Factory Discipline, Health and Externalities in the Reduction of Working Time in Nineteenth-Century France

Benedicte Reynaud and Jérôme Bourdieu ()
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Jérôme Bourdieu: LEA - Laboratoire d'Economie Appliquée - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique

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Abstract: The role played by health considerations in the reduction of working time in nineteenth century France has been largely overlooked. This paper sets out to demonstrate their importance. Section 2 documents health deterioration in the workplace. Section 3 argues that the worsening of living conditions is a negative externality suffered by workers. It arises out of 'factory discipline' and inter-firm competition. Section 4 highlights one of the necessary conditions for any reduction in this externality: the recognition by both employers and workers of the long-term health effects of the prevailing working conditions. Physicians played a decisive role in this change. Section 5 concludes.

Keywords: Time allocation and labour supply; Industrial health; Externalities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published in Socio-Economic Review, 2006, 4 (1), pp.93-118. ⟨10.1093/SER/mwj033⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00754178

DOI: 10.1093/SER/mwj033

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