La mortalité et la loi sur les pauvres en Angleterre et au Pays de Galles vers 1830-1860 - une analyse exploratoire

Since Wrigley and Schofield’s Population History of England 1541-1871 (1981) it has been clear that a negative inflection in national mortality trends occurred c.1820-1870, during the same period in which the British economy grew at its fastest. Various explanations have been offered which can each partly account for this. This presentation offers a first report on a research project to evaluate a further, new factor - the possible relationship between the health of the population and the major changes which were implemented from the late 1830s in the social security and welfare system of England and Wales following the Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. This resulted in marked cuts to expenditure on the poor and the creation of a network of deterrent workhouses across the country. The team, comprising the two presenters and Prof David Green (KCL) and Prof Graham Mooney (Johns Hopkins), have constructed a database of Poor Law expenditures to match against the detailed life table estimates of mortality among local populations that can be constructed for England and Wales. The project and its rationale will be introduced and the first results from the statistical analysis of these two databases will be presented for discussion.