University of Chicago Press Health & Welfare During Industrialization (National Bureau of Economic Research Project Reports)

The 10 essays in this volume consider the standard of living in modern times. Each of the eight chapters examines evidence of health and welfare during and after industrialization in one of eight countries: the United States; Britain; Sweden; the Netherlands; France; Germany; Japan; and Australia. The essays incorporate several indicators of quality of life, especially real per capita income and health, but also real wages, education, and inequality. The introduction and a concluding overview put the individual chapters in comparative perspective. While the authors use of traditional meaures of health such as life expectancy and mortality rates, they also make use of anthropometric data - information about height, weight, and body mass index - to show changes in nations' well being.