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Maximum Hours Legislation and Female Employment: A Reassessment

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  • Goldin, Claudia

Abstract

The causes and results of state maximum hours legislation for female workers, passed from 1848 to the 1920s, are explored and found to differ from the interpretation presented by Landes (1980). Although maximum hours legislation served to decrease scheduled hours in 1920, the effect was minimal. Curiously, the legislation seems to have operated equally for men. Legislation affecting only females was symptomatic of a general desire by labor for lower hours, and these lower hours were achieved in the tight, and otherwise special, World War I labor market. Most significant, the restrictiveness of the legislation had no adverse effect on the employment share of women in manufacturing. Reasons for the relationship between the decline in hours worked by men and legislation protecting women are suggested, but it still is not clear what precise mechanisms operated to decrease hours of work for all.

Suggested Citation

  • Goldin, Claudia, 1988. "Maximum Hours Legislation and Female Employment: A Reassessment," Scholarly Articles 2645471, Harvard University Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:hrv:faseco:2645471
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    Cited by:

    1. Nina Banks, 2022. "Sadie T. M. Alexander: Black Women and a "Taste of Freedom in the Economic World"," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 205-220, Fall.
    2. Claudia Olivetti & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "The Economic Consequences of Family Policies: Lessons from a Century of Legislation in High-Income Countries," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 31(1), pages 205-230, Winter.
    3. Haddad, Joanne & Kattan, Lamis, 2024. "Female-Specific Labor Regulation and Employment: Historical Evidence from the United States," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1518, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Marchingiglio, Riccardo & Poyker, Michael, 2019. "The Employment Effects of Gender-Specific Minimum Wage," Working Papers 290, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    5. Costa, Dora L, 2000. "The Wage and the Length of the Work Day: From the 1890s to 1991," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 18(1), pages 156-181, January.
    6. Claudia Olivetti & Barbara Petrongolo, 2017. "The Economic Consequences of Family Policies: Lessons from a Century of Legislation," Working Papers 811, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    7. Bruce G. Carruthers & Naomi R. Lamoreaux, 2016. "Regulatory Races: The Effects of Jurisdictional Competition on Regulatory Standards," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(1), pages 52-97, March.
    8. Casey B. Mulligan, 2002. "A Century of Labor-Leisure Distortions," NBER Working Papers 8774, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Atack, Jeremy & Bateman, Fred & Margo, Robert A., 2003. "Productivity in manufacturing and the length of the working day: evidence from the 1880 census of manufactures," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 170-194, April.
    10. Mulligan, Casey B. & Shleifer, Andrei, 2003. "Population and Regulation," Working Papers 190, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.
    11. Josh Angrist, 2000. "Consequences of Imbalanced Sex Ratios: Evidence from America's Second Generation," NBER Working Papers 8042, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Kato, Takao & Kodama, Naomi, 2014. "Labor Market Deregulation and Female Employment: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Japan," IZA Discussion Papers 8189, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Yana van der Meulen Rodgers & Gunseli Berik, 2006. "Asia's Race to Capture Post-MFA Markets: A Snapshot of Labor Standards, Compliance, and Impacts on Competitiveness," Working Paper Series, Department of Economics, University of Utah 2006_02, University of Utah, Department of Economics.
    14. Michael Huberman & Chris Minns, 2005. "Hours of Work in Old and New Worlds: The Long View, 1870-2000," The Institute for International Integration Studies Discussion Paper Series iiisdp95, IIIS.
    15. Price V. Fishback, 2020. "Rule of Law in Labor Relations, 1898-1940," NBER Working Papers 27614, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    16. Joseph E. Zveglich & Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, 2003. "The Impact of Protective Measures for Female Workers," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 21(3), pages 533-556, July.
    17. Jonathan Conning & Michael Kevane, 2005. "Freedom, Servitude and Voluntary Contract," Economics Working Paper Archive at Hunter College 408, Hunter College Department of Economics.
    18. Moehling, Carolyn M., 1999. "State Child Labor Laws and the Decline of Child Labor," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 72-106, January.
    19. Dora L. Costa, 1998. "Hours of Work and the Fair Labor Standards Act: A Study of Retail and Wholesale Trade, 1938-1950," NBER Working Papers 6855, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Karol Jan Borowiecki & Martin Hørlyk Kristensen & Marc T. Law, 2024. "Where are the Female Composers? Evidence on the Extent and Causes of Gender Inequality in Music History," Working Papers 0252, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    21. Huberman, Michael & Minns, Chris, 2007. "The times they are not changin': Days and hours of work in Old and New Worlds, 1870-2000," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 538-567, October.
    22. Arash Nekoei, 2022. "Will Markets Provide Humane Jobs? A Hypothesis," CESifo Working Paper Series 9533, CESifo.
    23. Mulligan, Casey B., 2001. "A Century of Labor-Leisure Distortions," Working Papers 170, The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, George J. Stigler Center for the Study of the Economy and the State.

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