Living standards in the past

"How did the standard of living in Europe and Asia compare in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries? This book proposes an answer by considering evidence of three sorts. The first is economic, focusing on income, food production, wages, and prices. The second is demographic, comparing heights, life expectancy, and other demographic indicators. The third combines the economic and demographic by investigating the demographic vulnerability to short-term economic stress." "These analyses show a highly complex and diverse pattern of the standard of living in the pre-industrial period. The general picture emerging is not one of great divergence between East and West, but one of considerable similarities."--Jacket.