Respectable standards of living: the alternative lens of maintenance costs, Britain 1270-1860

Humphries, Jane (2024) Respectable standards of living: the alternative lens of maintenance costs, Britain 1270-1860. Economic History Review. ISSN 1468-0289

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Abstract

This paper argues that in all societies there is considerable agreement about what goods and services are needed to provide a decent living, and that this standard can be measured by the expense involved in maintaining people of good standing. Maintenance costs include two components of living costs that are neglected in conventional approaches. First, in contrast to the usual focus on a fixed basket of commodities, maintenance costs capture changes in the composition and quality of the goods required for a respectable lifestyle. Second, unlike the conventional accounting they include the costs of the household services required to turn the basket commodities into livings. Ignored in the conventional methodology, the inclusion of these costs represents a core innovation. More than 4600 observations, drawn mainly from primary sources, trace levels and trends in maintenance costs for Britain, 1270-1860. These can be compared with established cost of living indicators to offer a complementary perspective on real consumption that accommodates aspirational goods and the input of household labour. The struggle to support families at respectable standards emerges as driving industriousness and motivating prudence among a class that played a major role in economic development.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14680289
Additional Information:	© 2024 The Author
Divisions:	Economic History
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor
JEL classification:	N - Economic History > N0 - General > N00 - General N - Economic History > N3 - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Income, and Wealth > N33 - Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Income and Wealth: Europe: Pre-1913 B - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology > B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches > B54 - Feminist Economics
Date Deposited:	30 Apr 2024 11:06
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 04:10
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/122856

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