19世紀中期イングランドにおけるふたつの農業労働市場 : スタッフォードシャー, トレンタム農場の事例分析

概要

論文の詳細を見る
Traditionally, historians have tended to accept the view that agricultural labourers in nineteenth-century England were subject to seasonal unemployment. In this article, however, it is argued that this is an over-simplification, and that there were in fact two coexisting labour markets. The author's question is straightforward. How many days did agricultural labourers work per year? The question will be answered with two sets of micro data, a wage book, and the Census Enumerators' Books. Answering this rather simple question will reveal (1) that there were two groups of agricultural labourers : those who were employed throughout the year (core workers) and those employed only in the busiest season (casual workers); (2) that the core workers and casual workers performed different tasks; (3) that they had different places of residence; and (4) that the casual workers' wages were more market-dependent. The movement of wages at the time of the arrival of Irish migrant labourers sheds further light on the different natures of the two markets. While core workers' wages appear to have been unaffected by this change in labour demand, English casual workers' and women's wages increased. This might suggest that whereas the employer had non-economic influence over his core workers, it is probable that he was forced to pay the market price for casual labour.
社会経済史学会の論文
2002-03-25