ABSTRACT
The income has been estimated that the top 10 per cent of the population received around half the national income and the bottom 40 per cent less than one-sixth, and that this distribution persisted throughout the nineteenth century. Long-term income growth for the bulk of the population had to depend on the growth of average income per person rather than on redistribution. Trade-union wage rates provide reasonable coverage for much of the later nineteenth century, but as one goes back in time the available wage figures become sparser and sparser. The increased consumption of goods and services is ultimately what economic growth is about. Economic growth cannot affect the spiritual welfare. Any assessment of the overall impact of industrialisation on living standards needs to take into account its deleterious impact on the South as well as on the North. Enhancement of the structure of the home, however, should not be seen just as a continuation of traditional patterns of consumption.
