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Title: Machines Eating Men:Shoemakers and their Children After the McKay Stitcher
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2023
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Abstract: I examine the long-run impacts of a deskilling technology on workers and their children. The McKay stitcher dramatically changed shoe production in the late 19th century by replacing skilled artisans with machines and less-skilled workers. It was licensed in only a few counties and impacted workers across counties unevenly through the transportation network. More-exposed shoemakers left traditional shoemaking for lower wages and did not migrate. The transfer of occupation from father to son was disrupted,and the children of shoemakers entered lower income occupations. New entrants to shoe factories came from poorer and less educated families. Using a model of occupation selection, I infer the change in life-time earnings implied by the impact of the technology on occupation exit. I find that the most exposed shoemakers and their children lost 2.2and 2.5 years of wages, respectively.
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Authors: Cockriel, William M.
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA - Ancestry Full Count Data
Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Work, Family, and Time
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