Markets and Measurements in Nineteenth-Century Britain

Aashish Velkar

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN: 9781107023338
• eBook ISBN: 9781139534505
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Economic History
• Index: Economics

Measurements are a central institutional component of markets and economic exchange. By the nineteenth century, the measurement system in Britain was desperately in need of revision: a multiplicity of measurement standards, proliferation of local or regional weights and measures, and a confusing array of measurement practices made everyday measurements unreliable. Aashish Velkar uncovers how metrology and economic logic alone failed to make 'measurements' reliable, and discusses the importance of localised practices in shaping trust in them. Markets and Measurements in Nineteenth-Century Britain steers away from the traditional explanations of measurement reliability based on the standardisation and centralisation of metrology; the focus is on changing measurement practices in local economic contexts. Detailed case studies from the industrial revolution suggest that such practices were path-dependent and 'anthropocentric'. Therefore, whilst standardised metrology may have improved precision, it was localised practices that determined the reliability and trustworthiness of measurements in economic contexts.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Markets and Measurements in Nineteenth-Century Britain
• Series
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Acknowledgements
• 1: Markets and measurements: An introduction
• 2: Inching towards the metre: Measurements, metrology and reform
• 3: Mensuration and local measurement practices
• 4: Governance and regulation: Standardising measurements in the London coal trade (c.1830)
• 5: Competition, cooperation and standardisation: Uniform measurements in the British wire industry (c.1880)
• 6: Globalisation, commodity grading and quality measurements in nineteenth-century wheat markets
• 7: 'Man is the measure of all things’: Conclusions and Implications
• Appendix 2.1: Milestones in the international acceptance of the metric system
• Appendix 4.1: Analysis of local practices and measurement inconsistencies in the London coal trade
• Appendix 4.2: Financial details of the metage system operated by the city of London
• Appendix 5.1: Comparison of sizes of various wire gauges
• Appendix 5.2: Comparison of the standard wire gauge with other proposed gauges
• Bibliography
• Index