Wage Rates (1290-1990) - Paolo Malanima

WagesITALY 1290-1990Paolo MalanimaThe complete annual series of wage rates are based on data referring toTuscany in the 1290-1605 period; to Lombardy from 1606 to 1860; and to all of Italyfrom 1861 to 1990. A more detailed discussion of the criteria used to constructthese series can be found in Malanima, L’economia italiana, App. 3, where decadalseries are presented, as well as elaborations of the price index based on the use ofdifferent baskets.Series of wages are based on: Tuscany: (1280-95 and 1310-20) De LaRoncière, Prix et salaires à Florence; (1310-20 and 1340-1580) Goldthwaite, TheBuilding of Renaissance Florence; (15 th c.) Tognetti, “Prezzi e salari”; (1520-1620)Parenti, Prime ricerche; Lombardy: (17 th c.) Sella, “Salari e lavoro”; (18 th -19 th c.); DeMaddalena, Prezzi e mercedi; Italy: Fenoaltea, “Production and Consumption”;Rossi, Sorgato, Toniolo, “I conti economici italiani”.Actually these wages could be better defined as wage-rates, since they arewages per day and we do not know how many days per year and hours per daypast workers did really work.Urban-rural wage-rates: the weighted average is based on data onurbanisation rates from Malanima, “Urbanisation and the Italian Economy”. Datafrom 1861 are based on Fenoaltea, “Production and Consumption (I haverecalculated the urban-rural series as a weighted average, whereas Fenoaltea onlypresents an arithmetic mean). From 1914 until 1990 data are from Rossi, Sorgato,Toniolo, “I conti economici italiani”. Since until 1320 we have no data on ruralwages, the index follows the series of building wages.INDUSTRY AGRICULTURE INDEX INDUSTRY AGRICULTURE INDEXRealReal Wage- Real Wage- Real Wage- Real Wage- Real Wage- Wage-Rates Rates Rates Rates Rates RatesMasons Labourer Masons Labourer1420-40=1 1420-40=1 1420-40=1 1861=1 1861=1 1861=11290 0.450 0.450 1.642 0.9881291 0.450 0.450 1.642 0.98812921293129412951296129712981299 0.522 0.522 1.904 1.146130013011302130313042