden in 1750 was lower than for other western European countries, but by 1900 Sweden was just as unequal.
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
Research Papers in Economics, 2015
Lund Papers in Economic History. General Issues; (2017:168) (2017), 2017
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power ... more The role of the European nobility and their ability to retain their political and economic power are part of the debate on the modernization of the European economy. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the wealth of the Swedish nobility as Sweden evolved from an agrarian to an industrial economy. We use a sample of 200+ probate inventories of nobles for each of the benchmark years 1750, 1800, 1850 and 1900. Medieval and early modern Sweden often has been described as not fully feudal. In line with this, and the (perceived) comparative strength of the peasantry, the nobility is assumed to have been comparatively unimportant and less economically dominant than elsewhere in Europe. We show that the nobility, less than 0.5 per cent of the population, was very dominant in 1750: the average noble was 60 times richer than the average person, and the nobles held 29 per cent of private wealth while 90 per cent of the nobles were richer than the average person. In 1900 the n...
The regional dimension is fundamental to a study of the economic history of Italy. In particular,... more The regional dimension is fundamental to a study of the economic history of Italy. In particular, the forging ahead of the industrial Northwestern regions of the country since the nineteenth century and the consolidation of the “Italian economic dualism” between north and south in the twentieth century have attracted the attention of scholars. This chapter looks at the development over two centuries of the industrial sector in the NUTS-2 Italian regions. We explore what elements influenced the early location of industries in the period leading up to World War I and how the unbalanced industrial geography has largely persisted ever since. The chapter reviews the main contributions to this area, both quantitative and qualitative, and proposes an interpretative model, based on the Heckscher-Ohlin theory of factor endowment and on the new economic geography theory of market access, to explain the location of Italy’s industrial sectors between 1871 and 2001
The Economic History Review, 2019
This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska insti... more This series replaces the former series under the title Meddelande från ekonomisk-historiska institutionen, Lunds universitet. The change of name reflects the orientation of the series towards an international readership. The series is multilingual, but the majority of the working papers appear in English.
Regional Studies, Regional Science, 2019