Wages and labor markets in the United States, 1820-1860 / Robert A. Margo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Margo, Robert A. (Robert Andrew), 1954-

Series:

NBER series on long-term factors in economic development.

NBER series on long-term factors in economic development

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Labor supply--United States--History.

Labor supply.

Wages--United States--History.

Wages.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (214 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, c2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Research by economists and economic historians has greatly expanded our knowledge of labor markets and real wages in the United States since the Civil War, but the period from 1820 to 1860 has been far less studied. Robert Margo fills this gap by collecting and analyzing the payroll records of civilians hired by the United States Army and the 1850 and 1860 manuscript federal Censuses of Social Statistics. New wage series are constructed for three occupational groups-common laborers, artisans, and white-collar workers-in each of the four major census regions-Northeast, Midwest, South Atlantic, and South Central-over the period 1820 to 1860, and also for California between 1847 and 1860. Margo uses these data, along with previously collected evidence on prices, to explore a variety of issues central to antebellum economic development. This volume makes a significant contribution to economic history by presenting a vast amount of previously unexamined data to advance the understanding of the history of wages and labor markets in the antebellum economy.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Preface

1. Introduction

2. The Growth of Wages in Antebellum America: A Review

3. New Estimates of Nominal and Real Wages for the Antebellum Period

4. Intersectoral Efficiency: Farm-Nonfarm Wage Gaps

5. Geographic Aspects of Labor Market Integration before the Civil War

6. Wages in California during the Gold Rush

7. Antebellum Wages and Labor Markets: A New Interpretation

8. Postlude

Notes

References

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-194) and index.

ISBN:

9786612004964

9781282004962

1282004964

9780226505022

0226505022

OCLC:

318240479