The labor supply behavior of non-household heads in prewar Japan

Abstract

This paper analyzes the labor supply behavior of wives and children (non-household heads) in prewar families of low and middle income. The labor supply behavior of non-household heads is more complicated than that of household heads, because it depends on many factors, including the wage rate of the former and the income of the latter. Moreover, there is little reliable data for the prewar period. This paper draws on two surveys of 1921: one of saimin (low-income) households, the other of factory and salaried workers (the middle-income class). By estimating the labor supply function according to the probit model, it was possible to apply Douglas-Arisawa's first and second laws to the non-household heads of every household. The income elasticity of the salaried household heads was greater than that of the saimin and factory workers. When the saimin households were examined alone, Douglas-Arisawa's first law was applicable to the wives, but the income elasticity of their household heads was considerably less than in the post-war period. Because children were able to enter modern industries more easily than wives, their earned incomes lowered the need for their mothers to seek employment.