Population Growth In England Research Articles

Mortality, Marriage and Population Growth in England, 1550–1850. By Peter Razzell. London: Caliban Books, 2016. Pp. 135. £10, paper.

Mortality, Marriage and Population Growth in England, 1550–1850. By Peter Razzell. London: Caliban Books, 2016. Pp. 135. £10, paper.

Mortality, Marriage and Population Growth in England, 1550–1850

Mortality, Marriage and Population Growth in England, 1550–1850

Peter Razzell , Mortality, marriage and population growth in England, 1550–1850 (London: Caliban Books, 2016). Pages 135. £10.00 paperback.

An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content.

PeterRazzell, Mortality, marriage and population growth in England, 1550–1850 (London: Caliban Books, 2016. Pp. 135. 53 tabs. ISBN 9780904573190 Pbk. £10)

The Economic History ReviewVolume 70, Issue 1 p. 332-333 BOOK REVIEW Peter Razzell, Mortality, marriage and population growth in England, 1550–1850 ( London: Caliban Books, 2016. Pp. 135. 53 tabs. ISBN 9780904573190 Pbk. £10) Andrew Hinde, Andrew Hinde University of SouthamptonSearch for more papers by this author Andrew Hinde, Andrew Hinde University of SouthamptonSearch for more papers by this author First published: 17 January 2017 https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.12500Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat No abstract is available for this article. Volume70, Issue1February 2017Pages 332-333 RelatedInformation

The Malthusian intermezzo: Women's wages and human capital formation between the late Middle Ages and the demographic transition of the 19th century

The paper offers a new explanation for ‘the great conundrum’, the acceleration of population growth in England in the second half of the 18th century. It is argued that it was not only population growth that was ‘different’ in England, but the stagnation of the rise of literacy and of human capital in general, seems to be an anomaly of this period. This ‘conundrum’ has been explained in the following way. It is demonstrated that in England the gender wage gap increased a lot during the early modern period, which was caused by: (a) the switch from post Black Death labour scarcity to labour surplus, which in particular harmed the economic position of women, and (b) changes in the structure of agriculture, leading to the rise of large-scale, capital intensive and labour extensive farms, which had a very limited demand for female (wage) labour. This is also suggested by the fact that on the Continent (in the Netherlands) a much smaller decline of female wages occurred, because there family farms continued to be quite important. Moreover, the decline of English wages had important effects on its demographic development. It helps to explain the decline of the average age of marriage of in particular women between 1600 and 1800, and the related increase in fertility that occurred in this period — resulting in a much faster rate of population growth after 1750 than elsewhere in Western-Europe. It also helps to explain the stagnation in human capital formation that occurred during the 18th and early 19th century — again a feature peculiar for the English development in these years. The explanation of ‘the great conundrum’ is therefore intimately linked to the changing position of women on the labour market and within marriage.

Mold poisoning and population growth in England and France, 1750-1850.

Climatic and dietary changes may have reduced the incidence of mold poisoning in England and France, 1750–1850, thereby stimulating fertility and reducing mortality. Because mold poisons developed in cereals, the staff of life was often the scepter of death. When people ate less rye and more wheat or less wheat and more potatoes, even without increasing their caloric intake or improving their nutrient balance, their chances of survival improved.

A Nineteenth Century Forecast of the Cessation of Population Growth in England

Reprint of a paper that originally appeared in the December 1895 issue of The Economic Journal predicting through the use of essentially modern methods that population growth in England and Wales would cease in the twentieth century.

Letter: Net reproduction-rates.

Net reproduction rate is considered irrelevant to discussions of population growth in England. What is more meaningful is the average growth rate per generation. An average growth rate of 1.2 per generation or 1% annually seems to be politically acceptable; however it is too high an increase because it will mean a population doubling in 60 years. The British official policy should emphasize a gradual decrease in population. Difficulties with the elderly population that this would lead to can better be dealt with now than later.

Some New Features of the Growth and Distribution of Population in England and Wales

-T HE growth of population in England and Wales in the nineteenth century falls into two distinct phases. In the first half of the century, down to 1851, there prevailed a general increase of the population in both urban and rural districts, the aggregate rate of increase being proportional to the size of the unit, greatest for the large cities with more than oo00,000 and least for the rural areas with less than 2000 inhabitants. The second phase, I85I-I90I, has two distinctive features. First, the aggregate rate of increase of the large cities is exceeded by that of the smaller cities (20,o00-IOO,ooo), a feature that first appeared in the decade I86I-I87I and was well marked by I89I. Second, in 1851 began the rural exodus, arising from complicated economic and historical circumstances with their roots in the Agrarian Revolution of the early nineteenth century, the Poor Law Policy which persisted till 1834, and the repeal of the Corn Laws in the forties.

The Probability of a Cessation of the Growth of Population in England and Wales During the Next Century

The Probability of a Cessation of the Growth of Population in England and Wales During the Next Century