Prices, Wages and Consumption in Transylvania between 1850-1914. Tendencies and Developments in Rural and Urban Areas
Prices, Wages and Consumption in Transylvania between 1850-1914. Tendencies and Developments in Rural and Urban Areas

Summary/Abstract: The present study deals with the complex relation that existed among prices, wages and consumption in both rural and urban space in Transylvania, in the 1850-1914 period. Correlating the evolution of prices with that of wages reveals the fact that the formation and evolution of prices as well as of wages and consumption occurred through complex economic mechanisms and that in Transylvania there existed a duality between modern, urban economic sectors and rural, traditional ones; that duality affected both prices and consumption. As regards prices, conclusions reveal a gradual increase of all prices in the period 1850-1914, with specific evolutions of various types of products. Actually two “price shocks” were recorded in this period, the first one occurring in the 1851-1860 decade and the second in the 1901-1910 decade, both having causes specific to the respective period. These “shocks” were deeply felt, influencing consumption tendencies and affecting the life of all social categories. As regards income, the paper shows that although generally speaking income grew both in industry and in agriculture, under the influence of economic cycles, the real value of wages, expressed in purchase power, tended to diminish.

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