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Comparing economic inequality between the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty

A trio of researchers from Bocconi University, in Italy, the University of Cambridge, in the U.K., and Stanford University, in the U.S., has found that there was more economic inequality under the Han Dynasty than during the Roman Empire. In their published in the journal Nature Communications, Guido Alfani, Michele Bolla and Walter Scheidel applied modern economic and business tools to the two economies.

The Roman Empire existed for approximately 500 years, from approximately 27 BC to approximately 476 AD, and included most of the territory surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, other parts of Europe and the U.K. The Han Dynasty existed for approximately 425 years, from approximately 206 BC to 220 AD, and included what is now China and parts of Vietnam, Korea, and other nearby regions.

The two empires, the researchers noted, co-existed for approximately 250 years, and while there were many differences in conditions between the two, the researchers have found that there were also similarities.

To compare economic conditions for people living during the two empires, the researchers gathered as much historical evidence as they could find and used it to assess living conditions based on social position and wealth.

They found that the average income for people living during the Roman Empire was approximately 2.25 times the subsistence minimum and 1.88 for those living during the Han Dynasty. They also found that the top 1% of Romans earned approximately 19% of total income, while the top 1% in Han earned approximately 26%.

The research team also noted that leaders during the Roman Empire relied on local officials to manage their conquests, while the Han leaders chose to move local leaders to places closer to the seat of power. Because of that, military spending was higher for the Romans—they paid their soldiers throughout the empire to keep the peace.

To compare inequality between the two empires, the researchers used a social table, which categorizes people by social position along with associated incomes. The result is a Gini coefficient. The Roman Empire scored 0.46 and Han China scored 0.48. On such a scale, the number "1" represents complete inequality. For comparison, they note that currently the Gini coefficient for the U.S. is 0.41.

The researchers also noted that Han China also had a much higher extraction rate—the rate at which the elite class takes from the economy—than the Romans; 80% compared to 69%. This factor, they note, could have led to their downfall.