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Spring 2011
ISSN 0890-913X
Volume 26, Number 2

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),2010,47-59TheDeclineinWorkTimeandtheIncreaseinFreeTimeofManufacturingEmployeesfrom1890toWorldWarIJamesRolphEdwardsMontanaStateUniversityNorthernAbstractThispaperaddstothelongdebateoverthecapacityofunorganizedemployeestoobtainandprotecttheirinterestsbycontractinginfreelabormarkets.Itdoessobycalculatingperhapsthefirstestimateoftheincomeelasticityofdemandforleisuretime,usingdatafromtheU.S.CensusofManufacturesformanufacturingemployeesfrom1890to1914,theclassicperiodofallegedwidespreadlaborexploitation.Recentdataonthehistoryofpercapitarealincomegrowthisalsoreportedalongwithotherindicatorsofhumanwell-being.Last,anestimateoftheelasticityoflaborsupplyinmanufacturingduring19001914isreported.JELCodes:N30,O43,P17Keywords:Freetime;Contract;Exploitation;Unions;LaborsupplyI.IntroductionEconomictheorysaysthatleisuretimeshouldbeanormalgood,ofwhichworkersandotherpersonswantmoreastheirincomesrise.Thatis,itshouldhavepositiveincomeelasticityofdemand.Ascapitalaccumulationandtechnicaladvancesraiserealoutputandincomeperperson,partofthegainscanbetakeninhighercompensationandpartcanbetakeninreducedworktime.Risingrealincomeshouldresultinworkerscontractinginlabormarketsforshorterworkdaysandmoredaysoff.Doeshistorysupportthistheory?Therecertainlyarealternativeperspectives.FromthebeginningsofthepostCivilWarunionmovement,unionistsandtheirprogressivepoliticalandintellectualalliesclaimedthat,despiterisingproductivity,workersnotonlywerebeinghelddowntonearsubsistencewagelevelsbytheircorporateandothercapitalistemployers,butwerebeingforcedtoworkexcessivelylonghours.Asthecomplaintwent,unorganizedworkerslackedsufficient47
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