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- Title
Political arithmetic in eighteenth-century England.
- Authors
Hoppit, Julian
- Abstract
The article presents information on the importance and some of the quantitative exploration of society, economy and polity of England during the eighteenth century. It is often held that in eighteenth-century England, unlike the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, there was little or no quantitative enquiry. Under the Hanoverians many statistical data were collected and considered, and exploring how and why this was done reveals much about contemporary perceptions of economy and society. The eighteenth-century political arithmetic was robust and dominant. There were limitations to the quantitative view, helping to explain why, like economist Adam Smith, many put little faith in numbers. Political arithmetic was not confined to estimates of national income and population, for it might also explore public finances, economic performance, poor relief, military matters, religious affiliation, social order and so on. The dimensions of public policy set the agenda and, therefore, the potential subject matter of political arithmetic was unfixed and could change from one period to another. Methodologically there was less flexibility.
- Subjects
ENGLAND; ECONOMIC forecasting; QUANTITATIVE research; SMITH, Adam, 1723-1790; NATIONAL income; POPULATION
- Publication
Economic History Review, 1996, Vol 49, Issue 3, p516
- ISSN
0013-0117
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2597762