戦前日本の児童労働と労働供給 : 紡績女工の年齢,賃金,需給状況(秋元英一先生退職記念号)

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Child labor remains unresolved in developing countries. Japan shares the same unpleasant past. A substantial number of child workers were employed in industrializing Japan prior to World War II. Yet, this did not lead to a controversy issue in this country. This study, examining the case of the cotton spinning industry, argues that there was no wage discrimination against child workers, which prevented serious problems concerning child labor. The cotton spinning industry, established during the 1880s, had driven the Japanese economy until the 1930s. It continued recruiting a large number of unmarried young women, including children, from rural areas. The managers of this industry, however, always suffered a labor shortage because these young women were required as workers in various sectors such as agriculture or domestic service. Cotton spinning workers did not need either skills or stamina due to mechanization. Thus, children employed by cotton spinning mills, as well as their elder co-workers, were expected to play primary roles in their workshops, and these child workers were offered as high wages as adult workers.