Work and Welfare: The Social Costs of Labor in the History of Economic Thought (Contributions in Economics and Economic History) - Hardcover

Donald R. Stabile

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031329738X ISBN 13: 9780313297380

Publisher: Praeger (UK), 1996

Synopsis

This interesting work presents a unique perspective on the history of economic thought by showing that classical economists from Adam Smith to Alfred Marshall had sympathy for workers - for example, the theory of the subsistence wage echoed the theological call for a just wage that existed in the middle ages. It also describes how these thinkers promoted either a set of social obligations or a form of social insurance to assist workers. These economic thinkers of the past argued that a subsistence standard of living was important to maintain and improve workers' efficiency and to raise healthy families. The notion that these writers had an undeveloped theory of social costs that they applied to labor should appeal to economists and others concerned with the plight of workers as the modern economy restructures itself.

About this title

About the Author

DONALD R. STABILE is Professor of Economics at St. Mary's College of Maryland and Associate Editor of Business Library Review. His recent books include Work and Welfare: The Social Costs of Labor in the History of Economic Thought (Greenwood, 1996) and The Public Debt of the United States: An Historical Perspective (Praeger, 1991).

Edition details

• Publisher: Praeger (UK)
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 031329738X
• ISBN 13: 9780313297380
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 240