The Size of the Economy and the Distribution of Income in the Roman Empire

2009/11/01 by Walter Scheidel, Steven J. Friesen · 4 citations
Social Sciences · #Classical Antiquity Studies

paper · pdf · doi:10.3815/007543509789745223

openalex publication_date 2009/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04

Abstract

Different methods of estimating the Gross Domestic Product of the Roman Empire in the second century C.E. produce convergent results that point to total output and consumption equivalent to 50 million tons of wheat or close to 20 billion sesterces per year. It is estimated that élites (around 1.5 per cent of the imperial population) controlled approximately one-fifth of total income, while middling households (perhaps 10 per cent of the population) consumed another fifth. These findings shed new light on the scale of economic inequality and the distribution of demand in the Roman world.

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• Demography of the Roman Empire [wikipedia]
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