Fuel Consumption and Welfare Ratios in Preindustrial Societies: A Methodological Adjustment

Abstract Household fuel consumption is essential in constructing consumption baskets for calculating welfare ratios. The most influential of these baskets, proposed by Robert Allen, has been widely used to analyze living standards across regions and periods. Despite their relevance, these studies may improve in two ways. First, their assumptions about per capita fuel use are lower than estimates from specialized literature. Second, they compare baskets without considering climate’s impact on fuel needs. This article develops a methodology that incorporates such differences. When applied to the respectable and bare-bones baskets of early modern European and Asian cities, welfare ratios fall—though unevenly—by as much as 27%.