Supply and demand in labour and salaries : A historical approach (From Petty to Jevons)
Part of : Αρχείον οικονομικής ιστορίας ; Vol.XIV, No.2, 2002, pages 215-240
Issue:
Pages:
215-240
Abstract:
The level and formulation of salaries was one of the most critical points of Political Economy. Most classics accepted the centuries old predominant predominating views that the salary is formulated during the long-term period around the subsistence level (that what Lassale would call the “iron law”), while in the short-term it is determined by the supply and demand in the labour market. The “Marginals” -not all, since Jevons did not essentially diverge from these views- argued that the remuneration of each production coefficient depends on its participation in the product that is produced. They basically overturned the hypothesis of the classicists: the price is determined by the salaries and the costs of other production coefficients. It was therefore expected that in following this line they would initially create -firstly by Wieser and later more thoroughly by Clark- the theory that associates salary with the marginal “product” or productivity of the worker.
Subject:
Subject (LC):
Keywords:
Salary, Employment, Population, Classical viewpoints, Labour
Notes:
JEL classification: Economic History
