Abstract

The full population of England and Wales employers and own-account business proprietors is estimated using population censuses 1851–1911. The main contribution of the article is a method of mixed single imputation to overcome the challenge of non-responses to the census 1851–1881. This method is compared with alternatives. Downloads of all data allow replication. The method is used to track trends in proprietor numbers and entrepreneurship rates to reassess the ‘decline of Victorian entrepreneurship’, onset of the ‘U’-shaped trough of the twentieth century, the ‘climacteric’ of 1901, and compositional changes by sector and sex. There is strong sector and gender diversity, with changes in female participation major drivers of overall trends. Proprietor numbers show slow increases of employers, and rapid rise and then decline of own-account, with a turning point after 1901. The methodology and turning point is compared and confirmed against the 1921 census and national and local trade directories.

Current affilition for Piero Montebruno: Geographical Research Economist at the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics and Political ScienceSupplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2021.1894134.

摘要

英格兰和威尔士雇主和个体经营者的总人口是使用 1851-1911 年人口普查估算的。本文的主要贡献是一种混合单一插补方法，以克服对 1851-1881 年人口普查不答复的挑战。该方法与替代方法进行了比较。所有数据的下载都允许复制。该方法用于跟踪业主数量和创业率的趋势，以重新评估“维多利亚时代创业的衰落”、20 世纪“U”形低谷的开始、1901 年的“更年期”以及按部门和性别。部门和性别多样性很强，女性参与的变化是总体趋势的主要驱动力。业主数据显示用人单位增长缓慢，自营账户先升后降，

Piero Montebruno 目前隶属于：伦敦政治经济学院经济绩效中心的地理研究经济学家 本文的补充数据可在线获取 https://doi.org/10.1080/00076791.2021.1894134。