The Transformation of Hunger: The Demand for Calories Past and Present

Trevon Logan

The Journal of Economic History, 2009, vol. 69, issue 2, 388-408

Abstract: According to conventional income measures, American and British industrial workers in the late nineteenth century were two to four times as wealthy as those in developing countries today. Estimated calorie expenditure elasticities of American and British industrial workers based on the 1888 Cost of Living Survey are greater than calorie elasticity estimates for developing countries today, which suggest that yesterday's wealthy workers were hungrier than today's poor. The result is robust to numerous criticisms. The finding implies an extraordinary improvement in nutritional well-being among the poor in the last century that has not been captured by our income estimates.

Date: 2009
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Working Paper: The Transformation of Hunger: The Demand for Calories Past and Present (2005)
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