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The population of non-corporate business proprietors in England and Wales 1891–1911

Author

Listed:
  • Bennett, Robert J.
  • Smith, Harry
  • Montebruno, Piero

Abstract

This article uses population censuses to provide the first consistent counts of the population of business proprietors for 1891–1911. After appropriate adjustments for imperfect Census design the article confirms the persistence of own account self-employed as the most common businesses throughout the period. However, it identifies a turning point around 1901 when the business numbers decisively shifted towards larger firms, where employers with waged workers began substituting for many own account businesses. Developments were, however, multi-faceted, with important sector differences, and some fields of female business beginning to take off over the period, especially in retail and the professions.

Suggested Citation

  • Bennett, Robert J. & Smith, Harry & Montebruno, Piero, 2020. "The population of non-corporate business proprietors in England and Wales 1891–1911," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 109850, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:109850
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. D. M. Knox, 1958. "The Development Of The Tied House System In London," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(1), pages 66-83.
    2. P. Wardley, 2001. "Debate - On the Ranking of Firms: A Response to Jeremy and Farnie," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(3), pages 119-134.
    3. Les Hannah, 2014. "Corporations in the US and Europe 1790-1860," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 56(6), pages 865-899, September.
    4. Barker, Hannah, 2006. "The Business of Women: Female Enterprise and Urban Development in Northern England 1760-1830," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199299713.
    5. C. H. Lee, 1981. "Regional Growth and Structural Change in Victorian Britain," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 34(3), pages 438-452, August.
    6. Montebruno, Piero & Bennett, Robert J. & Van Lieshout, Carry & Smith, Harry & Satchell, Max, 2019. "Shifts in agrarian entrepreneurship in mid-Victorian England and Wales," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 113866, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
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    Cited by:

    1. Leslie Hannah & Robert Bennett, 2022. "Large‐scale Victorian manufacturers: Reconstructing the lost 1881 UK employer census," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(3), pages 830-856, August.
    2. Montebruno, Piero, 2018. "Adjustment Weights 1891-1911: Weights to adjust entrepreneur numbers for non-response and misallocation bias in Censuses 1891-1911. Working paper 11," MPRA Paper 103194, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Bennett, Robert & Montebruno, Piero & Smith, Harry & van Lieshout, Carry, 2018. "Reconstructing entrepreneur and business numbers for censuses 1851-81. Working paper 9," MPRA Paper 103529, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Brian D. Varian, 2022. "Review of periodical literature for 2020: (v) 1850–1945," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 75(1), pages 263-275, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    business proprietors; self-employed; employers; sector change; gender; female entrepreneurship; Census; family firms; sole proprietors; professions; maker-dealers; retail; manufacturers; mining; farmers;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General
    • R14 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Land Use Patterns
    • J01 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics: General

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