Kumon, Yuzuru; Sakai, Kazuho - 2022
Using new evidence from servant contracts, 1600-1890, we estimate women’s wages in Japan. Women’s wages could only ….7, higher than in Western Europe. Despite this, Japan had lower female empowerment for two reasons. First, absolute wages were … low, so women were not economically autonomous. Second, landownership incomes were mostly earned by men, raising their …