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

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the Cotton Revolution (1300--1840 AD) on the evolution of cultural beliefs regarding women's capabilities and value. The introduction of new technologies and the rise of regional specialization in cotton weaving during this period enabled women to become major income earners. The Cotton Revolution, characterized by home-based proto-industrial production, provides a unique context with significant consequences for women's lives without radically altering the broader economic trajectories. Using a difference-in-differences approach, I demonstrate that the Cotton Revolution  led to an increase in positive sentiment in women-related Classical Chinese poetry  and was associated with a greater occurrence of uxorilocal marriages, where men join the bride's family. Modern survey data reveal a negative correlation between a history of home-based proto-industrial cotton weaving and the belief that men are inherently more capable than women.  Additionally, evidence from sex imbalances at birth, indicative of deliberate sex selection, strongly supports these findings. Women in regions influenced by the Cotton Revolution exhibit higher educational attainment, marry later, and are more likely to hold leadership positions, despite facing similar economic and legal institutions as those in other regions.  The results remain robust when applying matching and instrumental variable methods. Crucially, the effects are limited to areas where women historically earned substantial income through weaving; regions where women were involved only in lower-value work, such as cotton cultivation, show no comparable shift. The findings suggest that long-standing cultural perceptions of women’s lower capability require substantial and sustained shifts in women’s economic contribution---not merely labor force participation---to begin to change. The persistence of these effects under centralized socialist rule, where female employment was mandated and institutions equalized across regions, underscores the role of cultural transmission.

Keywords: Technology, Trade, Culture, Gender

JEL Classification: Z1, J16, N35, I1