Summary information

Study title

Wages and Prices in Scotland, c.1580-1780

Creator

Gibson, A. J. S., University of Exeter, Department of Geography
Smout, C., University of St Andrews, Centre for Advanced Historical Studies

Study number / PID

3302 (UKDA)

10.5255/UKDA-SN-3302-1 (DOI)

Data access

Restricted

Series

Not available

Abstract

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.


The principal purpose of this study was to counter the long-term neglect of Scottish price history by undertaking a thorough and systematic search of the principal Scottish archives. The main focus was on agricultural commodity prices and both urban and rural wages.
Main Topics:

The focus of data collection was on long-term wage and price series for the period 1580-1780, although many of the series obtained extend before or after these dates. The price series collected invariably refer to agricultural commodities or products derived from them (such as ale and bread), whilst the wage series are of labourers and craftsmen (generally masons and wrights).
The topics cover:
Prices: animal and meat prices; animal-derived commodity prices (ie butter, milk, eggs); burgh price regulation; fiars prices; monthly market prices; grain prices; grain-derived prices (ie ale, wheat, bread).
Wages: agricultural servants' wages; craftsmen's wages; labourers' wages.
This dataset is also available at:

http://www.ex.ac.uk/~ajgibson/scotdata/scot_database_home.html

Please note: this study does not include information on named individuals and would therefore not be useful for personal family history research.

Methodology

Data collection period

01/10/1983 - 01/10/1988

Country

Scotland

Time dimension

Time Series

Analysis unit

Prices and wages
National
Economic indicators
Prices
Wages

Universe

Agricultural commodity prices and labourers and skilled craftsmen's wages in Scotland, c.1580-1780

Sampling procedure

No sampling (total universe)
No information recorded

Kind of data

Not available

Data collection mode

Transcription of existing materials

Funding information

Grant number

RB00230067

Access

Publisher

UK Data Service

Publication year

1995

Terms of data access

The Data Collection is available to UK Data Service registered users subject to the End User Licence Agreement.

Commercial use of the data requires approval from the data owner or their nominee. The UK Data Service will contact you.

Related publications

  • Gibson, A. and Smout, T. (1995) 'Regional prices and market regions :: the evolution of the early-modern Scottish grain market', Economic History Review, 258–282
  • Smout, T. and Gibson, A. (1994) Prices, food and wages in Scotland, 1550-1780, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN 0521346568 | 9780521346566
  • Cullen, L., Gibson, A. and Smout, T. (1988) Wages and comparative development in Ireland and Scotland, 1565-1780, Edinburgh: John Donald.ISBN 0859761711 | 9780859761710