The English Old Poor Law, which before 1834 provided welfare to the elderly, children, the improvident, and the unfortunate, was a bête noire of the new discipline of Political Economy. Smith, Bentham, Malthus, and Ricardo all claimed it created significant social costs and increased rather than reduced poverty. The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834, drafted by Political Economists, cuts payments sharply. Because local rules on eligibility and provision varied greatly before the 1834 reform, we can estimate the social costs of the extensive welfare provision of the Old Poor Law. Surprisingly there is no evidence of any of the alleged social costs that prompted the harsh treatment of the poor after 1834. Political economy, it seems, was born in sin.

中文翻译：

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1834年的福利改革：英格兰的《新贫困法》是否产生了重大的经济收益？

英国的《旧贫困法》在1834年之前为老年人，儿童，无经验的人和不幸的人提供了福利，这是政治经济学新学科的先驱。史密斯（Smith），边沁（Bentham），马尔萨斯（Malthus）和里卡多（Ricardo）都声称，这造成了巨大的社会成本，并增加了而不是减少了贫困。该济贫法修正法案的1834年，通过政治经济学家起草削减款项大幅上升。因为在1834年改革之前，有关资格和提供的地方法规差异很大，所以我们可以估算《旧贫困法》中广泛的福利提供的社会成本。令人惊讶的是，没有证据表明任何所谓的社会成本促使1834年以后对穷人实行严厉对待。政治经济学似乎是在罪恶中诞生的。