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A Microlevel Wage Dataset for Eighteenth Century Denmark

Author

Listed:
  • Peter Sandholt Jensen

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Cristina Victoria Radu

    (University of Southern Denmark)

  • Paul Sharp

    (University of Southern Denmark, CAGE, CEPR)

Abstract

Granular microdata is of growing interest within economics and economic history. We present a uniquely detailed database of 21,557 observations of wages and 30,000 observations of prices in rural Denmark for men, women and children, and for both skilled and unskilled workers over the eighteenth century. We construct nominal wages and deflate them using Allen’s constant consumer baskets. The real wage series exhibits a considerable fall with the introduction of serfdom, and other changes consistent with known historical events. We present some evidence on skill premiums and gender wage gaps and offer suggestions for future work exploiting this data.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Sandholt Jensen & Cristina Victoria Radu & Paul Sharp, 2019. "A Microlevel Wage Dataset for Eighteenth Century Denmark," Working Papers 0159, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0159
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gregory Clark, 2005. "The Condition of the Working Class in England, 1209-2004," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(6), pages 1307-1340, December.
    2. Alexandra M. de Pleijt & Jacob L. Weisdorf, 2017. "Human capital formation from occupations: the ‘deskilling hypothesis’ revisited," Cliometrica, Springer;Cliometric Society (Association Francaise de Cliométrie), vol. 11(1), pages 1-30, January.
    3. Allen,Robert C., 2009. "The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521868273.
    4. Judy Z. Stephenson, 2018. "‘Real’ wages? Contractors, workers, and pay in London building trades, 1650–1800," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 71(1), pages 106-132, February.
    5. Gregory Clark, 2005. "The Condition of the Working Class in England, 1209-2004," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(6), pages 1307-1340, December.
    6. Ekaterina Khaustova & Paul Sharp, 2015. "A Note on Danish Living Standards through Historical Wage Series, 1731-1913," Working Papers 0081, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    7. Kim Abildgren, 2017. "Trends in real wages in Denmark since the Late Middle Ages," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 67-78, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Palma, Nuno & Reis, Jaime & Rodrigues, Lisbeth, 2023. "Historical gender discrimination does not explain comparative Western European development: evidence from Portugal, 1300-1900," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Denmark; microdata; prices; wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N93 - Economic History - - Regional and Urban History - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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