Skill Intensity and Rising Wage Dispersion in Nineteenth-Century American Manufacturing

Atack, Jeremy; Bateman, Fred; Margo, Robert A.

doi:10.1017/s0022050704002645

Cited by 65 publications

(63 citation statements)

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“…Recent studies on manufacturing from the late 19th and early 20th centuries suggest that more capital‐intensive industries paid higher wages (Atack et al., ). In fact, the growth of manufacturing in that era was often accompanied by an increase in capital per worker and in the use of inanimate power sources, particularly steam and, after the turn of the century, electricity.…”

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Globalization, Trade, and Wages: What Does History Tell Us About China?

Mitchener

Yan

2014

Int Economic Review

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Newly assembled data show that, as China opened up to global trade during the early 20th century, its exports became more unskilled-intensive and its imports more skill-intensive. Difference-in-differences estimates show that World War I dramatically increased Chinese exports, raising the relative demand for the unskilled workers producing them. When the war ended, trade costs declined and China's terms of trade increased, further stimulating exports. A simulation of a dynamic general equilibrium model demonstrates that the effects of the war on China's terms of trade produces a decline in the skill premium similar to what China experienced in the 1920s.

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Globalization, Trade, and Wages: What Does History Tell Us About China?

Mitchener

Yan

2014

Int Economic Review

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“…Katz and Margo (2013), found a positive relationship between capital deepening and firm size. Much of the capital deepening was attributed to the diffusion of inanimate power sources (Atack, Bateman, & Margo, 2004).…”

Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This shift further increased the challenges faced by management as the average firm size grew. Firm size was positively correlated with the demand for skilled labor (Brissenden, 1929;Davis & Haltiwanger, 1991;Goldin & Katz, 1998;Atack, Bateman, & Margo, 2004). 5…”

Section: Historical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long Run Employment and Income Growth: A By Sector Analysis

Hooks¹

2013

SSRN Journal

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“…2 2 For general discussion of the development of United States manufacturing in the nineteenth century and the specific points made in this paragraph, see Engerman and Sokoloff, ‘Technology and industrialization’; Field, ‘Industrialization’; Sokoloff, ‘Industrialization and growth’; Atack, Bateman, and Margo, ‘Skill intensity’; and Wright, ‘Origins’. …”

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confidence: 99%

“…See U.S. Department of Labor, ‘Hand and machine labor,’ volume 2, pp. 524–33; and Atack, Bateman, and Margo, ‘Skill intensity’.…”

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Capital deepening and the rise of the factory: the American experience during the nineteenth century¹

Atack

Bateman²,

Margo

2005

The Economic History Review

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the course of the nineteenth century, manufacturing establishments in the United States used increasing amounts of capital per worker, a process that we refer to as 'capital deepening'. For example, we estimate that, after taking account of changes in the prices of capital goods, capitallabour ratios in manufacturing increased by at least 75 per cent between 1850 and 1880. This capital deepening occurred in tandem with a dramatic shift in the mode and locus of production. Early on, most manufacturing took place in artisan shops. These typically employed the owner-operator and possibly a small number of assistants, producing goods that were designed and made to order. Workers in artisan shops were, on average, highly skilled, but used relatively modest and non-specific capital goods such as a few general-purpose hand tools and a generic workshop that could be employed in many different lines of work.As the manufacturing sector grew over the course of the century, production shifted from artisan shops to factories. There, tasks were subdivided and performed by less skilled workers using more specialized and expensive machinery. This machinery often required more power than human muscle and thus was driven by steam or waterpower. 2 The lumpiness in the capital goods, the regularity and ceaseless energy of inanimate power, and the opportunities afforded by the division of labour meant that production was conducted on a much larger scale than before. From a theoretical standpoint, it is uncertain whether or not these changes increase capital per unit of output. Our estimates, however, indicate that larger establishments used significantly more capital per unit of output than smaller ones.

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Skill Intensity and Rising Wage Dispersion in Nineteenth-Century American Manufacturing

Cited by 65 publications

References 12 publications

Globalization, Trade, and Wages: What Does History Tell Us About China?

Globalization, Trade, and Wages: What Does History Tell Us About China?

Long Run Employment and Income Growth: A By Sector Analysis

Capital deepening and the rise of the factory: the American experience during the nineteenth century¹

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Skill Intensity and Rising Wage Dispersion in Nineteenth-Century American Manufacturing

Cited by 65 publications

References 12 publications

Globalization, Trade, and Wages: What Does History Tell Us About China?

Globalization, Trade, and Wages: What Does History Tell Us About China?

Long Run Employment and Income Growth: A By Sector Analysis

Capital deepening and the rise of the factory: the American experience during the nineteenth century1

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Capital deepening and the rise of the factory: the American experience during the nineteenth century¹