Geography, institutions, and market: Explaining pre-industrial land inequality in mid-19 th -century northeastern Spain

Abstract This study analyses land inequality in mid-19 th -century Aragon, northeastern Spain, focusing on land in a predominantly agrarian, pre-industrial society. Using a micro-database from the amillaramientos (wealth cadastres) covering 635 municipalities and 150,000 taxpayers, it reconstructs inequality through wealth shares (top 10%, 1%, and 0.1%), the Gini coefficient, and ownership rates. Results show stark disparities: the top 10% held 60.9% of land wealth, while the bottom 50% owned less than 5%. Institutional and geographic factors – such as market access, terrain, and state presence – significantly shaped land concentration in this context.