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Cheap Labor and Southern Textiles before 1880

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  • Wright, Gavin

Abstract

Labor costs historically have been decisive in determining the location of cotton textile production. Despite an apparent advantage in wage rates, however, the southern industry did not achieve sustained relative progress before about 1875. This study argues that in most times and places the region did not have “cheap labor” before this date. What matters is not just the level of wages in any year, but the quality of labor attracted at this wage and the geographic scope of the labor market within which firms operate. The scope of the labor market depends in turn on property rights and incentives toward recruitment activity.

Suggested Citation

  • Wright, Gavin, 1979. "Cheap Labor and Southern Textiles before 1880," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 39(3), pages 655-680, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:jechis:v:39:y:1979:i:03:p:655-680_09
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    Cited by:

    1. Paula Bustos & Bruno Caprettini & Jacopo Ponticelli, 2016. "Agricultural Productivity and Structural Transformation: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1320-1365, June.
    2. Kiminori Matsuyama, 1991. "Increasing Returns, Industrialization, and Indeterminacy of Equilibrium," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 106(2), pages 617-650.
    3. Joshua L. Rosenbloom & William A. Sundstrom, 2009. "Labor-Market Regimes in U.S. Economic History," NBER Working Papers 15055, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Unjung Whang, 2017. "Structural Transformation and Comparative Advantage: Implications for Small Open Economies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 743-763, April.
    5. McGowan, Danny & Vasilakis, Chrysovalantis, 2019. "Reap what you sow: Agricultural technology, urbanization and structural change," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(9), pages 1-1.
    6. Claudia Goldin & Kenneth Sokoloff, 1984. "The Relative Productivity Hypothesis of Industrialization: The American Case, 1820 to 1850," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 99(3), pages 461-487.
    7. Claudia Rei, 2014. "Comment on "Corporate Governance and the Development of Manufacturing Enterprises in Nineteenth-Century Massachusetts"," NBER Chapters, in: Enterprising America: Businesses, Banks, and Credit Markets in Historical Perspective, pages 102-106, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Matsuyama, Kiminori, 1992. "Agricultural productivity, comparative advantage, and economic growth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 317-334, December.
    9. Rhode, Paul W., 2024. "What fraction of antebellum US national product did the enslaved produce?," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    10. Mario F Carillo, 2021. "Agricultural Policy and Long-Run Development: Evidence from Mussolini's Battle for Grain," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 131(634), pages 566-597.
    11. repec:fip:feddar:y:2012:p:2-17 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Janet Koech, 2012. "T-Shirt's Journey to Market," Annual Report, Globalization and Monetary Policy Institute, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, pages 18-27.
    13. Charles W. Calomiris & Christopher Hanes, 1994. "Historical Macroeconomics and American Macroeconomic History," NBER Working Papers 4935, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Arnaud Daymard, 2020. "Agricultural Productivity as a Prerequisite of Industrialization: Some New Evidence on Trade Openness and Premature Deindustrialization," THEMA Working Papers 2020-07, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    15. G.A. Upali Wickramasinghe, 2017. "Fostering productivity in the rural and agricultural sector for inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific," Asia-Pacific Development Journal, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), vol. 24(2), pages 1-22, December.
    16. McMillan, Margaret & Rodrik, Dani & Sepulveda, Claudia, 2017. "Structural Change, Fundamentals, and Growth: A Framework and Case Studies," Working Paper Series rwp17-024, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    17. Nicolas Ziebarth, 2013. "Are China and India Backwards? Evidence from the 19th Century U.S. Census of Manufactures," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 16(1), pages 86-99, January.
    18. Naomi R. Lamoreaux, 1991. "Information Problems and Banks' Specialization in Short-Term Commercial Lending: New England in the Nineteenth Century," NBER Chapters, in: Inside the Business Enterprise: Historical Perspectives on the Use of Information, pages 161-204, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    19. Gangopadhyay, Kausik & Mondal, Debasis, 2021. "Productivity, relative sectoral prices, and total factor productivity: Theory and evidence," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).

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