![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvCS0l86UuNc9FrncYiZsIsPba9Rcf9rK3oIvfjCjdO9wbNdKH3NXOObVrp9XFAqVDbR8C1QKs_g4NlynaK79kX8XXd2-sof4NX4AyerpWQ9NVQy0Vi16zJ9hL5qKcYZQZxKD/s200/sugar2.jpg)
Says this fascinating paper:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsNUXoXxGA5lwAjX4RjEnivUamt9EJT1N-jbHfRoLINwYRNHAFxmU2ZMs1gQJ_0zNA1Esh4YCR-Fay5NMLiYcEYM4PqrB_rqU4q7-UTyHme8uiw2_pSQok-NOYrEjj1EeORkUO/s400/welfare3.jpg)
Coffee, consumer choice, and the consequences of Columbus
Jonathan Hersh Hans-Joachim Voth
3 September 2009
"There is a broad consensus that living standards stagnated for millennia before the Industrial Revolution. This column attributes that conclusion to a measurement error in real wage indices. The introduction of new goods such as coffee, sugar, and tea to England in the 1700s and 1800s dramatically raised living standards – perhaps more than 15%."