The Impact of World War II on the Demand for Female Workers in Manufacturing. (29th June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Shatnawi, Dina; Fishback, Price
• Is Part Of: Journal of economic history. Volume 78:Number 2(2018)
• Page Start: 539
• Page End: 574
• Publication Date: 2018-06-29
• Subjects: Economic history -- Periodicals; 330.9005
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050718000232
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-0507

Abstract

Abstract : Most studies of female workers in the 1940s focus on labor supply. We use the basics of supply and demand to measure the impact of WWII on the short- and medium-run demand for female workers in manufacturing. Demand rose for both salaried and production female workers during the war and then fell after the war. However, the post-war demands for both groups were substantially higher than before the war and higher than the levels that would have been reached had the demands followed a counterfactual growth path from the boom period in the 1920s.