Die Theorie der Volkswirtschaft

Cost of living in German towns

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 892769734

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-76808

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Maslov, Petr http://d-nb.info/gnd/123876184

Title:: Die Theorie der Volkswirtschaft

Place of publication:: Leipzig

Publisher:: Verlag von Arthur Kade

Year of publication:: 1912

Scope:: 1 Online-Ressource (VIII, 293 Seiten)

Collection:: Economics Books

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XXIV one (35s. and under 40s.), where the average number of persons per family is only slightly higher than in the lowest class, and to a little more than 16 pints in the highest class of all. Butter shows a very pronounced increase in amount with the rise in family income ; the average quantity consumed weekly being in the lowest income class only a little over ^ lb., and then rising to about 1 ^ lb. in the group with incomes of 35s. and under 40s., and to over 1|¡ lb. in the highest group. The expenditure increases in very nearly the same ratio. The proportion of the weekly outlay on food which is expended on butter ranges from 3'7 per cent, in the towns of the South German group to 13*7 per cent, in the Saxony towns ; it will be remembered that the towns of South Germany have also a relatively low consumption of bacon and pork. The demand for Margarme (which is sold at a wide range of prices) varies greatly : at Stuttgart, Mülhausen, Nuremberg (all southern towns) and Chemnitz, the sale is said to be small ; at Aachen and Leipzig its use appears to be chiefly for cooking purposes ; whilst in Berlin, Munich, Solingen, Elberfeld, Remscheid, Brunswick and Stassfurt, the sale is reported to be large. It will be seen that the budgets do not show any marked variations in the expenditure on this item, except in the two highest classes, where it is probably used for cooking. Of Cheese numerous varieties are sold—the kind most commonly bought by the working classes being Limburg, which is the cheapest. Other kinds in demand are Tilsit, Münster, Dutch, German Emmenthal and Swiss—the last- named being very dear and bought only rarely by the working classes. In many cases small cheeses are sold by piece and not by weight. The budgets show only a small consumption, ranging from ^ lb. to § lb. per week, at a cost of from 2J(7 to 6^(7. The amount spent on Potatoes does not vary greatly, and ranges from about 10(7. in each of the three lowest groups to Is. 2|c7. in the highest group. The consumption is large, from 24.lbs. to 33^ lbs. On the other hand the expenditure on Other Vegetables and Fruit, which is only 2|(7. in the lowest income class, rises sharply to 6(7. in the next class (20s. and under 25s.), and then gradually to Is. \\d. in the highest class. Coffee accounts for an expenditure of 5j(7. in the lowest income class, rising to Is. 0^(7. in the highest, the range of quantities being from ^ lb. to a little over 1 lb. Cheap coffee substitutes are largely used by the German working classes, especially roasted barley, malt, and rye, which are mixed with the coffee in varying proportions. ^ The amount of Sugar consumed is small, and the range is not wide, being only from about If lbs. to a little less than 2f lbs. ; the expenditure varies from 4j(7. to 6^(7. Generally “ cube ” sugar is bought for use with coffee, and “ white granulated ” for other purposes. Retail Prices. \ 1 Information as to the prices commonly paid by the working classes for food commodities, for fuel and for paraffin oil was obtained from a large number of shopkeepers in each of the towns investigated, and also from the co-operative societies, where these existed. The predominant prices for each commodity in each of the towns are given in the separate town reports and also in the Appendix III., pp. 497-500. It must be remembered that the prices there shown are not necessarily the minimum prices at which the commodities could be obtained —probably in most cases they are not—but simply the prices which the working classes did in fact usually pay in the month of October, 1905 ; and where a range of prices is given, it is because they appear to be of equal popularity. The differences between one town and another, accordingly, represent often not so much differences in the cost of identical commodities as variations in local tastes and sometimes in local standards of comfort. The following Table presents the predominant range, for Germany as a whole (including Berlin), of retail prices commonly paid by the working- classes for certain commodities. Prices at Berlin fall within the limits of the

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