ABSTRACT

This study presents new empirical evidence on the structure of income of African workers in the Port of Dakar between 1911 and 1940. It provides a systematic series of public wages earned by the African and European workforce in a colonial seaport. This series includes income structure by skill tier of public employees and labourers employed at the port. Did wage structure evolve according to relative increases in human capital accumulation in this major colonial seaport? In this investigation, I use data collected from the annual budgets of the port to seek explanations for the structural differences in income in three consecutive decades between 1911 and 1940. I found that the skill premium between highly skilled and unskilled African workers was 3.8 on average during the period analysed. Moreover, the skill premium between mid-skilled and unskilled workers is estimated to be 2.7. Furthermore, top and senior European staff (less than 10% of the staff) accounted for 36% of the overall income. I provide quantitative evidence on how colonial allowances were the key element that contributed to the increasing income gap between European and African workers in similar job categories.

摘要

本研究提供了 1911 年至 1940 年间达喀尔港非洲工人收入结构的新经验证据。它提供了非洲和欧洲劳动力在殖民海港赚取的一系列系统性公共工资。该系列包括港口雇用的公共雇员和劳工按技能等级划分的收入结构。工资结构是否随着这个主要殖民地海港人力资本积累的相对增长而演变？在这项调查中，我利用从港口年度预算中收集的数据来寻求对1911年至1940年间连续三年收入结构性差异的解释。我发现，高技能和非技能非洲工人之间的技能溢价平均为3.8在分析期间。而且，中等技能工人和非技能工人之间的技能溢价估计为 2.7。此外，欧洲顶级员工（不到员工的10%）占总收入的36%。我提供了定量证据，说明殖民津贴如何成为导致类似工作类别的欧洲和非洲工人收入差距扩大的关键因素。