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Title: The Origin and Persistence of Black-White Differences in Women's Labor Force Participation
Citation Type: Working Paper
Publication Year: 2013
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Abstract: Black women were more likely than white women to participate in the labor force from 1870 until at least 1980 and to hold jobs in agriculture or manufacturing. Differences in observables cannot account for most of this racial gap in labor force participation for the 100 years after Emancipation. This is consistent with racial differences in stigma associated with womens work, which Goldin (1977) hypothesized might be traced to cultural norms rooted in the prevalence of black womens labor under slavery. In both nineteenth and twentieth century data, we find evidence of inter-generation transmission of labor force participation from mother to daughter.
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Authors: Platt Boustan, Leah; Collins, William J.
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Publication Number: 19040
Institution: National Bureau of Economic Research
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Publisher Location: Massachusetts
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Gender, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Race and Ethnicity
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