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Why was urban overcrowding much more severe in Scotland than in the rest of the British Isles? Evidence from the first (1904) official household expenditure survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2010

IAN GAZELEY ,
ANDREW NEWELL  and
PETER SCOTT
IAN GAZELEY
Affiliation:
Department of History, University of Sussex, UK, [email protected]
ANDREW NEWELL
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, University of Sussex, UK and IZA, Bonn, Germany, [email protected]
PETER SCOTT
Affiliation:
School of Management, University of Reading, UK, [email protected]
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Abstract

This article presents an analysis of British urban working-class housing conditions in 1904, using a rediscovered survey. We investigate overcrowding and find major regional differences. Scottish households in the survey were more overcrowded despite being less poor. Investigating the causes of this overcrowding, we find little support for supply-side theories or for the idea that the Scottish households in our survey experienced particularly great variations in income, causing them to commit to overly modest accommodation. We present evidence that is consistent with idea that particularly tough Scottish tenancy and local tax laws caused excess overcrowding. We also provide evidence that Scottish workers had a relatively high preference for food, rather than housing, expenditure, which can be at least partly attributed to their inheritance of more communal patterns of urban living.

Type
Research Article
Information
European Review of Economic History , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , April 2011 , pp. 127 - 151
Copyright
Copyright © European Historical Economics Society 2010

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