Escape from the Market
Negotiating Work in Lancashire
Published on 10. June 2010
Book
Paperback/Softback
244 pages
978-0-521-14266-3 (ISBN)
Description
At the outset of the industrial revolution the Lancashire labour market was a model of thoroughgoing competition. Wages adjusted quickly and smoothly to changes in the demand for and supply of labour. Within two generations, however, workers and firms had retreated from the market. Instead of busting wages, firms paid fixed rates; instead of breaking ties on short notice, workers sought longer-term associations. Social norms - doing the right thing - protected and preserved the fresh labour market arrangements. This book explains the causes and effects of changes in the labour market in the context of developments in labour economics and fresh research in social and economic history.
Reviews / Votes
Review of the hardback: 'This book is a contribution to a major debate which has both historical and contemporary dimensions. ... Huberman's argument is buttressed by both economic theory and substantial amounts of evidence.' History Review of the hardback: '... an important book and an eloquent argument to be reckoned with by all historians of nineteenth- and twentieth-century Western economies'. Pat Hudson, English Historical ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 15 mm
Weight
402 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-14266-3 (9780521142663)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Content
List of figures; List of tables; Preface; Glossary; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction: the myth of the Lancashire labour market; Part I. Labour Market Failure?: 2. Custom against the market: the early labour market; 3. Principals and agents: the labour market into the second generation; 4. Who's minding the mill? The supervision problem; Part II. The Economics of Piece-Rate Bargaining: 5. The fair wage model; Part III. How Did Labour Markets Really Work?: 6. Fair and unfair wages: 1825-50; 7. Short hours and seniority in the 'hungry 'forties'; 8. Rules and standards: wage lists in Lancashire; Part IV. Conclusion: 9. More lessons from the cotton mills; Notes; Bibliography; Index.