American economic growth and standards of living before the Civil War / edited by Robert E. Gallman and John Joseph Wallis.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Gallman, Robert E.

Wallis, John Joseph.

Series:

Conference report (National Bureau of Economic Research)

National Bureau of Economic Research conference report

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cost and standard of living--United States--History--19th century--Congresses.

Cost and standard of living.

United States--Economic conditions--To 1865--Congresses.

United States.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (410 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, 1992.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This benchmark volume addresses the debate over the effects of early industrialization on standards of living during the decades before the Civil War. Its contributors demonstrate that the aggregate antebellum economy was growing faster than any other large economy had grown before. Despite the dramatic economic growth and rise in income levels, questions remain as to the general quality of life during this era. Was the improvement in income widely shared? How did economic growth affect the nature of work? Did higher levels of income lead to improved health and longevity? The authors address these questions by analyzing new estimates of labor force participation, real wages, and productivity, as well as of the distribution of income, height, and nutrition.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1. U. S. Labor Force Estimates and Economic Growth, 1800-1860

2. American Economic Growth before the Civil War: The Testimony of the Capital Stock Estimates

3. Inequalities in the Standard of Living in the United States, 1798-1875

4. Wages and Prices during the Antebellum Period: A Survey and New Evidence

5. Consumer Behavior, Diet , and the Standard of Living in Late Colonial and Early Antebellum America, 1770-1840

6. Stature and Living Standards in the United States

7. The Productivity Consequences of Market Integration: Agriculture in Massachusetts, 177 1-1 801

8. Invention, Innovation, and Manufacturing Productivity Growth in the Antebellum Northeast

Contributors

Author Index

Subject Index

Notes:

"This volume contains the papers given at a conference held at the Cambridge Hilton in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on 20-22 July 1990"--Acknowledgements.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN:

9786611223496

9781281223494

1281223492

9780226279473

0226279472

OCLC:

437247551