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UCLouvain Economics Seminar

The UCLouvain Economics Seminars is jointly organized by CORE and IRES.

Organizers: Gonzague Vannoorenberghe

On Thursday, 12:45 - 14:00 

Doyens 22  -  1, Place des Doyens, 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve

June 15, 2018 (Doyens 22)

Melanie Meng Xue
(Northwestern University)

High-Value Work and the Rise of Women:
The Cotton Revolution and Gender Equality in China

 

Abstract:
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 opportunities for women in the past and sex ratio at birth in 2000. To overcome potential endogeneity in location, I use an instrument pertaining to suitability for cotton weaving. I find evidence that premodern cotton textile production permanently changed cultural beliefs about women's worth, and that its effects have persisted beyond 1840 and endured under various political and economic regimes.

 

Other scheduled seminars

 Program of the academic year 2017-2018

September

21 Peter Dolton (University of Sussex)

28 Olivier Charlot (University of Cergy)

October

5  Catherine Guirkinger (University of Namur)

12

19 Katja Kaufmann (Bocconi University)

25 Luis Cabral (New York University)

November

2  Félix Kubler (University of Zurich)

9  Bilal Zia (World bank)

16 Paul Heidhues (University of Dusseldorf)

23 Cheti Nicoletti (University of York)

30 Alain Venditti (Aix Marseille School of Economics)

December

7  Heiner Schumacher (KU Leuven)

14 Ariell Reshef (Paris School of Economics)

February

1  Filipe Martins Da Rocha (Université Dauphine)

8  Heiko Karle (Frankfurt School of Finance and Management)

15 Sebastian Krautheim (University of Passau)

22 Harris Dellas (University of Bern)

March

1  Simon Cornée (University of Rennes)

8  Gregory Jolivet ( University of Bristol)

15 Ingela Alger (Toulouse School of Economics)

22 Stefano Gnocchi (Bank of Canada)

29 Manolis Galenianos (Royal Holloway)

April

19  Bernard Sinclair-Desgagné (HEC Montréal)

26 Simone Bertoli (FERDI)

May

3  Hippolyte d'Albis (Paris School of Economics)

10 Ascension Day

17 Stefania Albanesi (University of Pittsburgh)

June

15 Melanie Meng Xue (Northwestern University)