Part-Year Operation in Nineteenth Century American Manufacturing: Evidence from the 1870 and 1880 Censuses
Atack, Jeremy
Bateman, Fred
Margo, Robert A.
:
2001
Abstract
Using unpublished data contained in samples from the manuscripts of the 1870 and 1880 censuses of manufactures, we examine the extent and correlates of part-year manufacturing during the late nineteenth century. These data are the earliest comprehensive estimates available and, while the typical manufacturing plant operated "full-time," part-year operation was not uncommon. The likelihood of part-year operation varied across industries and location and with plant characteristics and workers in such plants received somewhat higher monthly wages than those in firms that operated year-round, compensating them somewhat for the loss and possible inconvenience.