New Perspectives on the Late Victorian Economy: Essays in Quantitative Economic History, 1860-1914

by James Foreman-Peck

Overview

This book reveals the relevance of the Victorian economy as a model for contemporary society by using quantitative methods to explain its true nature and performance. The essays, covering the period 1870-1914, are of three types: some establish accepted conclusions more firmly by deploying new evidence or methods; others deal with unwarrantedly neglected aspects of the subject; and the third category reassesses traditional views. The book also includes a very substantial introduction placing the contributions in the context of contemporary debates, brief introductions to each section containing elementary economic analysis of the following themes, and a glossary of technical terms to enhance accessibility.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521391078
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	03/21/1991
Pages:	372
Product dimensions:	6.26(w) x 9.33(h) x 1.02(d)

Table of Contents

List of contributors; List of figures; List of tables; Preface; 1. Quantitative analysis of the Victorian economy James Foreman-Peck; Part I. Technology and Industrial Organisation: 2. Historical trends in international patterns of technological innovation John Cantwell; 3. Railways and late Victorian economic growth James Foreman-Peck; 4. Emergence of gas and water monopolies in nineteenth-century Britain: contested markets and public control Bob Milward; 5. The expansion of British multinational companies: testing for managerial failure Stephen Nicholas; Part II. Distribution: 6. A new look at the cost of living 1870–1914 Charles Feinstein; 7. Poor law statistics and the geography of economic distress Humphrey Southall; 8. Perfect equilibrium down the pit John G. Treble; Part III. The Monetary System and Monetary Policy: 9. Money, interest rates and the Great Depression: Britain from 1870 to 1913 Forrest H. Capie, Terence C. Mills and Geoffrey E. Wood; 10. The UK demand for money, commercial bills and quasi-money assets, 1871–1913 Paul Turner; 11. An analysis of Bank of England discount and advance behaviour 1870–1914 Tessa Ogden; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"Quantitative economic history, or cliometrics, remains one of the most vibrant and productive fields of economics, and British cliometricians have been particularly prolific in recent years. These scholars have addressed issues vital to the understanding of British economic developments...and the work generally has been of first rate quality. The papers in this edited volume continue the tradition." William J. Hausman, The Southern Economic Journal

"Overall, the book will probably be useful and memorable for its seminal essays. It is just in the natural way of things that the methodological treats cannot act as manuals for those of us who wish to try them out ourselves." Callum G. Brown, Victorian Studies

From the Publisher