Married Women's Property Laws and Female Commercial Activity: Evidence from United States Patent Records, 1790–1895
研究19世纪美国各州已婚女性财产法改革对女性专利活动的影响，发现法律改革显著提升了女性专利数量，尤其在都市中心，表明产权保护激励了女性商业投资。
Nineteenth-century laws granted wives previously withheld rights to their own property and earnings as well as liability for debts and contracts. I use 4,198 women's patents to assess whether these laws encouraged greater female commercial activity. Patentees were motivated by potential profits and were responsive to market incentives. Women's patenting jumped significantly in states with legal reforms and was lowest in states without such laws. Much of the subsequent increase occurred in metropolitan centers where property rights were of greater concern. Thus, by reducing transactions costs and increasing expected benefits, legal reforms arguably stimulated women's investments in patenting and commercial activities.