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How Many Calories? Food Availability in England and Wales in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries

In: Research in Economic History

Author

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  • Bernard Harris
  • Roderick Floud
  • Sok Chul Hong

Abstract

InThe Changing Body(Cambridge University Press and NBER, 2011), we presented a series of estimates showing the number of calories available for human consumption in England and Wales at various points in time between 1700 and 1909/1913. We now seek to correct an error in our original figures and to compare the corrected figures with those published by a range of other authors. We also include new estimates showing the calorific value of meat and grains imported from Ireland. Disagreements with other authors reflect differences over a number of issues, including the amount of land under cultivation, the extraction and wastage rates for cereals and pulses and the number of animals supplying meat and dairy products. We consider recent attempts to achieve a compromise between these estimates and challenge claims that there was a dramatic reduction in either food availability or the average height of birth cohorts in the late-eighteenth century.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernard Harris & Roderick Floud & Sok Chul Hong, 2015. "How Many Calories? Food Availability in England and Wales in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries," Research in Economic History, in: Research in Economic History, volume 31, pages 111-191, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:rehizz:s0363-326820150000031003
    DOI: 10.1108/S0363-326820150000031003
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Stephen Broadberry & Bruce M. S. Campbell & Alexander Klein & Mark Overton & Bas van Leeuwen, 2018. "Clark's Malthus delusion: response to ‘Farming in England 1200–1800’," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(2), pages 639-664, May.
    2. Michail Raftakis, 2023. "Urban mortality in Greece: Hermoupolis (1859–1940)," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 76(3), pages 728-758, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agriculture; diet; nutrition; height; health; Britain; N01; N33; N53; O1; O13; O52;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N53 - Economic History - - Agriculture, Natural Resources, Environment and Extractive Industries - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O1 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • O52 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Europe

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