Quantitative analysis of long-term wage data before Meiji Japan, 8th-19th century

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K13755
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 07070:Economic history-related
• Research Institution: Kwansei Gakuin University
• Principal Investigator: TAKASHIMA Masanori 関西学院大学, 経済学部, 准教授 (70816511)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 経済史 / 日本経済史 / 賃金 / 実質賃金 / 生活水準 / 格差

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The aim of this research is to estimate and compile wage data for pre-Meiji Japan and provide an overview of the long-term trends in wage labour based on this data.
The characteristics of each period reveal long-term changes in wages. In the ancient period, a significant income gap existed between the aristocratic class and the rest of the commoners, including public workers and peasant classes. Moving to the medieval period, estimates of rice prices and real wages for skilled and unskilled labourers in Kyoto and the Kinai region suggest a long-term increase in currency wages, with a short-term shift to rice-paid wages for skilled workers. However, this shift was not observed for unskilled workers. During the pre-modern period, there was a relative decline in real wages. Nevertheless, an analytical perspective considering household income from subsidiary works and changes in the labour market associated with economic growth confirms the possibility of further exploration.

Free Research Field

経済史

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

学術的意義としては，これまで近世を中心に議論されてきた明治以前日本における賃金史研究を古代中世にまでさかのぼって数量分析をしたことで，前近代の賃金史研究を長期の視点にたって可視化したことがあげられる。特に資料が豊富であるものの数量分析が困難であった中世について，米価／賃金データを整備し，熟練／非熟練労働者の実質賃金の長期系列を作成したことの意義は大きいと自負する。
社会的意義は，近年における物価の急激な上昇という局面において，物価，賃金（名目賃金，実質賃金），格差，生活水準などの現代的な課題に対して，歴史的な観点からのインプリケーションを与える材料を提供したことにある。