Equality and Development: A Comparative and Historical Perspective 1800-2025 (2025, WIL WP)

Romaine Loubes, Marie Andreescu, Manuel Arias-Osorio, Luis Bauluz, Nitin Bharti, Philipp Bothe, Pierre Brassac, Lucas Chancel, Mauricio de Rosa, Jonas Dietrich, Dima El Harari, Matthew Fisher-Post, Ignacio Flores, Valentina Gabrielli, Amory Gethin, Ricardo Gomez-Carrera, Sehyun Hong, Thanasak Jenmana, Clara Martinez-Toledano, Zhexun Mo, Cornelia Mohren, Marc Morgan, Rowaida Moshrif, Stella Muti, Theresa Neef, Gaston Nievas, Moritz Odersky, Thomas Piketty, Anne-Sophie Robilliard, Emmanuel Saez, Alide Sodano, Anmol Somanchi, Li Yang, Gabriel Zucman, Alvaro Zuniga-Cordero
November 2025
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Abstract

This paper uses extended series on income and wealth inequality from the World Inequality Database (WID) covering all world regions over the 1800-2025 period, together with new series on hourly productivity and human capital expenditure, to revisit the relationship between equality and development, with a much broader comparative and historical perspective than previous studies. Over the long-run, we find a strong positive association between equality and productivity. Our proposed interpretation is that the rise of inclusive “social-democratic” institutions (including extended access to human capital, public services and democratic participation) led both to more equality and higher productivity, particularly in Western and Nordic Europe. We discuss the implications for future sustainable development strategies.

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Preprint
Source Themes
Romaine Loubes
Romaine Loubes
PhD candidate in Economics

Romaine Loubes is a doctoral candidate in economics at the Paris School of Economics, working in trade, labor and development.

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