Living standards in an emerging and diverse country. Salaries, costs of food, and a Bare Bone Basket coverage in the 14 provinces of Argentina, 1875

Authors

  • Julio Djenderedjian

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2020.01.003

Keywords:

Standars of living, Argentina, 19th century, bare bones baskets

Abstract

Research on living standards of the past have experienced great improvements in the last decades. But, when
dealing with international comparison, methodological issues arise. Here we seek to find the coverage of a
basic “Bare Bone Basket” in different parts of Argentina for the year 1875, through a very interesting source:
the report of the Comisario General de Inmigración, offering data on salaries and food prices for cities in the 14
Argentine provinces of that time. The results show: a) a relatively high standard of living when compared with
several European cities; but also b) strong diversity inside the country, consistent with internal areas of expulsion
and attraction of migrants. Concluding remarks stress the need of a deeper knowledge of local family
group structure, and the extent of wage system, in order to assess realistic comparisons, both international or
between different regions in a single country.

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Published

2020-09-29

How to Cite

Djenderedjian, J. (2020). Living standards in an emerging and diverse country. Salaries, costs of food, and a Bare Bone Basket coverage in the 14 provinces of Argentina, 1875. Investigaciones De Historia Económica, 16(3), 44–56. https://doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2020.01.003

Issue

Section

SPECIAL ISSUE