Gendered Change: 150 Years of Transformation in US Hours

Liwa Rachel Ngai, Claudia Olivetti and Barbara Petrongolo

No 22111, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

Abstract: We construct consistent estimates of market hours for 1880-2020, including unpaid farm labor, by gender, sector, and margin of labor supply. For 1880-1930, we assemble and harmonize data from roughly one hundred historical sources, extending Census and ACS hours data available from 1940 onward. Women's hours follow a U-shape, men's decline monotonically, and aggregate hours decline before modestly rebounding. We develop a multisector model in which subsistence consumption and uneven productivity growth generate structural transformation and marketization. Initially, structural transformation dominates, reducing market hours while increasing home production and leisure. As agriculture shrinks, marketization gains importance, raising market hours. Gender specialization shapes the relative strength of these forces. Together, they account for all of women's decline in market hours before 1950 and one-fifth of their subsequent rise, as well as 80 percent of men's pre-1950 decline and one-quarter of their subsequent decline.

Keywords: Structural transformation; Marketization; Home production; Gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J16 J22 N31 N32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-10
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