Public health expenditures and mortality in England and Wales, 1870-1914

Continuity and Change

Volumn 13, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 221-249

  Bell, Frances ^a   Millward, Robert ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HEALTH EXPENDITURE; HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; MORTALITY; PUBLIC HEALTH;

UNITED KINGDOM;

EID: 0032321423     PISSN: 02684160     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0268416098003142     Document Type: Article

References (57)

1. See S. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention in Britain's mortality decline c. 1850-1914: a re-interpretation of the role of public health', Social History of Medicine 2 (1988), and P. E. Razzell, 'An interpretation of the modern rise of population in Europe', Population Studies 28 (1974).
2. See S. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention in Britain's mortality decline c. 1850-1914: a re-interpretation of the role of public health', Social History of Medicine 2 (1988), and P. E. Razzell, 'An interpretation of the modern rise of population in Europe', Population Studies 28 (1974).
3. For an examination of the timing of local authority expenditure, see J. F. Wilson, 'The finance of municipal capital expenditure in England and Wales 1870-1914', Financial History Review 4 (1997), 31-50.
4. For an account of the interrelationship of factors in mortality decline, see R. Millward and F. Bell, 'Investment in public health and its impact on mortality in England and Wales 1870-1914', in H. Power and S. Sheard eds., Health in the city: a history of public health (forthcoming, 1999).
5. See J. Williamson, Coping with city growth (Cambridge, 1990), 286, 290.
6. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 22.
7. See J. Vallin, 'Mortality in Europe from 1720-1914: long term trends and changes in patterns by age and sex', in R. Schofield, D. Reher and A. Bideau eds., The decline of mortality in Europe (Oxford, 1991); J. M. Winter, 'The decline of mortality in Britain 1870-1950', in T. Barker and M. Drake eds., Population and society in Britain 1850-1980 (London, 1982), 100-20; R. I. Woods, P. A. Watterson and J. H. Woodward, 'The causes of rapid infant mortality decline in England and Wales 1861-1921', Part I, Population Studies 42 (1988), 343-66, and Part II, Population Studies 43 (1989), 113-32.
8. See J. Vallin, 'Mortality in Europe from 1720-1914: long term trends and changes in patterns by age and sex', in R. Schofield, D. Reher and A. Bideau eds., The decline of mortality in Europe (Oxford, 1991); J. M. Winter, 'The decline of mortality in Britain 1870-1950', in T. Barker and M. Drake eds., Population and society in Britain 1850-1980 (London, 1982), 100-20; R. I. Woods, P. A. Watterson and J. H. Woodward, 'The causes of rapid infant mortality decline in England and Wales 1861-1921', Part I, Population Studies 42 (1988), 343-66, and Part II, Population Studies 43 (1989), 113-32.
9. See J. Vallin, 'Mortality in Europe from 1720-1914: long term trends and changes in patterns by age and sex', in R. Schofield, D. Reher and A. Bideau eds., The decline of mortality in Europe (Oxford, 1991); J. M. Winter, 'The decline of mortality in Britain 1870-1950', in T. Barker and M. Drake eds., Population and society in Britain 1850-1980 (London, 1982), 100-20; R. I. Woods, P. A. Watterson and J. H. Woodward, 'The causes of rapid infant mortality decline in England and Wales 1861-1921', Part I, Population Studies 42 (1988), 343-66, and Part II, Population Studies 43 (1989), 113-32.
10. See J. Vallin, 'Mortality in Europe from 1720-1914: long term trends and changes in patterns by age and sex', in R. Schofield, D. Reher and A. Bideau eds., The decline of mortality in Europe (Oxford, 1991); J. M. Winter, 'The decline of mortality in Britain 1870-1950', in T. Barker and M. Drake eds., Population and society in Britain 1850-1980 (London, 1982), 100-20; R. I. Woods, P. A. Watterson and J. H. Woodward, 'The causes of rapid infant mortality decline in England and Wales 1861-1921', Part I, Population Studies 42 (1988), 343-66, and Part II, Population Studies 43 (1989), 113-32.
11. See Vallin, 'Mortality in Europe', for international comparisons.
12. See Winter, 'The decline of mortality in Britain', 103.
13. Vallin, 'Mortality in Europe', 43.
14. B. Luckin, 'Death and survival in the city: approaches to the history of disease', Urban History Yearbook (1980), 58.
15. For debate on the connections between diseases, see T. McKeown and R. G. Record, 'Reasons for the decline of mortality in England and Wales during the nineteenth century', Population Studies 16 (1962), 94-122; Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 12-17; S. Guha, 'The importance of social intervention in England's mortality decline: the evidence reviewed', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 89-113; and S. Szreter, 'Mortality in England in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries: a reply to Sumit Guha', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 269-82.
16. For debate on the connections between diseases, see T. McKeown and R. G. Record, 'Reasons for the decline of mortality in England and Wales during the nineteenth century', Population Studies 16 (1962), 94-122; Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 12-17; S. Guha, 'The importance of social intervention in England's mortality decline: the evidence reviewed', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 89-113; and S. Szreter, 'Mortality in England in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries: a reply to Sumit Guha', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 269-82.
17. For debate on the connections between diseases, see T. McKeown and R. G. Record, 'Reasons for the decline of mortality in England and Wales during the nineteenth century', Population Studies 16 (1962), 94-122; Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 12-17; S. Guha, 'The importance of social intervention in England's mortality decline: the evidence reviewed', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 89-113; and S. Szreter, 'Mortality in England in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries: a reply to Sumit Guha', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 269-82.
18. For debate on the connections between diseases, see T. McKeown and R. G. Record, 'Reasons for the decline of mortality in England and Wales during the nineteenth century', Population Studies 16 (1962), 94-122; Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 12-17; S. Guha, 'The importance of social intervention in England's mortality decline: the evidence reviewed', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 89-113; and S. Szreter, 'Mortality in England in the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries: a reply to Sumit Guha', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 269-82.
19. There is general agreement that changes in virulence were of limited extent in infectious diseases other than scarlet fever.
20. See P. J. Atkins, 'White poison: the social consequences of milk consumption', Social History Of Medicine 5 (1992), 208, and Razzell, 'An interpretation of the modern rise of population in Europe', 130.
21. See P. J. Atkins, 'White poison: the social consequences of milk consumption', Social History Of Medicine 5 (1992), 208, and Razzell, 'An interpretation of the modern rise of population in Europe', 130.
22. See especially R. Woods and J. Woodward, 'Mortality, poverty and the environment', in R. Woods and J. Woodward eds., Urban Disease and Mortality in the Nineteenth Century (London, 1984), 19-32.
23. Ibid., 32.
24. See A. Hardy, 'Death is the cure of all diseases: using the General Register Office cause of death statistics for 1837-1920', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 473-92, and J. M. Eyler, 'Mortality statistics and Victorian health policy : programme and criticism', History of Medicine 50 (1976), 335-55.
25. See A. Hardy, 'Death is the cure of all diseases: using the General Register Office cause of death statistics for 1837-1920', Social History of Medicine 7 (1994), 473-92, and J. M. Eyler, 'Mortality statistics and Victorian health policy : programme and criticism', History of Medicine 50 (1976), 335-55.
26. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 18.
27. See J. G. Williamson, coping with city growth during the British Industrial Revolution (Cambridge, 1990).
28. See J. A. Hassan, 'The growth and impact of the British water industry in the nineteenth century', Economic History Review 38 (1985), 543.
29. In his examination of the development of the water supply to Manchester, Hassan argued that the expanded supply may temporarily have had harmful effects on health. It encouraged the introduction of WCs and more regular street cleaning, which led to an increased volume of refuse and wastes. The consequence was a dangerous overloading of antiquated sewers and drains and an increase in river pollution; see J. A. Hassan, 'The impact and development of the water supply in Manchester, 1568-1882', Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 133 (1984), 41.
30. On the dangerous system operating in Worthing, see F. B. Smith, The people's health 1830-1910 (London, 1979), 222.
31. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 25. See also J. Williamson, 'Coping with city growth', in R. Floud and D. McCloskey eds., The economic history of Britain since 1700, Volume 1: 1700-1860 (Cambridge, 1994), 355. Williamson argues that there is considerable error in assuming that a major commitment of public resources to sanitation and housing reform took place in the decades immediately following the publication of Chadwick's groundbreaking 1842 sanitary report; see his Report on the sanitary condition of the labouring population of Great Britain, ed. M. Flynn (Edinburgh, 1965).
32. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 25. See also J. Williamson, 'Coping with city growth', in R. Floud and D. McCloskey eds., The economic history of Britain since 1700, Volume 1: 1700-1860 (Cambridge, 1994), 355. Williamson argues that there is considerable error in assuming that a major commitment of public resources to sanitation and housing reform took place in the decades immediately following the publication of Chadwick's groundbreaking 1842 sanitary report; see his Report on the sanitary condition of the labouring population of Great Britain, ed. M. Flynn (Edinburgh, 1965).
33. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 25. See also J. Williamson, 'Coping with city growth', in R. Floud and D. McCloskey eds., The economic history of Britain since 1700, Volume 1: 1700-1860 (Cambridge, 1994), 355. Williamson argues that there is considerable error in assuming that a major commitment of public resources to sanitation and housing reform took place in the decades immediately following the publication of Chadwick's groundbreaking 1842 sanitary report; see his Report on the sanitary condition of the labouring population of Great Britain, ed. M. Flynn (Edinburgh, 1965).
34. Hassan, 'The growth and impact of the British water industry', 543.
35. Szreter, 'The importance of social intervention', 22.
36. R. Millward and S. Sheard, 'The urban fiscal problem 1870-1914: government expenditure and finances in England and Wales', Economic History Review XLVIII 3 (1995), 501-35.
37. J. Wilson, S. Sheard and R. Millward, 'Trends in local authority loan expenditure in England and Wales 1870-1914', University of Manchester Working Papers in Economic and Social History 22 (1993), 13.
38. Ibid., 16.
39. We should record that currently we have no data on the actual price of sanitary assets such as the cost of WCs or sewer pipes. Our deflator, the Rousseaux price index, is merely reflecting general purchasing power. See B. R. Mitchell, British Historical Statistics (Cambridge, 1988), 722-4.
40. Hassan, 'The impact and development of water supply', 36-7.
41. Anderson has argued that consideration of the importance of fire protection for industrial property was an inducement to invest in water supply schemes in American cities. Her research shows that insurance premiums were lower in cities with an established water supply system; see L. Anderson, 'Fire and water: American city expenditures and fire protection', paper presented at the Eleventh International Economic History Conference, University Bocconi, Milan, September 1994.
42. Hassan, 'The impact and development of water supply', 38.
43. Smith, The people's health, 219. See also J. Sheil, 'Town wastes, agricultural sustainability and Victorian sewerage', Urban History 23 (1996), 189-210.
44. Smith, The people's health, 219. See also J. Sheil, 'Town wastes, agricultural sustainability and Victorian sewerage', Urban History 23 (1996), 189-210.
45. See Sir John Simon, English sanitary institutions (London, 1890), 225-28, for towns where sanitary reforms were followed by outbreaks of disease.
46. On American engineering problems and design decisions, see J. A. Tarr, 'The separate vs. combined sewer problem: a case study in urban technology design choice', Journal of Urban History 5 (1971), 308-39, and Tarr's, 'Sewerage and the development of the networked city in the United States, 1850-1930', in J. A. Tarr and G. Dupuy eds., Technology and the rise of the networked city in Europe and America (Philadelphia, 1988), 157-226. See also C. Hamilin, 'William Dibden and the idea of biological sewage treatment', Technology and culture (1988), 189-218.
47. On American engineering problems and design decisions, see J. A. Tarr, 'The separate vs. combined sewer problem: a case study in urban technology design choice', Journal of Urban History 5 (1971), 308-39, and Tarr's, 'Sewerage and the development of the networked city in the United States, 1850-1930', in J. A. Tarr and G. Dupuy eds., Technology and the rise of the networked city in Europe and America (Philadelphia, 1988), 157-226. See also C. Hamilin, 'William Dibden and the idea of biological sewage treatment', Technology and culture (1988), 189-218.
48. On American engineering problems and design decisions, see J. A. Tarr, 'The separate vs. combined sewer problem: a case study in urban technology design choice', Journal of Urban History 5 (1971), 308-39, and Tarr's, 'Sewerage and the development of the networked city in the United States, 1850-1930', in J. A. Tarr and G. Dupuy eds., Technology and the rise of the networked city in Europe and America (Philadelphia, 1988), 157-226. See also C. Hamilin, 'William Dibden and the idea of biological sewage treatment', Technology and culture (1988), 189-218.
49. See A. Redford, Borough and city; the history of local government in Manchester, Volume II (London, 1940), 385, 392.
50. See Wilson, Sheard and Millward, 'Trends in local authority loan expenditure', 14.
51. Street maintenance, even including repairs, was usually treated as current expenditure in British public sector accounts even though in practice it generated benefits over a long period.
52. Hassan, 'The growth and impact of the British water industry', 543.
53. See N. Williams and C. Galley, 'Urban-rural differentials in infant mortality in Victorian England', Population Studies 49 (1995), 402-3. See also C. H. Lee, 'Regional inequalities in infant mortality in Britain 1861-1971: patterns and hypotheses', Population Studies 45 (1991).
54. See N. Williams and C. Galley, 'Urban-rural differentials in infant mortality in Victorian England', Population Studies 49 (1995), 402-3. See also C. H. Lee, 'Regional inequalities in infant mortality in Britain 1861-1971: patterns and hypotheses', Population Studies 45 (1991).
55. Woods, Watterson and Woodward, 'The causes of rapid infant mortality decline', Part II, 122.
56. Williams and Galley, 'Urban-rural differentials', 413.
57. M. J. Daunton, House and home in the Victorian city 1850-1914 (London, 1983), 248.