I use new evidence from servant contracts, 1610–1890, to estimate male farm wages and the length of the work year in Japan. I show Japanese laborers were surprisingly poor and could only sustain 2–3 adults relative to 7 adults for the English. Japanese wages were the lowest among pre-industrial societies and this was driven by Malthusian population pressures. I also estimate the work year and find peasants worked 325 days a year by 1700, predating the “industrious” revolution in Europe. The findings imply Japan had a distinct labor-intensive path to industrialization, utilizing cheap labor over a long work year.

中文翻译：

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劳动密集型道路：1610-1890 年日本的工资、收入和工作年限

我使用来自 1610-1890 年仆人合同的新证据来估计日本男性的农场工资和工作年的长度。我展示了日本劳工出奇地贫穷，只能养活 2-3 个成年人，而英国人可以养活 7 个成年人。日本的工资是前工业社会中最低的，这是由马尔萨斯的人口压力驱动的。我还估计了工作年，发现到 1700 年农民一年工作 325 天，早于欧洲的“勤劳”革命。调查结果表明，日本有一条明显的劳动密集型工业化道路，在漫长的工作年中利用廉价劳动力。