American economic growth and standards of living before the Civil War

Bibliographic Information

American economic growth and standards of living before the Civil War

edited by Robert E. Gallman and John Joseph Wallis

(A National Bureau of Economic Research conference report)

University of Chicago Press, c1992

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Includes bibliographical references and indexes

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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.

Table of Contents

Introduction, Robert E. Gallman and John Joseph Wallis 1 U. S. Labor Force Estimates and Economic Growth, 1800-1860 Thomas Weiss Comment: Claudia Goldin 2 American Economic Growth before the Civil War: The Testimony of the Capital Stock Estimates, Robert E. Gallman Comment: Stanley L. Engerman 3 Inequalities in the Standard of Living in the United States, 1798-1875, Lee Soltow Comment: Clayne L. Pope 4 Wages and Prices during the Antebellum Period: A Survey and New Evidence, Robert A. Margo Comment: Jeffrey G. Williamson 5 Consumer Behavior, Diet, and the Standard of Living in late Colonial and Early Antebellum America, 1770-1840, Lorena S. Walsh Comment: Gloria L. Main 6 Stature and Living Standards in the United States Richard H. Steckel Comment: Carole Shammas 7 The Productivity Consequences of Market Integration: Agriculture in Massachusetts, 1771-1801, Winifred B. Rothenberg Comment: Jeremy Atack 8 Invention, Innovation, and Manufacturing Productivity Growth in the Antebellum Northeast, Kenneth L. Sokoloff Comment: Jeremy Atack

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