Historical gender discrimination does not explain comparative Western European development: evidence from Portugal, 1300-1900

Nuno Palma, Jaime Reis and Lisbeth Rodrigues

Explorations in Economic History, 2023, vol. 88, issue C

Abstract: Gender discrimination has been pointed out as a determining factor behind the long-run divergence in incomes of Southern vis-à-vis Northwestern Europe. In this paper, we show that women in Portugal were not historically more discriminated against than those in other parts of Western Europe, including England and the Netherlands. We rely on a new dataset of thousands of observations from archival sources covering six centuries, and we complement it with a qualitative discussion of comparative social norms. Compared with Northwestern Europe, women in Portugal faced similar gender wage gaps, married at similar ages, and did not face more restrictions on labor market participation. Consequently, other factors must have been responsible for the Little Divergence of Western European incomes.

Keywords: Historical gender discrimination; Gender wage gap; Culture; Social norms; Comparative development; The Little Divergence; European Marriage Pattern (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 N13 N33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Working Paper: Historical gender discrimination does not explain comparative Western European development: evidence from Portugal, 1300-1900 (2022)
Working Paper: Historical gender discrimination does not explain comparative Western European development: Evidence from Portugal, 1300 - 1900 (2021)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:exehis:v:88:y:2023:i:c:s0014498322000596

DOI: 10.1016/j.eeh.2022.101481

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