We estimate calories available to workers' households in the USA, Belgium, Britain, France and Germany in 1890/1. We employ data from the United States Commissioner of Labor survey (see Haines, 1979) of workers in key export industries. We estimate that households in the USA, on average, had...

The state of poverty in the United States and Western Europe: five theoretical approaches seeking to explain the variance -- The challenge to America -- The historical experience -- Attitudes, beliefs, and values -- System differences as explanations -- The role of political elites -- The role...