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Pessimism Preserved: Real Wages in the British Industrial Revolution

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  • Robert Allen
  • Robert C. Allen
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    Abstract

    The paper compares Feinstein`s and Clark`s consumer price and real wage indices for the British industrial revolution. The sources for their weights and component price series are evaluated. While some of Clark`s innovations are improvements, many of his changes degrade the price index. A new price index is developed using the best components of Clark`s and Feinstein`s. This index is much closer to Feinstein`s than to Clark`s. The implied growth in real wages is also close to Feinstein`s and contradicts Clark`s `optimistic` view of rising working class living standards during the industrial revolution.

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    File URL: http://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/materials/working_papers/paper314.pdf
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    Bibliographic Info

    Paper provided by University of Oxford, Department of Economics in its series Economics Series Working Papers with number 314.

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    Date of creation: 01 Apr 2007
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    Handle: RePEc:oxf:wpaper:314

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    Related research

    Keywords: Real Wage; Consumer Price Index; Inequality; Industrial Revoution;

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    1. Crafts, N. F. R., 1985. "English Workers' Real Wages During the Industrial Revolution: Some Remaining Problems," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(01), pages 139-144, March.
    2. Clark, Gregory, 1998. "Renting The Revolution," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(01), pages 206-210, March.
    3. Horrell, Sara, 1996. "Home Demand and British Industrialization," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 56(03), pages 561-604, September.
    4. Allen, Robert C., 2001. "The Great Divergence in European Wages and Prices from the Middle Ages to the First World War," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 411-447, October.
    5. Clark, Gregory, 1998. "Commons Sense: Common Property Rights, Efficiency, and Institutional Change," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 58(01), pages 73-102, March.
    6. Crafts, N. F. R., 1982. "Regional price variations in England in 1843: An aspect of the standard-of-living debate," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 51-70, January.
    7. Allen, Robert C., 2000. "Economic structure and agricultural productivity in Europe, 1300 1800," European Review of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 4(01), pages 1-25, April.
    8. John Komlos, . "The Secular Trend in the Biological Standard of Living in the United Kingdom, 1730-1860," Articles by John Komlos 19, Department of Economics, University of Munich.
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. links for 2010-02-11
      by Brad DeLong in Grasping Reality with the Invisible Hand on 2010-02-11 08:05:21
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    Cited by:
    1. Allen, Robert C., 2009. "Engels' pause: Technical change, capital accumulation, and inequality in the british industrial revolution," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 418-435, October.
    2. Fouquet, Roger, 2012. "Trends in income and price elasticities of transport demand (1850–2010)," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 62-71.
    3. Roger Fouquet & Peter J.G Pearson, 2011. "The Long Run Demand for Lighting: Elasticities and Rebound Effects in Different Phases of Economic Development," Working Papers 2011-06, BC3.
    4. Roger Fouquet, 2013. "Long Run Demand for Energy Services: the Role of Economic and Technological Development," Working Papers 2013-03, BC3.

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