Allen R.C., Bengtsson T., Dribe M. Living Standards in the Past: New Perspectives on Well-Being in Asia and Europe

Oxford University Press, 2005. - 495 p.When did Europe pull ahead of Asia in terms of living standards? A number of well-known scholars compare economic and demographic indicators of well-being in the pre-industrial period. The emerging picture is not one of great differences, but of considerable similarities in standard of living between Europe and Asia before the Industrial Revolution.