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Data

Wages relative to the price of energy

About this data

Source
Allen (2009) – processed by Our World in Data
Last updated
September 15, 2018
Date range
1700–1700

Sources and processing

This data is based on the following sources

Allen – The British industrial revolution in global perspective, new approaches to economic and social history

The bar chart shows the price of labour relative to the price of energy — specifically, the wages of building labourers divided by the price of 1 million BTU (British Thermal Units, a unit of energy equivalent to slightly more than 1,000 joules).

Data received directly from author via Kevin O'Rourke.

Retrieved on
September 15, 2018
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Allen, R. C. (2009). 'The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective, New Approaches to Economic and Social History'. Cambridge University Press.

The bar chart shows the price of labour relative to the price of energy — specifically, the wages of building labourers divided by the price of 1 million BTU (British Thermal Units, a unit of energy equivalent to slightly more than 1,000 joules).

Data received directly from author via Kevin O'Rourke.

Retrieved on
September 15, 2018
Citation
This is the citation of the original data obtained from the source, prior to any processing or adaptation by Our World in Data. To cite data downloaded from this page, please use the suggested citation given in Reuse This Work below.
Allen, R. C. (2009). 'The British Industrial Revolution in Global Perspective, New Approaches to Economic and Social History'. Cambridge University Press.

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All data and visualizations on Our World in Data rely on data sourced from one or several original data providers. Preparing this original data involves several processing steps. Depending on the data, this can include standardizing country names and world region definitions, converting units, calculating derived indicators such as per capita measures, as well as adding or adapting metadata such as the name or the description given to an indicator.

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Citations

How to cite this page

To cite this page overall, including any descriptions, FAQs or explanations of the data authored by Our World in Data, please use the following citation:

“Data Page: Wages relative to the price of energy”. Our World in Data (2026). Data adapted from Allen. Retrieved from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260513-060106/grapher/wages-relative-to-the-price-of-energy.html [online resource] (archived on May 13, 2026).

How to cite this data

In-line citationIf you have limited space (e.g. in data visualizations), you can use this abbreviated in-line citation:

Allen (2009) – processed by Our World in Data

Full citation

Allen (2009) – processed by Our World in Data. “Wages relative to the price of energy” [dataset]. Allen, “The British industrial revolution in global perspective, new approaches to economic and social history” [original data]. Retrieved May 13, 2026 from https://archive.ourworldindata.org/20260513-060106/grapher/wages-relative-to-the-price-of-energy.html (archived on May 13, 2026).

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