EH.Net Abstracts in Economic History

                ABSTRACTS IN ECONOMIC HISTORY
                     (c) 2001 EH.Net
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Name: Dr Tim Leunig
Email: t.leunig at lse.ac.uk
Institution: London School of Economics

Co-author: none

Title: Can Lower Rates of Labour Productivity in US Cotton Mills Be 
Explained By Higher Rates of Worker Turnover?

Internet Address of abstracted work: not available

By mail:
Dr Tim Leunig
Lecturer in Economic History
Department of Economic History
London School of Economics
Houghton Street
London
WC2A 2AE

Phone: +44 20 7955 7857
E-mail: t.leunig at lse.ac.uk

Language: English

Abstract:
In earlier work I showed that - surprisingly - Britain had higher 
labour productivity than America in cotton spinning c. 1900. This 
paper provides a quantitative rationale for that finding. We know 
that job tenures are shorter in the US than in Britain.If workers 
learned on the job, shorter job tenures in the US would imply lower 
average labour productivity than in the UK. To test the effect of 
experience on productivity, I have collected 14,000 weekly wage 
records for American ring spinners. Each record gives the individual 
worker's hours, output and earnings for that week. Individuals' 
learning over time proves to be substantial, and sufficient to 
explain about two-fifths of the aggregate productivity differential. 
Learning continues for over 100 weeks, suggesting the literature is 
wrong in its characterisation of female ring spinners as unskilled.

Bibliography: Leunig, T. "Can Lower Rates of Labour Productivity in 
US Cotton Mills Be Explained By Higher Rates of Worker Turnover?" 
Mimeo, LSE 2001.

Subject: B,D,R
Geographical Area: 0,4,7
Country/Region: US, Britain
Time Period: 8

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