Married Women's Property Laws and Female Commercial Activity: Evidence from United States Patent Records, 1790–1895

B. Zorina Khan

137 citations0/0 files storedThe Journal of Economic History

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Intellectual Property and Patents Historical Economic and Social Studies Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics

Abstract

Nineteenth-century laws granted wives previously withheld rights to their own property and earnings as well as liability for debts and contracts. I use 4,198 women's patents to assess whether these laws encouraged greater female commercial activity. Patentees were motivated by potential profits and were responsive to market incentives. Women's patenting jumped significantly in states with legal reforms and was lowest in states without such laws. Much of the subsequent increase occurred in metropolitan centers where property rights were of greater concern. Thus, by reducing transactions costs and increasing expected benefits, legal reforms arguably stimulated women's investments in patenting and commercial activities.

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References

1966Invention and Economic Growth 1869FROM The Subjection of Women 1991Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women.1977The Transformation of American Law, 1780–1860 1990Understanding the gender gap: an economic history of American women 2019A History of American Law 1979Seven Days a Week: Women and Domestic Service in Industrializing America 1990The Democratization of Invention During Early Industrialization: Evidence from the United States, 1790–1846

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