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The Occupations of Free Women and Substitution with Enslaved Workers in the Antebellum United States

Author

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  • Chiswick, Barry R.

    (George Washington University)

  • Robinson, RaeAnn Halenda

    (George Washington University)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the occupational status and distribution of free women in the antebellum United States. It considers both their reported and unreported (imputed) occupations, using the 1/100 IPUMS files from the 1860 Census of Population. After developing and testing the model based on economic and demographic variables used to explain whether a free woman has an occupation, analyses are conducted comparing their occupational distribution to free men, along with analyses among women by nativity, urbanization, and region of the country. While foreign-born and illiterate women were more likely to report having an occupation compared to their native-born and literate counterparts, they were equally likely to be working when unreported family workers are included. In the analysis limited to the slave-holding states, it is shown that the greater the slave-intensity of the county, the less likely were free women to report having an occupation, particularly as private household workers, suggesting substitution in the labor market between free women and enslaved labor.

Suggested Citation

  • Chiswick, Barry R. & Robinson, RaeAnn Halenda, 2022. "The Occupations of Free Women and Substitution with Enslaved Workers in the Antebellum United States," IZA Discussion Papers 15162, IZA Network @ LISER.
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15162
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mosca, Irene & Wright, Robert E., 2021. "Economics of Marriage Bars," GLO Discussion Paper Series 933, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Chiswick, Barry R. & Robinson, RaeAnn Halenda, 2021. "Women at work in the United States since 1860: An analysis of unreported family workers," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Thomas J. Weiss, 1986. "Revised Estimates of the United States Workforce, 1800-1860," NBER Chapters, in: Long-Term Factors in American Economic Growth, pages 641-676, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Dorothy S. Brady, 1966. "Output, Employment, and Productivity in the United States after 1800," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number brad66-1, January.
    5. Chiswick, Barry R. & Robinson, RaeAnn Halenda, 2021. "Women at Work in the United States Since 1860: An Analysis of Unreported Family Workers," GLO Discussion Paper Series 857, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    6. Goldin, Claudia, 1992. "Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195072709.
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    Cited by:

    1. Chiswick, Barry R. & Robinson, RaeAnn H., 2023. "The Occupational Attainment of American Jewish Men in the Mid-19th Century," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1256, Global Labor Organization (GLO).

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • N31 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition

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