The Antebellum "Surge" in Skill Differentials One More Time: New Evidence / Robert A. Margo, Georgia C. Villaflor.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Margo, Robert A.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Villaflor, Georgia C.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w1758.

NBER working paper series no. w1758

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Economic history.

Labor market--Econometric models.

Labor market.

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

The Antebellum "Surge" in Skill Differentials One More Time

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 1985.

Cambridge, Mass. : National Bureau of Economic Research, 1985.

Summary:

Changes in the skill differential are often used by economic historians to proxy changes in income inequality. According to Jeffrey Williamson and Peter Lindert, American skill differentials rose sharply between 1820 and 1860, which they interpret as increasing income inequality. Using a large, new sample of wage rates drawn from military records, we find no evidence of an aggregate "surge" in antebellum skill differentials. We do find, however, that skill differentials on the frontier rose relative to levels in settled areas. We show how a reduction in the costs of migrating from old to new regions can explain this finding.

Notes:

Print version record

October 1985.