Real wages in the early stages of industrialization: Japan 1885–1915

It has been well-known since the time of the standard of living controversy that the real wages of unskilled workers did not rise much in the early stages of industrialization in the United States and the United Kingdom. Table 2.1 shows that the real wages of workers at cotton textile factories rose at an annual rate of less than 1 per cent before 1850. The rate of growth was lower than that for average workers.