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Heights and Living Standards of English Workers During the Early Years of Industrializations, 1770–1815

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2009

Stephen Nicholas  and
Richard H. Steckel
Stephen Nicholas
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics, University of New South Wales, P.O. Box 1, Kensington, 2033 and Visiting Fellow, Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601
Richard H. Steckel
Affiliation:
Professor of Economics, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210
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Extract

We employed data on the heights of English and Irish male convicts transported to Australia to assess the living standards of workers between 1770 and 1815. Falling heights of urban-and rural-born males after 1780 and a delayed growth spurt for 13- to 23-year-old boys revealed declining living standards among English workers during the Industrial Revolution. This conclusion was supported by the fall in English workers' heights relative to that of convicts transported from Ireland. Significant urban-rural and regional variations in English living standards were revealed by using regression techniques.

Type
Articles
Information
The Journal of Economic History , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , December 1991 , pp. 937 - 957
Copyright
Copyright © The Economic History Association 1991

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