The commercialization of labour markets: evidence from wage inequality in the Middle Ages

Jordan Claridge, Vincent Delabastita and Spike Gibbs

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: Much of our understanding of the dynamics of historical economies has been shaped by insights drawn from long-run wage series. Behind much scholarship concerning pre-industrial wages lies the quest for a representative ‘average’ wage trend. Indeed, much methodological discussion surrounds what characterizes an ‘average’ labourer and how best to capture their wages. This paper offers an alternative perspective by undertaking a comprehensive assessment of the diverse forms and levels of remuneration, including both pay rates and methods of payment. We find groups of workers whose working and earning was seemingly unaffected by the societal transmutations which followed the Black Death. At the same time, we find evidence of the ‘commercialization’ of labour markets: a process in which cash wages on lords’ demesne farms were increasingly shaped by market forces, and a more professionalized labour force was supplemented by a variety of higher-paid peripheral jobs. This paper highlights the need for a holistic perspective to fully appreciate the dynamics and statics of pre-industrial labour markets.

Keywords: wages; labour markets; medieval England; inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J33 J42 N33 N53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 64 pages
Date: 2025-04-14
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-lma
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