| 1. |
- Bengtsson, Erik, et al.
(författare)
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The living standards of the labouring classes in Sweden, 1750–1900: Evidence from rural probate inventories
- 2022
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Ingår i: Agricultural History Review. - 0002-1490. ; 70:1, s. 49-69
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We present new estimates of the living standards among the rural labouring classes in Sweden from 1750 to 1900. Starting with a database of more than 1,000 probate inventories of rural, landless and semi-landless people from the years 1750, 1800, 1850 and 1900, we study the development for crofters in particular. In a sub-sample of 120 probate inventories we map in great detail the material items of the crofter households, focusing especially on two categories: the means of production (animals and agricultural tools) and consumption goods. The crofters held over time fewer means of production but more consumption goods: glass, porcelain, mirrors, and clocks become more common. However, the decrease in means of production indicates a greater dependence on wage labour, rising land prices made it more difficult to become a farmer, and housing standards stayed poor. The study shows the usefulness of probate inventories to study labouring people’s living standards.
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| 2. |
- Bergenfeldt, Fredrik, et al.
(författare)
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Wagons at Work: A Transport Revolution from Below – the Case of Sweden, 1750-1850
- 2013
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Ingår i: Agricultural History Review. - 0002-1490. ; 61:1, s. 63-82
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The introduction of turnpike trusts has been considered to be an integral part of the rapid decline in transport costs in England. Institutional change in the transport system or the lack thereof has been used to explain if and when a transport revolution occurred in different localities. However, improved roads are just one component of declining inland transport costs. In this paper, we specifically analyse how the transport means on roads (i.e., animal carts and wagons) developed in the absence of major institutional changes to the road system. We use Scania, a province located in southernmost Sweden, during the period 1750–1850 as a case study of the development of transport means during the transformation from a rural economy to an emerging industrial one. Our main finding is the independent role of individuals in lowering their own transport costs, as demonstrated by the notably large increase in the value of wagons relative to other commodities and by the increasing share of wagons equipped with iron wheels instead of wooden wheels and with iron axles instead of wooden axles. This finding indicates that it was possible to lower transport costs in preindustrial Europe without an institutional change of the road system.
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