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Spring 2011

ISSN 0890-913X

Volume 26, Number 2

Categories: Marketing | Spring 2011

The Decline in Work Time and the Increase in Free Time of Manufacturing Employees from 1890 to World War I

James Rolph Edwards, Montana State University-Northern

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TheJournalofPrivateEnterprise26(1),2010,47-59TheDeclineinWorkTimeandtheIncreaseinFreeTimeofManufacturingEmployeesfrom1890toWorldWarIJamesRolphEdwardsMontanaStateUniversity–NorthernAbstractThispaperaddstothelongdebateoverthecapacityofunorganizedemployeestoobtainandprotecttheirinterestsbycontractinginfreelabormarkets.Itdoessobycalculatingperhapsthefirstestimateoftheincomeelasticityofdemandforleisuretime,usingdatafromtheU.S.CensusofManufacturesformanufacturingemployeesfrom1890to1914,theclassicperiodofallegedwidespreadlaborexploitation.Recentdataonthehistoryofpercapitarealincomegrowthisalsoreportedalongwithotherindicatorsofhumanwell-being.Last,anestimateoftheelasticityoflaborsupplyinmanufacturingduring1900–1914isreported.JELCodes:N30,O43,P17Keywords:Freetime;Contract;Exploitation;Unions;LaborsupplyI.IntroductionEconomictheorysaysthatleisuretimeshouldbeanormalgood,ofwhichworkersandotherpersonswantmoreastheirincomesrise.Thatis,itshouldhavepositiveincomeelasticityofdemand.Ascapitalaccumulationandtechnicaladvancesraiserealoutputandincomeperperson,partofthegainscanbetakeninhighercompensationandpartcanbetakeninreducedworktime.Risingrealincomeshouldresultinworkerscontractinginlabormarketsforshorterworkdaysandmoredaysoff.Doeshistorysupportthistheory?Therecertainlyarealternativeperspectives.Fromthebeginningsofthepost–CivilWarunionmovement,unionistsandtheirprogressivepoliticalandintellectualalliesclaimedthat,despiterisingproductivity,workersnotonlywerebeinghelddowntonearsubsistencewagelevelsbytheircorporateandothercapitalistemployers,butwerebeingforcedtoworkexcessivelylonghours.Asthecomplaintwent,unorganizedworkerslackedsufficient47

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Title	The Decline in Work Time and the Increase in Free Time of Manufacturing Employees from 1890 to World War I
Authors/Creators:	James Rolph Edwards, Montana State University-Northern
Year:	2011
Volume:	26
Number:	2
Pages:	47 - 59
Publisher:	The Association of Private Enterprise Education
ISSN:	0890-913X
Document Type:	Articles
Keywords:	Organized labour, Free time, Contract, Exploitation, Unions, Labour supply, Manufacture, Elasticity, Labour market

Citation:
Rolph Edwards, James / 2011. "The Decline in Work Time and the Increase in Free Time of Manufacturing Employees from 1890 to World War I." The Journal of Private Enterprise, 26(2): 47-59.