The new poor law and the health of the population of England and Wales
研究了1834年济贫法修正案后济贫支出削减对英格兰和威尔士农村预期寿命和死亡率的影响，发现儿童死亡率上升、预期寿命下降，有助于解释19世纪中期实际工资上升但预期寿命增长缓慢的现象。
Abstract We estimate the impact of reductions in poor law expenditure on rural life expectancy and mortality rates in England and Wales following the 1834 Poor Law Amendment Act. Given the scale of cuts imposed, our estimates imply 8–10 per cent increases in mortality at ages 1–4 years and 2–4 per cent falls in rural expectation of life at birth. This is consistent with the reformers’ policy of reducing child allowances for larger families. These results help to explain the weak performance of national mid‐nineteenth century life expectancy measures during a period of rising real wages but falling welfare expenditure.