Recent concern with economic growth has led not only to a vast increase in the quantity and quality of statistics collected and published, but also to an upsurge of interest in the statistics of the past. As attention has turned more and more to the study of the comparative development of different countries, so a need has been felt for a collection of historical statistics comparing different nations. This work meets the need as far as the Americas is concerned. ‘A landmark for the economic historian.It is seldom that a publication truly deserves the name of a pioneering book. This one does’ English Historical Review ‘No economic library should be without it’ Economic Journal.