Abstract Household fuel consumption is essential in constructing consumption baskets for calculating welfare ratios. The most influential of these baskets, proposed by Robert Allen, has been widely used to analyze living standards across regions and periods. Despite their relevance, these studies may improve in two ways. First, their assumptions about per capita fuel use are lower than estimates from specialized literature. Second, they compare baskets without considering climate’s impact on fuel needs. This article develops a methodology that incorporates such differences. When applied to the respectable and bare-bones baskets of early modern European and Asian cities, welfare ratios fall—though unevenly—by as much as 27%.

Abstract This article examines the impact of unions on gender wage gaps in Yecla (Spain) during industrialization. We construct sector-level series for wages and unionization rates by gender between 1895 and 1935, encompassing both pre- and post-union years, as well as unionized and non-unionized sectors. Using difference-in-differences with treatment intensity estimation, we find that unions had no impact on women’s wages, whereas the effect on men’s wages was positive, substantial in some years, and statistically significant. These results suggest that trade unions may have contributed to widening the gender wage gap in the early stages following their emergence.

Abstract After Unification in 1861, the Italian government pursued an ambitious policy of investments, largely funded by foreign capital. Italy experienced a short boom that ended in 1866, when a collapse in credit nearly led to an Argentinian-style default. This was averted by adopting a prudent fiscal policy and suspending the convertibility of lira into gold. Imports of capital dried up and the GDP stagnated until the end of the century. We examine the link between fiscal policies, capital inflows, and economic outcomes underlying the impact of devaluation on trade, and the minimal effects played by capital imports on the real economy.

Abstract In 1794, the British State intervened in the patent system by introducing the Navy proviso, a legal proviso targeted at select patents compelling the patentee to supply their invention to the State on terms set by state-appointed adjudicators. This study employs new patent and archival data to examine the proviso’s origins, administration, and which technologies it was targeted at. Our findings reveal the state targeted technologies to enhance logistical and operational capacities during wartime, addressing potential undersupply in private markets. Functioning similarly to patent buyouts and compulsory licensing, the proviso may have encouraged technical change and knowledge dissemination.

Abstract The Edwardian property slump was a major housing downturn that affected London before the First World War; however, existing house price indices fail to capture the scale of the decline that occurred during this period. This article uses two novel data sources to construct fresh indices that measure the slump. Capital values declined significantly during the Edwardian era, with nominal house prices falling by 35 percent between 1900 and 1913. Rents, on the other hand, remained relatively stable during this period. The results indicate that the slump was due to a flight of investment capital from the buy-to-let market.

Abstract This article argues that work is an important aspect of quality of life in the past and constructs a system of Historical Job Quality Indicators (HJQI). The indicators are derived from historical workers’ perspectives about aspects of jobs that they valued and that contributed to realizing their capabilities. The article uses the HJQI to analyze the mechanization of spinning in Britain (c. 1760–1830). In factory jobs, pay was higher but work was more tiring and dangerous, and workers had less autonomy than in pre-industrial employment. Job quality also became more unequal on non-wage dimensions during the First Industrial Revolution.

Abstract What is the long-term influence of Christian missions in colonial Africa on gender equality? Combining novel data on the locations and gender composition of European-run missions with contemporary social surveys on c. one million respondents in 28 African countries, we find that missionary presence is associated with greater present-day (i) educational gender equality, and (ii) women’s household autonomy, but (iii) no decrease in gender disparities in labor market participation. Contrary to previous studies, these long-term effects are not driven by Protestant-Catholic differences or a greater presence of Western female Protestant missionaries, whose early influence on African girls’ education dissipated after the colonial era. We argue that policies promoting universal education, along with the continued feminization of the teaching profession, disrupted the gender-specific legacy of colonial Africa’s early centers of female education.

Abstract When did Sweden become equal? This question has far-reaching implications for our understanding of Swedish history and for general theories about inequality, institutions, and politics more broadly. In this article, we present the first multidimensional comparative analysis of the development of inequality in Sweden. Our findings reveal that, although the share of income and wealth accruing to the absolute top was very high at the beginning of the twentieth century, Sweden was more equal than many other countries when focusing on the lower parts of the income distribution. Additionally, several indicators suggest that the decline in inequality began in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. These results imply that the development of the Swedish welfare state was both a cause and a consequence of decreasing inequality. We emphasize the importance of widespread literacy and access to education as a key factor in shaping distributional outcomes.