Women, work and cotton manufacturing -- Organising the factory : manufacturers choices -- The choices for work in textile communities -- Millwork : pay, work and equity -- A time to work -- Collective action -- Gender, health and working conditions -- Womens impact on industrial development :...

The cotton revolution (1300-1840 AD) in imperial China constituted a substantial shock to the value of women's work. Using historical gazetteers, I exploit variation in cotton textile production across 1,489 counties and establish a robust negative relationship between high-value work...