Poor, hungry and ignorant: Numeracy and the impact of high food prices in industrializing Britain, 1780-1850

Joerg Baten, Dorothee Crayen and Hans-Joachim Voth

Economics Working Papers from Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra

Abstract: This paper uses the ability to recall one’s age correctly as an indicator of numeracy. We show that low levels of nutrition impaired numeracy in industrializing England, 1780-1850. Numeracy declined markedly among those born during the war years, especially where wheat was dear. England’s nascent welfare state mitigated the negative effect of high food prices on cognitive skills. Nutrition during early development mattered for labor market outcomes: individuals born in periods or countries with high age heaping were more likely to sort into occupations with limited intellectual requirements.

Keywords: Nutrition; cognitive development; age heaping; numeracy; occupational choice; Industrial Revolution; social spending; poverty traps; effects of war. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I28 N33 O11 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2007-10, Revised 2011-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-agr and nep-his
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:upf:upfgen:1120

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