Women s Contributions to family Businesses in Mid-19 th Century Massachusetts. Work-in-Progress November, 11, 2017

Transcription

1 Women s Contributions to family Businesses in Mid-19 th Century Massachusetts Work-in-Progress November, 11, 2017

2 Why study women? Women's economic contributions are understudied by economic historians because less information about women's work and market participation was recorded than about men's.

3 Why study family businesses? In the US, the second half of the 19 th century marked the transition from household/family based production in agriculture and manufacturing to factory based manufacturing using wage labor. In 1850, more than half of all manufacturing output was still produced in small family enterprises. See Ruggles (2007), Folbre and Wagman (1993), Lamoreaux (2003), Margo (2000).

4 Theoretically how can women contribute to these enterprises? Unpaid labor directly in enterprise sewing for tailors, some shoemaking tasks (binding), baking for bakers, bookkeeping and shop minding for all. Substituting for household production labor of men wood splitting, food raising, etc. The absence of women in a household implies need paid substitute for household production (cooking, childcare, clothing production etc.) which reduces savings, hence reducing property and capital accumulation

5 Household production Feminist Economists have brought our attention to contemporary women's unpaid and nonmarket labor: "household production" is goods and services produced and consumed within a household by unpaid labor of household members. The current BEA supplemental account for GDP includes in household production: housework, cooking, odd jobs, gardening, shopping, child care, and domestic travel. For a review of recent studies see Bridgman et al (2015) and Schreyer et al (2014).

6 Domestic production Development Economists and agricultural economists include "domestic production": goods and services produced within the household and sold in the market the revenue accrues to the head of household, or to pooled household income and for which individual household members may supply unpaid labor. See Chiappori (1988), Parente (2000), Perali (2011)

7 Models of contemporary household production and consumption The recent availability of more complete time use surveys has led to a set of studies which empirically test models of household production and consumption and labor decisions. the "unitary" model: the household as a single agent the "non-cooperative" model: household members as individual strategic agents in public goods games The "cooperative" bargaining model with pooled resources See Chiappori (2017)

8 But we don t have that data for the 19 th century Instead we have in 1850 for all of Essex County, Massachusetts: The Census of Manufacturing The Population Census City directories listing businesses and occupations of adult males for most family enterprises Genealogical information on relationships of household members from vital records

9 US Population Census and Census of Manufacturing Although the 1850 Population Census only lists men's occupations, we know that some women worked for wages as listed in the Census of Manufacturing. The 1850 Census of Manufacturing lists the number of male and female workers and the average wage bill for each gender in each manufacturing business which produced more than $500 worth of output per year. Also includes cost of raw materials market value of output invested capital Owners names (can be used to infer ownership structure)

10 The debate: Are all male workers included in the Manufacturing Census? Although this category was supposed to include the proprietor as one of the "workers" there has been some debate about whether or not most Census takers and respondents included him in the number of workers. See and Sokoloff (1984), Atack and Bateman (1999), Margo (2017) In Essex County, MA, it seems the proprietor was included: some enterprises show 1 employee, none show "0" employees. in the Population Census, the number of adult males with the family business occupation in the proprietor s household, including the proprietor is almost always less than or equal to the male employee number listed in the Census of Manufacturing.

11 Are all men who worked included in the Manufacturing Census? When we cross reference the Population Census occupation counts to the Manufacturing Census, there are some employees missing in the Manufacturing Census. For example, the Population Census lists 40 Bakers and 79 blacksmiths while the Manufacturing Census lists only 31 male bakers employed and 35 male blacksmiths employed. It could be that the missing bakers and blacksmiths worked for other types of firms (restaurants, ship builders or textile mills). or that the missing workers worked for firms which had output < $500. or that workers who were non-paid family members or apprentices were not included in the employee count. So it is possible that family members who contributed unpaid labor may not be included in the Manufacturing Census especially if they were not fulltime.

12 Philip Rogers: Butcher 1850 Manufacturing & Population Censuses

13 Samuel T Payson 1850 Population Census

14 1850 Census of Manufacturing

15 Richard Adams: Butcher 1850 Population & Manufacturing Censuses

16 Can we use the Census of Manufacturing to find women's contribution? If we can use the input/output data from the Census of Manufacturing, we can test for the hidden input of women by seeing if the presence of adult women in the household of the proprietor increases the proprietor's return from the business after accounting for the listed costs. CAVEAT What other factors contribute to business profit? Would these factors be correlated with the presence of adult women in the household even if women don t contribute labor to the combined household and business production?

17 Which businesses? I selected 4 of the 5 small business types with the largest number of establishments: Butchers Bakers Blacksmiths Shoemakers I did not include the 5 th business type fishing because it is unique to the coastal towns and the ownership structure is mostly partnerships with many passive investors. I also drop any enterprise which indicate outside investors, such as those labeled "and Co". and any with more than 30 employees.

18 Estimating a production function for small businesses Following Margo's (2017) production function estimation for Blacksmiths, I find the value added by proprietor,assuming the proprietor has included his imputed wage in the monthly wage bill he reported: output value raw materials cost wages for all but 1 male worker. Value added by proprietor includes Proprietor's labor. Must assume all labor valued at average reported wage for that establishment. If proprietor's labor input is more valuable, attribute that to proprietor's human capital (Master craftsman) - proxy by including proprietor's age Proprietor s return on Capital Proprietor s household's unpaid labor

19 propietor's value added A first look at the data 1850 Newburyport Butchers, Bakers, Blacksmiths & Shoemakers 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 Baker Blacksmith Butcher Shoemakers 1, ,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 4,000 4,500 (1,000) capital

20 propietor's value added Bakers 1850 sorted by presence of adult females in household 1850 Newburyport - Bakers only 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 married, 1 adult F married 2 adult F single, no adult F single, living with parents, 2 adult F ,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 capital

21 propietor's value added Butchers 1850 sorted by presence of adult females in household 1850 Newburyport - Butchers only 1,800 1,600 1,400 1,200 1, married, 1 adult F married 2 adult F married, 3-4 adult F ,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 capital