House prices in the Ottoman Empire: evidence from eighteenth-century Edirne dagger

KARAGEDİKLİ G., Tuncer A. C.

ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW, cilt.74, sa.1, ss.6-33, 2021 (AHCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 74 Sayı: 1
  • Basım Tarihi: 2021
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1111/ehr.13001
  • Dergi Adı: ECONOMIC HISTORY REVIEW
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, International Bibliography of Social Sciences, Periodicals Index Online, ABI/INFORM, American History and Life, Business Source Elite, Business Source Premier, EconLit, Gender Studies Database, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, DIALNET
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.6-33
  • Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study uses a new dataset of 2,246 notarial deeds of house sales from one of the major cities of the Ottoman Empire, Edirne, covering the period from 1720 to 1814. It estimates real hedonic house prices and urban wealth inequality for the housing market. It shows that house size, proximity to the commercial centre, access to fresh water, and family ties were important determinants of relative house prices. These findings also apply to the different quartiles of the market, indicating limited market segmentation. It demonstrates that there was an increase in housing wealth inequality during the eighteenth century as house prices became more dispersed. The hedonic house price index provides evidence that inflation-adjusted house prices declined substantially following the Russo-Turkish war of 1768-74. The decline is mainly explained through demographic shocks induced by plague epidemics, natural disasters, and other population movements driven by wars, army mobilization, and political upheavals.