AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FEMALE-MALE WAGE GAP DURING THE INDUSTRIAL-REVOLUTION IN BRITAIN

An investigation of the female-male wage gap during the industrial rev olution in Britain. During the industrial revolution women's wages wer e substantially lower than men's. This article documents the wage gap and shows that in most cases it can be explained without reference to wage discrimination. First, the wage data we have overestimate the wag e gap; correcting for biases due to measurement error reduces the size of the wage gap. Second, because differences in productivity were sub stantial, the corrected wage gap is consistent with these.