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Female Artisans and Freedom of Trade in Southern Sweden, 1840-90

Arnfred, Johanne LU (2026) In Investigaciones de Historia Economica 22(1). p.63-92
Abstract

A B S T R A C T: In Sweden, the number of single women increased during the 19th century. Legal changes partly aimed at giving women more ways to earn a living were enacted, which gradually opened up the artisan trades to female entrants. By using establishment censuses, this paper examines how the number of women engaged in the artisan trades changed in four towns in southern Sweden during the second half of the 19th century, after the legal changes took effect. The findings show that, while ownership increased in one town, the share of female ownership did not systematically increase, nor increase in proportion to the number of unmarried women across the four towns. This indicates that the laws did not have the... (More)

A B S T R A C T: In Sweden, the number of single women increased during the 19th century. Legal changes partly aimed at giving women more ways to earn a living were enacted, which gradually opened up the artisan trades to female entrants. By using establishment censuses, this paper examines how the number of women engaged in the artisan trades changed in four towns in southern Sweden during the second half of the 19th century, after the legal changes took effect. The findings show that, while ownership increased in one town, the share of female ownership did not systematically increase, nor increase in proportion to the number of unmarried women across the four towns. This indicates that the laws did not have the intended effect, and that other barriers to entry existed. However, the number of female artisan employees did increase, which resulted in more women in the sector by the end of the period.

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Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
J16, K20, N63, N93
in
Investigaciones de Historia Economica
volume
22
issue
1
pages
30 pages
publisher
Spanish Association of Economic History (SAEC)
external identifiers
  • scopus:105036544597
ISSN
1698-6989
DOI
10.33231/j.ihe.2026.01.04
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
24808928-61ef-44a3-9e56-8686831ecb99
date added to LUP
2026-06-26 10:24:23
date last changed
2026-06-26 10:24:39
@article{24808928-61ef-44a3-9e56-8686831ecb99,
  abstract     = {{<p>A B S T R A C T: In Sweden, the number of single women increased during the 19<sup>th</sup> century. Legal changes partly aimed at giving women more ways to earn a living were enacted, which gradually opened up the artisan trades to female entrants. By using establishment censuses, this paper examines how the number of women engaged in the artisan trades changed in four towns in southern Sweden during the second half of the 19<sup>th</sup> century, after the legal changes took effect. The findings show that, while ownership increased in one town, the share of female ownership did not systematically increase, nor increase in proportion to the number of unmarried women across the four towns. This indicates that the laws did not have the intended effect, and that other barriers to entry existed. However, the number of female artisan employees did increase, which resulted in more women in the sector by the end of the period.</p>}},
  author       = {{Arnfred, Johanne}},
  issn         = {{1698-6989}},
  keywords     = {{J16; K20; N63; N93}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{63--92}},
  publisher    = {{Spanish Association of Economic History (SAEC)}},
  series       = {{Investigaciones de Historia Economica}},
  title        = {{Female Artisans and Freedom of Trade in Southern Sweden, 1840-90}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.33231/j.ihe.2026.01.04}},
  doi          = {{10.33231/j.ihe.2026.01.04}},
  volume       = {{22}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}