“Isn’t it time you were finishing?”: Women’s Labor Force Participation and Childbearing in England, 1860–1920

Atkinson, Paul (2012) “Isn’t it time you were finishing?”: Women’s Labor Force Participation and Childbearing in England, 1860–1920. Feminist Economics, 18 (4). pp. 145-164. ISSN 1354-5701

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Abstract

This contribution examines the relationship between women’s labor force participation (LFP) and fertility in three industrial towns of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century England from a feminist economic perspective. The study augments existing, statistical, approaches to demographic history by discussing women’s motivations. Women’s LFP influenced their likelihood of family limitation (via effects on both age at marriage and marital fertility). Where women were most likely to be in paid work, they were most likely to limit family size. It is further argued that the diversity of LFP patterns is the principal explanation for the varied patterns of fertility decline in different parts of Britain.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	History, fertility, nineteenth century, England, women, employment
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Schools:	School of Music, Humanities and Media
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
Depositing User:	Paul Atkinson
Date Deposited:	11 Dec 2012 13:00
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2016 12:35
URI:	http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/16236

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• “Isn’t it time you were finishing?”: Women’s Labor Force Participation and Childbearing in England, 1860–1920. (deposited 21 Sep 2012 15:39)
  • “Isn’t it time you were finishing?”: Women’s Labor Force Participation and Childbearing in England, 1860–1920. (deposited 11 Dec 2012 13:00) [Currently Displayed]

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