title: Stuart London's standard of living: re-examining the Settlement of Tithes of 1638 for rents, income, and poverty.
abstract: The Settlement of Tithes of 1638 can be tested for biases in its London rents. Even so, it proves to be a relatively good source for seventeenth-century London, and for calculating associated median and mean rents, as well as a Gini coefficient of inequality for the distribution of resources. Through other evidence in the Settlement, rent/income ratios for London can be approximated, and from them estimates made of London's median income. Median rents and income also allow estimates of the percentage of Londoners in poverty. Though the last is inevitably disputable, the estimate holds up well to testing by other evidence.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California.
authors.forename: William C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Baer
mesh_terms: D004651:Employment / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D049670:History, 17th Century; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D007182:Income / Q000266:history; D007878:Legislation as Topic / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history; D008131:London / Q000208:ethnology; D011203:Poverty / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D012923:Social Class / Q000266:history; D012924:Social Conditions / Q000191:economics / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014478:Unemployment / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D014504:Urban Health / Q000266:history; D014505:Urban Population / Q000266:history