Parasitic-Industries Analysis and Arguments for a Living Wage for Women in the Early Twentieth-Century United States
研究了20世纪初美国进步时代活动家和经济学家关于为女性设定最低工资的论证，重点分析了韦伯夫妇提出的“寄生行业”理论，认为支付低于生活工资的行业对社会是净损耗，并探讨了性别角色、雇主权力和集体谈判缺失对工资的影响。
This paper examines arguments by activists and economists surrounding attempts to establish minimum wages for women in the United States in the Progressive Era. In particular, the paper focuses on analyses based on Beatrice and SidneyWebbs' argument that industries paying less than a living wage were "parasitic" on the society, a net drain on macro-efficiency. This analysis, widely accepted among economists of the time, viewed women as particularly vulnerable workers facing labor markets that were institutionally constructed and predatory. Unequal gender roles, employer power, and the absence of collective bargaining could all result in wages that were socially unacceptable as well as economically nonoptimal. These debates offer insights for modern feminist wage theories, and for current living wage campaigns.