Women’s Wages and Empowerment: Pre-industrial Japan, 1600-1890

Yuzuru Kumon () and Kazuho Sakai
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Yuzuru Kumon: Dept. of Economics, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration, Postal: NHH, Department of Economics, Helleveien 30, N-5045 Bergen, Norway, https://www.nhh.no/en/employees/faculty/yuzuru-kumon/
Kazuho Sakai: Tohoku University, Graduate School of Economics and Management

No 18/2022, Discussion Paper Series in Economics from Norwegian School of Economics, Department of Economics

Abstract: Using new evidence from servant contracts, 1600-1890, we estimate women’s wages in Japan. Women’s wages could only sustain 1.5-2 people up to 1900, the lowest recorded in the pre-industrial world. We then show the gender wage ratio was 0.7, higher than in Western Europe. Despite this, Japan had lower female empowerment for two reasons. First, absolute wages were low, so women were not economically autonomous. 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.

Keywords: Womens Wages; Empowerment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: N00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 52 pages
Date: 2022-11-16
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem and nep-his
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