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Gender gaps in wages and mortality rates during industrialization: the case of Alcoy, Spain, 1860-1914

Author

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  • Pilar Beneito

    (University of Valencia. ERI-CES)

  • José Joaquin García-Gómez

    (University of Almeria)

Abstract

What role did women play during industrialization? Interpretations of this key period of our history have been largely based on analyses of male work. In this paper, we offer evidence of the effects of women's involvement in the industrialization process that took place in Alcoy, Spain, over the period 1860-1914. Using data drawn from historical sources, we analyse labour-force participation rates and wage series for women and men in the textile industry and three other sectors of activity (education, health and low-skill services). We then connect the gender pay gaps with life expectancy indicators. Our results suggest that women's contribution to household income might have favoured the female life-expectancy advantage, an effect that seems to have been channelled through a reduction in the relative mortality rates of female infants and girls, at the expense of a higher mortality rate of working-age women.

Suggested Citation

  • Pilar Beneito & José Joaquin García-Gómez, 2019. "Gender gaps in wages and mortality rates during industrialization: the case of Alcoy, Spain, 1860-1914," Discussion Papers in Economic Behaviour 0119, University of Valencia, ERI-CES.
    • Handle: RePEc:dbe:wpaper:0119
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Francisco J. Beltrán Tapia & Michail Raftakis, 2019. "‘All little girls, the bad luck!’ Sex ratios and gender discrimination in 19th-century Greece," Working Papers 0172, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Industrialization; gender wage gap; female mortality advantage;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • O14 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Industrialization; Manufacturing and Service Industries; Choice of Technology

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