Part-Year Operation in Nineteenth Century American Manufacturing:
Evidence from the 1870 and 1880 Censuses
Working Paper No. 01-W06
Jeremy Atack, Fred Bateman, and Robert A. Margo
ABSTRACT [article]
Using unpublished data contained in samples from the manuscripts of the 1870
and 1880 censuses of manufactures, we examine the extent and correlates of
part-year manufacturing during the late nineteenth century. These data are
the earliest comprehensive estimates available and, while the typical
manufacturing plant operated "full-time," part-year operation was not
uncommon. The likelihood of part-year operation varied across industries
and location and with plant characteristics and workers in such plants
received somewhat higher monthly wages than those in firms that operated
year-round, compensating them somewhat for the loss and possible
inconvenience.
JEL Classification: N61, N31, J22, J23