Consumption and living standards in early modern rural households : Probate evidence from Southern Sweden, c. 1670–1860
This article presents new estimates of the material living standards among the rural population in southern Sweden from the 1670s up to 1865. The development of rural consumer patterns over the period is analyzed using a newly constructed database of 1665 probate inventories from three benchmark periods. It finds that that all rural households, no matter their socioeconomic status, diversified theThis article presents new estimates of the material living standards among the rural population in southern Sweden from the 1670s up to 1865. The development of rural consumer patterns over the period is analyzed using a newly constructed database of 1665 probate inventories from three benchmark periods. It finds that that all rural households, no matter their socioeconomic status, diversified the
