Full Citation

Title: Effects of Agricultural Productivity Shocks on Female Labor Supply: Evidence from the Boll Weevil Plague in the US South

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2014

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Abstract: In the beginning of the 1890s, counties located in the Cotton Belt of the American South were hit by an agricultural plague, the boll weevil, that adversely affected cotton production and hence the demand for labor. We use variation in the incidence of the boll weevil multiplied with counties’ initial cotton share to construct instrumental variables estimates of the labor supply curve. Controlling for county and state-by-time fixed effects, we find a significant positive response of labor supply to changes in labor income. The effect is particularly large for females, consistent with evidence that females had a comparative advantage in picking cotton.

Url: https://ideas.repec.org/p/hes/wpaper/0068.html

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Authors: Philipp, Ager; Markus, Brückner; Benedikt, Herz

Series Title: EHES Working Papers

Publication Number: 68

Institution: European Historical Economics Society

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Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other

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