Hours and Wages in the Depression: British Engineering, 1926-1938

Robert Hart

No 132, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: On their intensive margins, firms in the British engineering industry adjusted to the severe falls in demand during the 1930s Depression by cutting hours of work. This provided an important means of reducing labour input and marginal labour costs, through movements from overtime to short-time schedules. Nominal wages dropped relatively modestly while real wages continued to rise throughout the trough years of the recession. Empirical work is based on cell data from a panel of 28 local labour markets for the period 1926-38. The data dichotomise between skilled fitters and unskilled labourers and between time-rate and piece-rate workers. The findings have interesting implications for Phillips curve and wage curve studies.

Keywords: hours of work; the Great Depression; British engineering; Phillips Curve; wage curve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E24 J31 N34 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 39 pages
Date: 2000-03
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published - published in: Explorations in Economic History, 2001, 38 (4), 478-502

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Journal Article: Hours and Wages in the Depression: British Engineering, 1926-1938 (2001)
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