Abstract
The field of labor economics is involved with the study of the labor market, including the determinants of employment, unemployment, and wages. The labor market developed as societies moved from feudal to capitalist processes. The development of capitalism in turn led to powerful capitalist owners and an industrial workforce that was concentrated in factories. Conditions of work became, by present Western standards, dirty, demanding, and dangerous. As a result, workers organized unions and began to demand better pay and working conditions, and they set up political organizations like the Labour Party in the United Kingdom. Over the years, organized labor managed to achieve many of their goals, as legislation was introduced in many countries to provide minimum wages, poverty relief, unemployment benefits, and pensions, and to ensure safe working conditions.
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Junankar, P.N. (2008). Labor Economics. In: Economics of the Labour Market. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137555199_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137555199_2
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