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The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: the English Corn Returns as a data source in economic history, 1770-1914

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  • Cannon, Edmund
  • Brunt, Liam

Abstract

From 1770 to 1914, the British Government collected weekly price and quantity data for all types of grain traded in many market towns; these ?Corn Returns? were published in the London Gazette. We computerised the data published 1770-1864, totalling around 6 million data points. Here we describe the nature of these data; discuss why, when and how they were collected; consider their accuracy and biases; describe how we computerised them; and offer caveats in using these ? and similar ? data. We highlight the problem of drawing valid inferences in the face of price impact from fluctuating grain quality and rising imports.

Suggested Citation

  • Cannon, Edmund & Brunt, Liam, 2013. "The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: the English Corn Returns as a data source in economic history, 1770-1914," CEPR Discussion Papers 9515, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:9515
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel M. Bernhofen & Markus Eberhardt & Jianan Li & Stephen Morgan, 2015. "Assessing Market (Dis)Integration in Early Modern China and Europe," CESifo Working Paper Series 5580, CESifo.
    2. Adam Crymble & Adam Dennett & Tim Hitchcock, 2018. "Modelling regional imbalances in English plebeian migration to late eighteenth‐century London†," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(3), pages 747-771, August.
    3. Liam Brunt & Edmund Cannon, 2022. "English farmers’ wheat storage and sales in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 932-959, August.
    4. Cannon, Edmund & Brunt, Liam, 2013. "Integration in the English wheat market 1770-1820," CEPR Discussion Papers 9504, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Daniel Bernhofen & Markus Eberhardt & Jianan Li & Stephen Morgan, 2017. "The evolution of markets in China and Western Europe on the eve of industrialisation," Discussion Papers 2017-12, University of Nottingham, GEP.
    6. Brunt, Liam & Cannon, Edmund, 2015. "Variations in the price and quality of English grain, 1750–1914: Quantitative evidence and empirical implications," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 74-92.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Data collection; Markets;

    JEL classification:

    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • N53 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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