This article discusses the evolution of Kenya's wealth distribution from the late 1950s to the present. Utilizing previously untapped probate and administration sources, it measures the share of Kenyans leaving estates at death, and maps how this wealth-owning strata has changed over time. It shows a growth in African estates after independence, and by the 1980s roughly 8 % of Kenyans left estates at death, largely a consequence of land titling and land reform. Meanwhile, European estates dwindled as settlers divested. Since the 1990s, Nairobi-based estate-holders are growing in share, reflecting the importance of urban property to the portfolios of the wealthy. Measures of top wealth shares suggest high wealth inequality in both the late colonial period and the present, but today's wealth inequality is driven by the uneven distribution of housing wealth, more so than by agricultural land. These findings illustrate how a variety of colonial legacies influenced wealth accumulation in postcolonial Kenya.

中文翻译：

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肯尼亚的殖民遗产和财富不平等


本文讨论从 20 世纪 50 年代末至今肯尼亚财富分配的演变。它利用以前未开发的遗嘱认证和管理资源，衡量了肯尼亚人在死亡时留下遗产的比例，并绘制了这个财富拥有阶层随时间的变化情况。它显示了独立后非洲庄园的增长，到 20 世纪 80 年代，大约 8% 的肯尼亚人在死亡时留下了庄园，这主要是土地所有权和土地改革的结果。与此同时，随着定居者的撤资，欧洲的庄园逐渐减少。自 20 世纪 90 年代以来，内罗毕的房地产持有者所占份额不断增加，反映出城市房地产对富人投资组合的重要性。对最高财富份额的衡量表明，殖民时期晚期和现在都存在高度的财富不平等，但今天的财富不平等是由住房财富分配不均造成的，而不是由农业用地造成的。这些发现说明了各种殖民遗产如何影响后殖民时期肯尼亚的财富积累。