Conjectures and Contrivances: Economic Growth and the Standard of Living in Britain,During the Industrial Revolution

Charles Feinstein

No _009, Oxford Economic and Social History Working Papers from University of Oxford, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper presents new estimates of nominal earnings, the cost of living earnings for manual workers in Great Britain over the period 1770 to 1870. The estimates are adjusted to allow for unemployment and for the inclusion of agricultural workers in Ireland. The series are then analyzed to establish their implications for the debates about the impact of the industrial revolution on the standard of living; and about the pace of economic growth during this period. The main findings are that the improvement in the material standard of living of the British working class was negligible before 1815 and very modest until after 1861; and that the income-based estimates are consistent with recent evidence from other sources showing a relatively slow rate of growth during the industrial revolution.

Date: 1996-07-01
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