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Distinct within North America: living standards in French Canada, 1688–1775

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  • Vincent J. Geloso

    (Bates College)

Abstract

I use a novel dataset of prices and wages from the French colony of Quebec (Canada’s second largest province today) to measure colonial-era living standards. Following Allen’s (Explor Econ Hist 38(4):411–447, 2001; The British industrial revolution in global perspective, Cambridge University, Cambridge, 2009; Econ Hist Rev 68(1):1–22, 2015) welfare-ratios approach, I find that Quebec was poorer than the American colonies and London, but somewhat richer than Paris and Southern England. The Quebec–Paris comparison is sensitive to changes in the basket used to compare wages. Shifting from a bare bones basket to a respectable basket, Quebec loses its advantage over Paris, but remains poorer than the American colonies and London.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincent J. Geloso, 2019. "Distinct within North America: living standards in French Canada, 1688–1775," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(2), pages 277-321, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:cliomt:v:13:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s11698-018-0177-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s11698-018-0177-1
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    22. Arsenault Morin, Alex & Geloso, Vincent & Kufenko, Vadim, 2017. "The heights of French-Canadian convicts, 1780s–1820s," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 126-136.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kufenko, Vadim & Khaustova, Ekaterina & Geloso, Vincent, 2022. "Escape underway: Malthusian pressures in late imperial Moscow," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. Luis Felipe Zegarra, 2024. "Wages, prices and living standards in Spanish America: evidence from Lima," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 18(3), pages 837-867, September.
    3. Trevor Burnard & Laura Panza & Jeffrey G. Williamson, 2017. "The Social Implications of Sugar: Living Costs, Real Incomes and Inequality in Jamaica c1774," NBER Working Papers 23897, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Rosolino A. Candela & Vincent J. Geloso, 2021. "Trade or raid: Acadian settlers and native Americans before 1755," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 188(3), pages 549-575, September.
    5. Jeremy Land & Vincent Geloso, 2020. "Colonial Military Garrisons as Labor‐Market Shocks: Quebec City and Boston, 1760–1775," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1326-1344, July.
    6. Vincent Geloso & Chandler S. Reilly, 2022. "Did the ‘Quiet Revolution’ Really Change Anything?," CIRANO Working Papers 2022s-30, CIRANO.
    7. Vincent Geloso & Peter Lindert, 2020. "Relative costs of living, for richer and poorer, 1688–1914," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 14(3), pages 417-442, September.
    8. Geloso, Vincent & Kufenko, Vadim & Arsenault-Morin, Alex P., 2023. "The lesser shades of labor coercion: The impact of seigneurial tenure in nineteenth-century Quebec," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    9. Jason Dean & Vincent Geloso, 2022. "The linguistic wage gap in Quebec, 1901 to 1951," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 16(3), pages 615-637, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Canadian economic history; Quebec economic history; Colonial origins of divergence; Living standards; Welfare ratios; Real wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N11 - Economic History - - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics; Industrial Structure; Growth; Fluctuations - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • N91 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

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