American Incomes before and after the Revolution

Peter Lindert and Jeffrey Williamson ()

No 17211, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Building social tables in the tradition of Gregory King, we develop new estimates suggesting that between 1774 and 1800 American incomes fell in real per capita terms. The colonial South was richer than the North at the start, but was already beginning to lose its income lead by 1800. We also find that free American colonists had much more equal incomes than did households in England and Wales. The colonists also had greater purchasing power than their English counterparts over all of the income ranks except in the top few percent.

JEL-codes: N11 N91 O47 O51 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-07
Note: DAE
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

Published as Peter H. Lindert and Jeffrey G. Williamson. “American Incomes before and after the Revolution”. Forthcoming Journal of Economic History. Earlier version: NBER working paper 17211 (2011; revised February 2013).

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Journal Article: American Incomes Before and After the Revolution (2013)
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