This paper uses new archival sources to study the long-term tendencies in economic inequality in preindustrial southern Italy (Kingdom of Naples). The paper reconstructs long-term trends in wealth inequality for the period 1550–1800 for a sample of communities in the region Apulia and produces estimates of overall inequality levels across the region. These estimates are compared with those which have recently been published for other Italian and European regions or states. The article also reconstructs the total income distribution for the mid-eighteenth century, then comparing wealth and income inequality. Overall, the evidence for the Kingdom of Naples suggests a tendency for economic inequality to grow continuously over the early modern period. As this was mostly a period of economic stagnation or decline for the Kingdom, the article provides further insights to the debate on the long-run relationship between economic growth and inequality change.

中文翻译：

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意大利南部收入和财富不平等的长期趋势。那不勒斯王国（普利亚），16 至 18 世纪


本文使用新的档案资料来研究前工业化时期意大利南部（那不勒斯王国）经济不平等的长期趋势。本文为普利亚大区的一个社区样本重建了 1550-1800 年期间财富不平等的长期趋势，并对整个地区的整体不平等水平进行了估计。这些估计值与最近公布的意大利和欧洲其他地区或州的估计值进行了比较。本文还重建了 18 世纪中叶的总收入分配，然后比较了财富和收入不平等。总体而言，那不勒斯王国的证据表明，经济不平等在近代早期有持续增长的趋势。由于这主要是沙特经济停滞或衰退的时期，本文为关于经济增长和不平等变化之间长期关系的辩论提供了进一步的见解。