Global Prices and Incomes, 1200-1950 - First Stage

University Of California-Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will develop a dataset on incomes and prices over six continents and seven centuries. The data expedition seeks better answers to several questions. Which countries were more productive in the past? Where have living standards been high, and shy? Was there an early modern "great divergence" between Western Europe and Eastern Asia, or did their economic differences antedate Columbus or even the Black Death? The project is designed to also compare prices, incomes, and productivity across places and regions for each date. This means that all measures will be converted to modern metric units with partial adjustments for quality differences. The PIs will also carry out original archival research to gather data. Archival studies will focus on East and Southeast Asia, African ports, Western Asia, medieval Northwest Europe, and Latin America. The PIs will also collect and evaluate their data to facilitate integrating their database with the Penn World Tables, which tracks global economic outcomes since 1950. The international PI team will make their data and results immediately available to the public through on-line access. Expected interest is high, since the Penn World Tables are important to the UN, the World Bank, the OECD, and other public agencies and NGOs This award is made as part of the FY 2004 Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) portfolio, following a competition that involved participation from all NSF Directorates and Offices. HSD awards are administered through specific programs that may change during the award period; management of all HSD awards is coordinated on an NSF-wide basis.