This article analyses a new series of prices and wages stretching back to 1827 for the provinces of the Habsburg Empire. These real wage series are the first continuous and consistent indicator of changing living standards in this part of Europe during industrialization. They show that while the living standards stagnated throughout the monarchy prior to 1850s, the West (unlike the East) was able to launch onto a path of continuous growth in the second half of the century. The empire experienced little convergence onto the living standards of its neighbors and even internally the convergence record is mixed.

The divorce rate is a poor indicator of marital instability because many marital disruptions never become divorces. This paper provides the first estimate of the rate of marital disruption in the U.S. in 1860 -1948. In the long run, the cohort rate of marital disruption increased from about 10% in the mid-1860s to about 30% in the 1940s. Marital disruption rate was similar to the divorce rate after the Civil War but the two rates diverged wildly in the early 20 th century. In 1900 -1930, the disruption rate was as much as double the divorce rate, implying that perhaps half of all disruptions never reached the court.

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