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

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.

本研究基于1850、1860、1870、1880年美国制造业普查（US Census of Manufactures）中新数字化的手稿数据，对女性所有制造企业展开特征刻画。女性所有制造企业的规模小于男性所有企业，且资本产出比更低，这一差异或反映出其面临更严苛的金融准入限制与其他市场扭曲。女性所有制造企业雇佣更多女性员工，且向女性支付更高薪资，由此会形成女性企业所有权提升与女性劳动力市场参与度提高之间的潜在循环。女性所有制造企业集中于女装、女帽制造（millinery）等细分行业，这一行业布局与上述部分差异存在关联，但并非所有差异的成因。本研究还揭示了人口普查（Population Census）中女性企业主与其他女性群体之间的差异。