IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/osk/wpaper/2206r.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

A demographic and nutritional analysis of urban lower-class dwellers in modern Japan: the case of one Saimin-chiku in Tokyo, ca.1930

Author

Listed:
  • Kenichi Tomobe

    (Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University)

  • Minori Oshidari

    (Bank of Yokohama)

  • Yoshihiro Kawano

    (Graduate School of Economics, Hitotsubashi University)

  • Keisuke Moriya

    (Member of House of Councilors)

Abstract

This study aims at investigating a method to measure the standard of living, nutritional status, and physical condition of the saimin (“the poor") who suddenly appeared in the modern age and settled there despite their poverty. In the study of social science, the mainstream theories of poverty are Charles James Booth's stratification theory based on income level and Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree's minimum cost of living theory based on the cost of living; both have their merits and demerits. This paper will measure the poverty levels in terms of income and cost of living using data from a specified sub-district located in Tokyo (the results of an on-site survey of approximately 180 households). Many households living in the Saimin-chiku faced poverty both income levels and cost of living. In addition, observation of the health status of the saimin households showed that roughly half of the community had a disease of some sort, or a tuberculosis patient in the household. This provides a perspective which illuminates the difference in situation between the saimin households, who made a living based on an economy of mutual support, and the small farmer households, who had a communal consumption lifestyle but had the capacity to be selfsupporting.

Suggested Citation

  • Kenichi Tomobe & Minori Oshidari & Yoshihiro Kawano & Keisuke Moriya, 2022. "A demographic and nutritional analysis of urban lower-class dwellers in modern Japan: the case of one Saimin-chiku in Tokyo, ca.1930," Discussion Papers in Economics and Business 22-06-Rev., Osaka University, Graduate School of Economics, revised Feb 2024.
  • Handle: RePEc:osk:wpaper:2206r
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www2.econ.osaka-u.ac.jp/econ_society/dp/2206R.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gregory Clark, 2007. "Introduction to A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World," Introductory Chapters, in: A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World, Princeton University Press.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Kawalec Paweł, 2020. "The dynamics of theories of economic growth: An impact of Unified Growth Theory," Economics and Business Review, Sciendo, vol. 6(2), pages 19-44, June.
    2. Clark, Gregory & Cummins, Neil, 2016. "The Child Quality-Quantity Tradeoff, England, 1780-1880: A Fundamental Component of the Economic Theory of Growth is Missing," CEPR Discussion Papers 11232, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Larry E. Jones & Michele Tertilt, 2006. "An Economic History of Fertility in the U.S.: 1826-1960," NBER Working Papers 12796, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Ferreira, Pedro Cavalcanti & Pessôa, Samuel & dos Santos, Marcelo Rodrigues, 2016. "Globalization And The Industrial Revolution," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 643-666, April.
    5. Douglas L. Campbell & Ju Hyun Pyun, 2017. "The Diffusion of Development: Along Genetic or Geographic Lines?," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(2), pages 198-210, March.
    6. Arthi, Vellore & Parman, John, 2021. "Disease, downturns, and wellbeing: Economic history and the long-run impacts of COVID-19," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    7. Goldstone, Jack A. (Голдстоун, Джек) & Korotaev, Andrey (Коротаев, Андрей) & Zinkina, Yulia (Зинькина, Юлия), 2015. "Political Demography of the World Economy: Tropical Africa [Политическая Демография Мировой Экономики: Страны Тропической Африки]," Published Papers mn45, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
    8. Sascha Becker & Francesco Cinnirella & Ludger Woessmann, 2010. "The trade-off between fertility and education: evidence from before the demographic transition," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 177-204, September.
    9. Börner, Lars & Severgnini, Battista, 2011. "Epidemic trade," Discussion Papers 2011/12, Free University Berlin, School of Business & Economics.
    10. Clark, Gregory, 2013. "1381 and the Malthus delusion," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 4-15.
    11. Masako Kimura & Daishin Yasui, 2012. "Public Policy and the Income-Fertility Relationship in Economic Development," Discussion Papers 1224, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    12. Palma, Nuno & Reis, Jaime, 2019. "From Convergence to Divergence: Portuguese Economic Growth, 1527–1850," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 79(2), pages 477-506, June.
    13. Martin Dribe & Jonas Helgertz & Bart van de Putte, 2012. "Intergenerational social mobility during modernisation: a micro-level study of a community in southern Sweden 1830-1968," Working Papers 12013, Economic History Society.
    14. Timothy W. Guinnane, 2011. "The Historical Fertility Transition: A Guide for Economists," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 589-614, September.
    15. David de la Croix & Eric B. Schneider & Jacob Weisdorf, 2017. ""Decessit sine prole" Childlessness, Celibacy, and Survival of the Richest in Pre-Industrial England," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2017001, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    16. Robert Allen, 2016. "The Hand-Loom Weaver and the Power Loom: A Schumpeterian Perspective," Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers _142, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    17. Stephen Broadberry & Bruce Campbell & Alexander Klein & Mark Overton, 2010. "British economic growth, 1300-1850: some preliminary estimates," Working Papers 10009, Economic History Society.
    18. Sarah Koller, 2021. "Towards Degrowth? Making Peace with Mortality to Reconnect with (One's) Nature: An Ecopsychological Proposition for a Paradigm Shift," Environmental Values, , vol. 30(3), pages 345-366, June.
    19. Verdier, Thierry & Bisin, Alberto, 2017. "On the Joint Evolution of Culture and Institutions," CEPR Discussion Papers 12000, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    20. Brent Butgereit & Art Carden, 2011. "Capitalism, Socialism And Calculation," Economic Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(3), pages 41-45, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    household; poverty; health; living standard; nutrition intake;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • N00 - Economic History - - General - - - General
    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:osk:wpaper:2206r. 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: The Economic Society of Osaka University (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feosujp.html .

    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.