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‘‘Isn't it time you were finishing?’’: Women's Labor Force Participation and Childbearing in England, 1860--1920

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  • Paul Atkinson

Abstract

This contribution examines the relationship between women's labor force participation (LFP) and fertility in three industrial towns of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century England from a feminist economic perspective. The study augments existing statistical approaches to demographic history by discussing women's motivations. Women's LFP influenced their likelihood of family limitation (via effects on both age at marriage and marital fertility). Where women were most likely to be in paid work, they were most likely to limit family size. It is further argued that the diversity of LFP patterns is the principal explanation for the varied patterns of fertility decline in different parts of Britain.

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  • Paul Atkinson, 2012. "‘‘Isn't it time you were finishing?’’: Women's Labor Force Participation and Childbearing in England, 1860--1920," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(4), pages 145-164, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:femeco:v:18:y:2012:i:4:p:145-164
    DOI: 10.1080/13545701.2012.725942
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Vries,Jan de, 2008. "The Industrious Revolution," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521719254, October.
    2. Vries,Jan de, 2008. "The Industrious Revolution," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521895026, October.
    3. Humphries,Jane, 2010. "Childhood and Child Labour in the British Industrial Revolution," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521847568, October.
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