Wages and unemployment in interwar Britain

Michael Beenstock*, Peter Warburton

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

We argue that relatively rapid real wage growth was a major cause of the increase in British unemployment in 1929-1932 and the subsequent abatement in unemployment during 1933-1937 reflected the moderation of real wages. Real wages influenced both the demand and the supply of labor. However, employment in manufacturing was particularly affected. In arriving at these conclusions we develop alternative theories of the demand for labor and the supply of labor which we then test empirically over the period 1922-1938.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)153-172
Number of pages20
JournalExplorations in Economic History
Volume23
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 1986
Externally publishedYes

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