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domestic system

economics
Also known as: putting-out system
Written and fact-checked byThe Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
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also called:
putting-out system

domestic system, production system widespread in 17th-century western Europe in which merchant-employers “put out” materials to rural producers who usually worked in their homes but sometimes laboured in workshops or in turn put out work to others. Finished products were returned to the employers for payment on a piecework or wage basis. The domestic system differed from the handicraft system of home production in that the workers neither bought materials nor sold products. It undermined the restrictive regulations of the urban guilds and brought the first widespread industrial employment of women and children. The advantages to the merchant-employer were the lower wage costs and increased efficiency due to a more extensive division of labour within the craft.

The system was generally superseded by employment in factories during the course of the Industrial Revolution but was retained in the 20th century in some industries, notably the watchmaking industry in Switzerland, toy manufacturing in Germany, and numerous industries in India and China.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Adam Augustyn.