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OUTPUT, PRODUCTIVITY AND WAGES IN THE BRITISH COAL INDUSTRY BEFORE 1914: A MODEL WITH EVIDENCE FROM THE DURHAM REGION *
Author(s) -
Gernrnell Norman,
Wardley Peter
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
bulletin of economic research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.227
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1467-8586
pISSN - 0307-3378
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8586.1996.tb00633.x
Subject(s) - productivity , economics , wage , labour economics , production (economics) , preference , coal , econometrics , microeconomics , macroeconomics , engineering , waste management
This paper proposes a model of productivity and wages in the Durham coal industry during 1882–1914. The model predicts a negative relationship between wages and productivity which derives from the industrys production function and wage‐setting arrange‐ ments and does not require or imply a ‘leisure preference’ by miners. It is also suggested that predicted effects of some variables on productivity are different from those proposed by previous investigators. Using modern time‐series methods on data for output per worker and per shift, it is shown that the two measures essentially reflect predicted effects on output and productivity respectively.