Description:

Myera Rashid (Northwestern University): Marriage and the Intergenerational Mobility of Women: Evidence from Marriage Certificates 

Abstract:  The literature finds a high degree of economic mobility for men in the 19th century in comparison to today. However, due to data limitations, changes in female economic mobility over time are not well understood. Using a set of marriage certificates from Massachusetts over the period of 1850-1910, we link men and women to their childhood and adult census records to obtain a measure of occupational standing across two generations. We find that women are more mobile than men between 1850-1880. Between 1880-1910, men's mobility increases to converge with that of women. We also find evidence of assortative mating based on the correlation in occupational income score and real estate wealth between the husband's and wife's fathers. Absent the increase in marital sorting, married women would have experienced the same increases in intergenerational mobility as did men in the sample. 

and

Brian Beach (Vanderbilt University) with Karen Clay and Martin Saavedra: Contagious Ideas: Universities and the Spread of Germ Theory in American Newspapers  

Abstract:  The discovery, development, and dissemination of germ theory in everyday life dramatically improved the quantity and quality of human life by influencing private and public health practices. While the scientific development of germ theory is well documented, existing studies rely on qualitative data or small data sets to examine how germ theory moved from discovery to practical implementation. This has made it difficult to evaluate the importance of germ theory as a driver of health improvements. We document the diffusion of germ theory in the United States through patents and printed material. The diffusion process appears to gain momentum after 1877 and is largely complete by 1900. We show that the germ theory of disease arrived sooner in counties with universities.