TY - JOUR
T1 - Living costs and welfare ratios in Western Europe
T2 - New estimates using a linear programming model
AU - Zegarra, Luis Felipe
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Historical Economics Society. All rights reserved.
PY - 2022/2/1
Y1 - 2022/2/1
N2 - This study provides new estimates on welfare ratios for London, Amsterdam, Paris, Strasbourg, Munich, and Leipzig for 1600-1850. I use a linear programming model to compute the basket that minimizes the food cost subject to nutrient requirements. For a balanced nutrition, I take into consideration that people should ingest not only calories and proteins, but also fat, iron, and some basic vitamins. The results suggest that living standards in Western Europe were lower than previously thought. However, like previous studies, this article suggests that welfare ratios in London were higher than in other European cities.
AB - This study provides new estimates on welfare ratios for London, Amsterdam, Paris, Strasbourg, Munich, and Leipzig for 1600-1850. I use a linear programming model to compute the basket that minimizes the food cost subject to nutrient requirements. For a balanced nutrition, I take into consideration that people should ingest not only calories and proteins, but also fat, iron, and some basic vitamins. The results suggest that living standards in Western Europe were lower than previously thought. However, like previous studies, this article suggests that welfare ratios in London were higher than in other European cities.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121606172&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/ereh/heab007
DO - 10.1093/ereh/heab007
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85121606172
SN - 1361-4916
VL - 26
SP - 38
EP - 61
JO - European Review of Economic History
JF - European Review of Economic History
IS - 1
ER -