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Household services and economic growth in the United States, 1870-1930

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  • Barnet Wagman
  • Nancy Folbre

Abstract

This paper explores the role of nonmarket household services in the growth and development of the U.S. economy, in the period between 1870 and 1930. In the first section, we review previous efforts to estimate the value and composition of household output, and sketch a descriptive account of the “domestic service sector,” broadly defined to encompass both paid domestic servants and women primarily engaged in nonmarket household production for family members. The historical composition of this more broadly defined labor force reveals the longstanding economic significance of services which were factored into output and growth statistics only after being transferred to the market economy. In the second section, we present estimates and sensitivity analysis of per capita GNP growth that include nonmarket household services. We find that the inclusion of nonmarket household services substantially alters the trajectory of economic growth over this period.

Suggested Citation

  • Barnet Wagman & Nancy Folbre, 1996. "Household services and economic growth in the United States, 1870-1930," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 43-66.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:2:y:1996:i:1:p:43-66
    DOI: 10.1080/738552685
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Humphries, Jane, 2023. "Respectable standards of living: the alternative lens of maintenance costs, Britain 1270-1860," Economic History Working Papers 119284, London School of Economics and Political Science, Department of Economic History.
    2. Julie A. Nelson, 2013. "Gender and caring," Chapters, in: Deborah M. Figart & Tonia L. Warnecke (ed.), Handbook of Research on Gender and Economic Life, chapter 5, pages 62-76, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Nancy Folbre & Marta Murray-Close & Jooyeoun Suh, 2018. "Equivalence scales for extended income in the U.S," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 189-227, June.
    4. Nancy Folbre, 2009. "Time Use and Living Standards," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 77-83, August.
    5. Joyce P. Jacobsen, 2011. "A Key Global Challenge: Reducing Losses due to Gender Inequality," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2011-006, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics.
    6. Fiona Jenkins & Julie Smith, 2021. "Work-from-home during COVID-19: Accounting for the care economy to build back better," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 32(1), pages 22-38, March.

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