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Welfare reform, 1834: Did the New Poor Law in England produce significant economic gains?

Author

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  • Gregory Clark

    (University of California)

  • Marianne E. Page

    (University of California)

Abstract

The English Old Poor Law, which before 1834 provided welfare to the elderly, children, the improvident, and the unfortunate, was a bête noire of the new discipline of Political Economy. Smith, Bentham, Malthus, and Ricardo all claimed it created significant social costs and increased rather than reduced poverty. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, drafted by Political Economists, cuts payments sharply. Because local rules on eligibility and provision varied greatly before the 1834 reform, we can estimate the social costs of the extensive welfare provision of the Old Poor Law. Surprisingly there is no evidence of any of the alleged social costs that prompted the harsh treatment of the poor after 1834. Political economy, it seems, was born in sin.

Suggested Citation

  • Gregory Clark & Marianne E. Page, 2019. "Welfare reform, 1834: Did the New Poor Law in England produce significant economic gains?," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 13(2), pages 221-244, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:cliomt:v:13:y:2019:i:2:d:10.1007_s11698-018-0174-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s11698-018-0174-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Blaug, Mark, 1963. "The Myth of the Old Poor Law and the Making of the New," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(2), pages 151-184, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Eric Melander & Martina Miotto, 2023. "Welfare Cuts and Crime: Evidence from the New Poor Law," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(651), pages 1248-1264.
    2. Jan K. Brueckner, 2023. "Is strategic interaction among governments just a modern phenomenon? Evidence on welfare competition under Britain’s 19th-century Poor Law," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 30(4), pages 879-912, August.
    3. Martin Ravallion, 2020. "On the Origins of the Idea of Ending Poverty," NBER Working Papers 27808, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Welfare reform; Poverty; Welfare systems; Work incentives;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J6 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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