IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ehbiol/v8y2010i2p145-152.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The seed of abundance and misery: Peruvian living standards from the early republican period to the end of the guano era (1820-1880)

Author

Listed:
  • Twrdek, Linda
  • Manzel, Kerstin

Abstract

This paper examines 19th-century Peruvian heights from the early republican period to the end of the guano era (1820-1880). Analyzing male and female prisoner heights from the Lima penitentiary, we find that the physical stature of the lower classes stagnated throughout the period. In spite of the substantial profits generated by Peru's chief export product, guano, these revenues apparently did not filter down to benefit ordinary laborers.

Suggested Citation

  • Twrdek, Linda & Manzel, Kerstin, 2010. "The seed of abundance and misery: Peruvian living standards from the early republican period to the end of the guano era (1820-1880)," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 145-152, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:8:y:2010:i:2:p:145-152
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1570-677X(10)00037-7
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Carlos Contreras, 2004. "El aprendizaje del capitalismo. Estudios de historia económica y social del Perú republicano," Libros no PUCP / Books other publishers, Otras editoriales / Other publishers, edition 1, number otr-2004-02, February.
    2. Frank, Zephyr, 2006. "Stature in nineteenth-century Rio de Janeiro: preliminary evidence from prison records," Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 24(3), pages 465-489, January.
    3. Jörg Baten & Uwe Fraunholz, 2004. "Did Partial Globalization Increase Inequality? The Case of the Latin American Periphery, 1950–2000," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 50(1), pages 45-84.
    4. Bodenhorn, Howard, 1999. "A Troublesome Caste: Height and Nutrition of Antebellum Virginia's Rural Free Blacks," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 59(4), pages 972-996, December.
    5. Lopez-Alonso, Moramay & Condey, Raul Porras, 2003. "The ups and downs of Mexican economic growth: the biological standard of living and inequality, 1870-1950," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 1(2), pages 169-186, June.
    6. Baten, Joerg & Pelger, Ines & Twrdek, Linda, 2009. "The anthropometric history of Argentina, Brazil and Peru during the 19th and early 20th century," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 319-333, December.
    7. Komlos, John, 1998. "Shrinking in a Growing Economy? The Mystery of Physical Stature during the Industrial Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(03), pages 779-802, September.
    8. Salvatore, Ricardo D., 2007. "Heights, Nutrition, and Well-Being in Argentina, ca. 1850–1950. Preliminary Results," Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 53-85, January.
    9. Meisel, Adolfo & Vega, Margarita, 2007. "The biological standard of living (and its convergence) in Colombia, 1870-2003: A tropical success story," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 100-122, March.
    10. Salvatore, Ricardo D., 2004. "Stature decline and recovery in a food-rich export economy: Argentina 1900-1934," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 233-255, July.
    11. Carson, Scott Alan, 2005. "The biological standard of living in 19th century Mexico and in the American West," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 3(3), pages 405-419, December.
    12. Richard H. Steckel, 1995. "Stature and the Standard of Living," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 33(4), pages 1903-1940, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Branisa, Boris & Peres-Cajías, Jose & Caspa, Nigel, 2020. "The biological standard of living in La Paz (Bolivia), 1880s–1920s: Persistent stagnation and inequality," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    2. Luis Felipe Zegarra, 2020. "Living Costs and Real Wages in Nineteenth Century Lima: Levels and International Comparisons," Australian Economic History Review, Economic History Society of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(2), pages 186-219, July.
    3. Dobado-González, Rafael & Garcia-Hiernaux, Alfredo, 2017. "Two worlds apart: Determinants of height in late 18th century central Mexico," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 153-163.
    4. Boris Branisa & José Peres-Cajías & Nigel Caspa, 2019. "The Biological Standard of Living in Urban Bolivia, 1880s – 1920s: Stagnation and Persistent Inequality," Development Research Working Paper Series 03/2019, Institute for Advanced Development Studies.
    5. Bodenhorn, Howard & Guinnane, Timothy W. & Mroz, Thomas A., 2017. "Sample-Selection Biases and the Industrialization Puzzle," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 77(1), pages 171-207, March.
    6. Salvatore, Ricardo, 2019. "The biological wellbeing of the working-poor: The height of prisoners in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, 1885–1939," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 92-102.
    7. Llorca-Jaña, Manuel & Navarrete-Montalvo, Juan & Droller, Federico & Araya-Valenzuela, Roberto, 2018. "Height in eighteenth-century Chilean men: Evidence from military records, 1730–1800s," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 168-178.
    8. Llorca-Jaña, Manuel & Clarke, Damian & Navarrete-Montalvo, Juan & Araya-Valenzuela, Roberto & Allende, Martina, 2020. "New anthropometric evidence on living standards in nineteenth-century Chile," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Baten, Joerg & Pelger, Ines & Twrdek, Linda, 2009. "The anthropometric history of Argentina, Brazil and Peru during the 19th and early 20th century," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 319-333, December.
    2. Llorca-Jaña, Manuel & Navarrete-Montalvo, Juan & Droller, Federico & Araya-Valenzuela, Roberto, 2018. "Height in eighteenth-century Chilean men: Evidence from military records, 1730–1800s," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 168-178.
    3. Llorca-Jaña, Manuel & Clarke, Damian & Navarrete-Montalvo, Juan & Araya-Valenzuela, Roberto & Allende, Martina, 2020. "New anthropometric evidence on living standards in nineteenth-century Chile," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    4. Manuel Llorca-Jaña & Juan Navarrete-Montalvo & Roberto Araya-Valenzuela & Federico Droller & Martina Allende & Javier Rivas, 2021. "Height in twentieth-century Chilean men: growth with divergence," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 15(1), pages 135-166, January.
    5. Steckel, Richard H., 2009. "Heights and human welfare: Recent developments and new directions," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 1-23, January.
    6. Dobado-González, Rafael & Garcia-Hiernaux, Alfredo, 2017. "Two worlds apart: Determinants of height in late 18th century central Mexico," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 153-163.
    7. Grajales-Porras, Agustín & López-Alonso, Moramay, 2011. "Physical stature of men in eighteenth century Mexico: Evidence from Puebla," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(3), pages 265-271, July.
    8. Meisel-Roca, Adolfo & Ramírez-Giraldo, María Teresa & Santos-Cárdenas, Daniela, 2019. "Long run relationship between biological well being, and economic development in Colombia," Working papers 24, Red Investigadores de Economía.
    9. Manuel Llorca-Jaña & Javier Rivas & Damian Clarke & Diego Barría Traverso, 2020. "Height of Male Prisoners in Santiago de Chile during the Nitrate Era: The Penalty of being Unskilled, Illiterate, Illegitimate and Mapuche," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-24, August.
    10. Salvatore, Ricardo, 2019. "The biological wellbeing of the working-poor: The height of prisoners in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, 1885–1939," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 34(C), pages 92-102.
    11. Jean-Pascal Bassino & Marion Dovis & John Komlos, 2018. "Biological well-being in late nineteenth-century Philippines," Cliometrica, Journal of Historical Economics and Econometric History, Association Française de Cliométrie (AFC), vol. 12(1), pages 33-60, January.
    12. Marein, Brian, 2020. "Economic development in Puerto Rico after US annexation: Anthropometric evidence," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    13. Scott A. Carson, 2008. "Demographic, Residential, and Socioeconomic Effects on the Distribution of 19th Century African-American Stature," CESifo Working Paper Series 2479, CESifo.
    14. Howard Bodenhorn & Timothy Guinnane & Thomas Mroz, 2014. "Caveat Lector: Sample Selection in Historical Heights and the Interpretation of Early Industrializing Economies," NBER Working Papers 19955, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Núñez, Javier & Pérez, Graciela, 2015. "Trends in physical stature across socioeconomic groups of Chilean boys, 1880–1997," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 16(C), pages 100-114.
    16. Komlos, John, 2012. "A Three-Decade “Kuhnian” History of the Antebellum Puzzle: Explaining the shrinking of the US population at the onset of modern economic growth," Discussion Papers in Economics 12758, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    17. Sunder, Marco, 2013. "The height gap in 19th-century America: Net-nutritional advantage of the elite increased at the onset of modern economic growth," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 245-258.
    18. Carson, Scott Alan, 2011. "Height of female Americans in the 19th century and the antebellum puzzle," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 9(2), pages 157-164, March.
    19. Scott A. Carson, 2008. "Geography and Insolation in 19th Century US African-American and White Statures," CESifo Working Paper Series 2229, CESifo.
    20. Scott A. Carson, 2006. "African-American and White Living Standards in the 19th Century American South: A Biological Comparison," CESifo Working Paper Series 1696, CESifo.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ehbiol:v:8:y:2010:i:2:p:145-152. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/622964 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.