Women's wages and empowerment
Pre‐industrial Japan, 1600–1890
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8851908 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Yuzuru Kumon (0000-0001-8108-256X, Department of Economics The University of Manchester, corresponding author), Kazuho Sakai (Graduate School of Economics and Management Tohoku University) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Economic History Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-0117 • E-ISSN: 1468-0289 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/ehr.70090 |
| OpenAlex | W7134199445 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 38 |
Using new evidence from servant contracts, 1600–1890, we estimate women's wages in Japan. Women's wages could only sustain 1.3–2.3 people up to 1900, the lowest recorded in the pre‐industrial world. We then show that the gender wage ratio was 0.75, higher than in Western Europe. Despite this, Japan had lower female empowerment for two reasons. First, absolute wages were low, so women struggled to be independent. Second, landownership incomes were mostly earned by men, raising their bargaining positions. The low female empowerment in Japan could explain the early and universal marriage of its women, unlike their empowered Western European counterparts
Civil servant · Efficiency wage · Empowerment · Raising (metalworking · Real wages · Wage · Wage bargaining · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Economic Growth and Productivity · Historical Economic and Social Studies
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |