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Industrial wages in mid-1880s Sweden: estimations beyond Bagge’s Wages in Sweden. Data, source and methods

Author

Listed:
  • Hamark, Jesper

    (Department of Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Collin, Kristoffer

    (Department of Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

Most researchers interested in Swedish wages during early industrialization have used the seminal work Wages in Sweden from the 1930s as their point of departure. Whereas the material in Wages in Sweden solidly tracks the movements of wages, it is not suitable for comparisons across industries or counties at a specific point in time. Nor should Wages in Sweden be used to estimate wages in absolute levels. Based on hitherto-unused source material from a large, nationwide public inquiry, we estimate industrial wages in the mid-1880s. The population consists of industrial workers with different experience, skills and firm attachment. Our estimations include a national wage as well as inter-industry and inter-regional wages in both absolute and relative terms, weighted by employment. The findings call for a substantial revision of relative wages across industries. They also indicate that the wage dispersion across industries and counties was lower than previously thought. We estimate the national wage for women as being half the size of that of men.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamark, Jesper & Collin, Kristoffer, 2019. "Industrial wages in mid-1880s Sweden: estimations beyond Bagge’s Wages in Sweden. Data, source and methods," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 24, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunhis:0024
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/61765
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    Cited by:

    1. Hamark, Jesper & Turner, Russell, 2021. "Wage distribution within the Swedish State Railways, 1877–1951: Material and methods," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 28, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.
    2. Hamark, Jesper & Lapidus, John, 2022. "Unions, insurance and changing welfare states: The emergence of obligatory complementary income insurance in Sweden," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 29, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Sweden 1880s; industrial wages; regional wages; absolute wage levels; relative wages; male and female wages; Gösta Bagge; Wages in Sweden;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • N01 - Economic History - - General - - - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods
    • N30 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - General, International, or Comparative

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