The seed of abundance and misery

Economic growth, nutrition and living standards in 19th century Lima: new estimates of welfare ratios using a linear programming model

“…The results show that the welfare ratio in Lima declined during the Guano Era. This nding is consistent with other studies that also indicate that the living standards of the poor declined during the Guano Era, in spite of the macroeconomic bonanza (Arroyo-Abad, 2014; Gootenberg, 1990;Twrdek and Manzel, 2010;Zegarra, 2020a). The results for Lima support the hypothesis that living standards do not necessarily increase in response to economic growth.…”

“…I rely on information about height. The height of an average male adult in Peru was around 1.60-1.65 m (Twrdek and Manzel, 2010). For a height of 1.63 m, a weight of 55 kg would imply a of 20.7, re ecting a normal weight.…”

“…In addition, the evidence on the height of low-income Limenians supports the hypothesis that living standards did not improve during the Guano Era. In particular, Twrdek and Manzel (2010) collected information on the height of convicts in Lima and found that height did not increase during the Guano Era. Since those convicts belonged to the low-income segments of society, the evidence suggests that low-income families did not improve their nutrition during the Guano Era in spite of the macroeconomic bonanza.…”

“…Some studies suggest that low-income families in Lima did not increase their living standards during the Guano Era. For instance, Twrdek and Manzel (2010) indicate that height (proxy for nutrition) did not change during this period in spite of the economic bonanza. Other studies suggest that low-skilled workers could cover their basic needs, but experienced a decline in living standards during the Guano Era (Arroyo-Abad, 2014;Zegarra, 2020a).…”

FAILURE TO LAUNCH: COST OF LIVING AND LIVING STANDARDS IN PERU DURING THE 19THCENTURY

“…Esta divergencia indica que los ingresos provenientes del auge del guano en la última etapa probablemente beneficiaron al segmento superior de la población. Estos resultados están de acuerdo con la evidencia antropométrica presentada por Twrdek y Manzel (2010). En este estudio los autores documentan que de 1820 a 1880 la altura media de la clase baja no mejoró.…”