Data and code for: Historical Differences in Female-Owned Manufacturing Establishments: The United States, 1850--1880

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Ruveyda Gozen, Cardiff Business School; Richard Hornbeck, University of Chicago; Anders Humlum, University of Chicago; Martin Rotemberg, NYU

Version: View help for Version V1

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
Replication_CMF_Gender_Mar2025			03/30/2025 06:15:PM

Project Citation:

Gozen, Ruveyda, Hornbeck, Richard, Humlum, Anders, and Rotemberg, Martin. Data and code for: Historical Differences in Female-Owned Manufacturing Establishments: The United States, 1850--1880. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2025. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2025-04-04. https://doi.org/10.3886/E215181V1

Project Description

Summary: We characterize female-owned manufacturing establishments using newly digitized manuscripts from the US Census of Manufactures (1850, 1860, 1870, 1880). Female-owned establishments were smaller than male-owned establishments and had lower capital-to-output ratios, which could reflect more-constrained financial access and other distortions. Female-owned establishments employed more women and paid women higher wages, creating a potential cycle between increased female business ownership and increased female labor market participation. Female-owned establishments concentrated in sub-industries like women's clothing and millinery, which is associated with some but not all of these differences. We also show how female owners differed from other women in the Population Census.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
N61 Economic History: Manufacturing and Construction: U.S.; Canada: Pre-1913

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V1 [2025-04-04]

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