Lays vs. Wages: Contracting in the Klondike Gold Rush

Douglas W. Allen

A chapter in Research in Law and Economics, 2007, pp 1-15 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Abstract: Mine owners during the Klondike gold rush of 1898–1899 used two types of contracts to coordinate workers and their capital: wage contracts and lay (or share) contracts. The key interesting feature of this gold rush was the severe climate and the constraints it placed on the miners. I show that an “off the shelf” incentive model can explain the pattern of contracts, once one understands how the extreme weather environment influenced the behavior of miners.

Date: 2007
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:rlwezz:s0193-5895(06)22001-3

DOI: 10.1016/S0193-5895(06)22001-3

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