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Real Wages in Germany during the First Phase of Industrialization, 1850-1889

Author

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  • Pfister Ulrich

    (Universität Münster, Historisches Seminar, Domplatz 20–22, D-48143 Münster, Germany)

Abstract

The study constructs new wage series at the branch level and aggregates them to an index of nominal wages in industry and urban trades in 18481889. Moreover, the study develops new food price and rent indices. These are then combined with price indices for other categories of household expenditure from Hoffmann (1965) into a consumer price index for 1850-1889. The new real wage index shows little growth for the third quarter of the nineteenth century; the first phase of rapid industrialization from the 1840s to the early 1870s had only a small positive impact on the living standard of the industrial and urban lower classes. Only from the 1880s, when Germany moved into a second phase of industrialization, did the real wage experience a sustained and rapid increase. Nevertheless, the diversification of employment opportunities taking place in the wake of industrialization and the European grain invasion were accompanied by a marked reduction of income volatility among lower-class households already from the 1870s.

Suggested Citation

  • Pfister Ulrich, 2018. "Real Wages in Germany during the First Phase of Industrialization, 1850-1889," Jahrbuch für Wirtschaftsgeschichte / Economic History Yearbook, De Gruyter, vol. 59(2), pages 567-596, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:jbwige:v:59:y:2018:i:2:p:567-596:n:9
    DOI: 10.1515/jbwg-2018-0019
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ulrich Pfister & Georg Fertig, 2020. "From Malthusian Disequilibrium to the Post-Malthusian Era: The Evolution of the Preventive and Positive Checks in Germany, 1730–1870," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 57(3), pages 1145-1170, June.
    2. Nikolaus Wolf, 2021. "Deutschland in der ersten Globalisierung," Wirtschaftsdienst, Springer;ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 101(4), pages 254-258, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    labour markets; standard of living; Arbeitsmärkte; Lebensstandard;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J - Labor and Demographic Economics
    • N - Economic History
    • N - Economic History

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