(Male) Wages in Switzerland, 1750-1860

Michael Baltensperger (), Cédric Chambru (), Jakob Metzler () and Ulrich Woitek ()
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Michael Baltensperger: UZH - Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich
Cédric Chambru: ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon, CERGIC - Center for Economic Research on Governance, Inequality and Conflict - ENS de Lyon - École normale supérieure de Lyon - Université de Lyon
Jakob Metzler: UZH - Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich
Ulrich Woitek: UZH - Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich, CESifo Munich

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Abstract: We estimate daily wage rates for skilled and unskilled construction workers and agricultural laborers in Switzerland from 1750 to 1860, a period of profound political and economic transformations. Our analysis is based on 17,700 newly collected wage quotes from primary sources and 23,300 price quotes from primary and secondary sources. We find that wages and prices were remarkably similar among different Swiss regions. We therefore construct price and wage series for the entire territory. Nominal wages remained largely unchanged during the second half of the eighteenth century, rose markedly around 1800 and then held at that level until 1850. Real wages stagnated as a result of rising price levels. Contrary to earlier claims of low Swiss wages, wages in the construction sector were similar to those in neighboring European regions, in particular France and Germany. We quantify the uncertainty in our wage estimates that arises from sampling uncertainty and potentially undocumented in-kind benefits.

Keywords: Real wages; Consumer price index; Standards of living; Switzerland; 18th century; 19th century (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-02-20
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