Regional Variations in Female Labor Force Participation Rates in Sweden, 1870-1950

Abstract: The recent success story of gender equality in Sweden puts a shadow over the circumstances during Swedish industrialization when women both lost and won important positions in the economy and in society. Female labor force participation rates developed differently around the Swedish regions between 1870 and 1950 and regional heterogeneity can explain some of the variations where higher urbanization, economic growth and female relative wages had a positive impact on female labor force participation.