Measuring up
Subtitle: a history of living standards in Mexico, 1850-1950
By: Moramay López-Alonso
Series: Social science history; Social science history
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Stanford, California
Language: eng
Number of pages: 276
ISBN-13: 9780804773164
Subjects: Poverty; Public welfare; Stature; Public health; Cost and standard of living; Diet; History
Description: Tracing the high levels of poverty and inequality that Mexico faced in the mid-twentieth century, this book provides a perspective on living standards in Mexico prior to the first measurement of income distribution in 1957. By offering an account of material living conditions and their repercussions on biological standards of living between 1850 and 1950, it sheds new light on the life of the marginalised during this period. It shows that new methodologies allow us to examine the history of individuals who were not integrated into the formal economy, and assesses how a large portion of the population was affected by piecemeal policies and flaws in the process of economic modernisation and growth.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The ideas behind the making of welfare institutions; title: Welfare as charity?; title: Welfare as public policy; title: The measure of well-being : why and how do we use heights to understand living standards?; title: The tall or short of it : tracking heights and living standards; title: Health and nutrition : the history; title: Health and nutrition : the data analysis; title: Overview and final conclusions.