This study analyses the impacts of a technological change (the steam engine) on wage premiums. Using historical employer–employee panel data, we found that steam technology had both new skill-demanding and skill-replacing aspects. The former manifested itself as an increase in the demand for...

Ship jumping in foreign ports was widespread throughout the age of sail. Desertion by seamen was illegal, it occurred abroad, and men who deserted only seldom returned home. We analyse desertion quantitatively and link it to the broader question of quit behaviour and labour turnover. Though the...

This study analyses the evolution of wages and occupational composition of labour over three centuries, from 1755 to 1914, using worker-workplace data. The data from one industry offers a unique view on long-term trends in skill composition, wage inequality and occupational wage premiums. A...