UK World War I and Interwar Data for Business Cycle and Growth Analysis

Abstract:     
This article contributes new time series for studying the UK economy during World War I and the interwar period. The time series are per capita hours worked and average capital income, labor income, and consumption tax rates. Uninterrupted time series of these variables are provided for an annual sample that runs from 1913 to 1938. The authors highlight the usefulness of these time series with several empirical applications. The per capita hours worked data are used in a growth accounting exercise to measure the contributions of capital, labor, and productivity to output growth. The average tax rates are employed in a Bayesian model averaging experiment to reevaluate the Benjamin and Kochin (1979) regression.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 38

Keywords: Hours worked, Average tax rates, Growth accounting, Bayesian model averaging

JEL Classification: E32, E62, N14, N34, N44

working papers series