Browsing by Subject "labor markets"
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Item Open Access Constructing Labor Markets: The Valuation of Black Labor in the U.S. South, 1831 to 1867(American Sociological Review, 2012) Ruef, MIn the U.S. South, a free labor market rapidly-although, in some cases, only nominally-replaced the plantation system of slave labor in the years following the American Civil War. Drawing on data comprising 75,099 transactions in the antebellum period, as well as 1,378 labor contracts in the postbellum era, I examine how the valuation of black labor was transformed between the 1830s and the years of emancipation. I trace the process of valuation through four markets for labor, moving from slave purchases and appraisals within the plantation economy, to the antebellum system of hiring out, to wage-setting for black labor under the auspices of the Freedmen's Bureau. Comparative analysis of labor pricing across these markets reveals systematic differences: slave markets placed price premiums on children and young women, and occupational skills emerged as the most salient influence in the pricing of wage labor. I conclude by theorizing how transvaluation of labor occurs when markets for unfree and free workers are governed by distinct institutional conditions. © American Sociological Association 2012.Item Open Access The Household as a Source of Labor for Entrepreneurs: Evidence from New York City during Industrialization(Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal, 2020) Ruef, MResearch Summary: This article conceptualizes households as a crucial pool of labor for small entrepreneurs. The household varied historically in its scope (depending on whether bonded workers were included) and work intensity (depending on the authority or coercion exercised by household heads). Drawing on data that enumerate over 100,000 households in New York City, I examine how the shift from institutions of unfree labor to wage labor affected business proprietorship between 1790 and 1850. Given the disproportionate importance of unfree household labor to small entrepreneurs, the contraction of this labor source may offer one general explanation for their decline. Managerial Summary: How does household scope and composition affect the ability of an individual to run their own business? Historical archives can provide useful insights into this question. They track long-term declines in family size and the emancipation of non-family members—such as apprentices, indentured servants, and slaves—from the authority of household heads. Examining records from early New York City, this study shows that business ownership was strongly linked with the ownership of slaves and the presence of dependent males after the American Revolution. Large households and unfree laborers were especially important for entrepreneurship among individuals with limited wealth. For modern economies, the results suggest that policymakers consider potential tensions between small business ownership and the development of free and equitable labor markets.