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First published 1888

The Wages Question: A Treatise on Wages and the Wages Class

by Francis A. Walker

London: Macmillan, 1888; Online Library of Liberty edition262 pages

The Wages Question: A Treatise on Wages and the Wages Class by Francis A. Walker is available as a free PDF and EPUB download at freecapitalists.org.

Author
Francis A. Walker
First published
1888
Format
PDF and EPUB
Pages
262
Publisher
London: Macmillan, 1888; Online Library of Liberty edition
License
Public domain by publication date.

Walker's 1876 treatise, which attacked the wages-fund theory inherited from the classical economists. He argued that wages are paid out of the product of industry rather than a fixed prior fund, and he described the wages class and the role of the employer. The book helped clear the way for the marginal productivity theory of distribution.

What's in it

31 chapters · 138,188 words · free to read here

  1. Econlib Editor's Notes
  2. Part I, Chapter I WAGES A QUESTION IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF WEALTH.
  3. Part I, Chapter II NOMINAL AND REAL WAGES.
  4. Part I, Chapter III NOMINAL AND REAL COST OF LABOR.
  5. EFFICIENCY OF LABOR.
  6. Part I, Chapter IV THE DEGRADATION OF LABOR.
  7. Part I, Chapter V THE LAW OF DIMINISHING RETURNS.
  8. Part I, Chapter VI MALTHUSIANISM IN WAGES—THE LAW OF POPULATION.
  9. Part I, Chapter VII NECESSARY WAGES.
  10. Part I, Chapter VIII THE WAGES OF THE LABORER ARE PAID OUT OF THE PRODUCT OF HIS INDUSTRY.27
  11. Part I, Chapter IX THERE IS NO WAGE-FUND IRRESPECTIVE OF THE NUMBER AND INDUSTRIAL QUALITY OF LABORERS.
  12. Part II, Chapter X THE PROBLEM OF DISTRIBUTION: COMPETITION: THE DIFFUSION THEORY: THE ECONOMICAL HARMONIES.
  13. COMPETITION.
  14. Part II, Chapter XI THE MOBILITY OF LABOR.
  15. Part II, Chapter XII THE WAGES CLASS.
  16. THE EXCHANGE OF DISTRIBUTED FOR UNDISTRIBUTED71 WEALTH.
  17. Part II, Chapter XIII THE CAPITALIST CLASS: RETURNS OF CAPITAL: RENT AND INTEREST.
  18. Part II, Chapter XIV THE EMPLOYING CLASS: THE ENTREPRENEUR FUNCTION: THE PROFITS OF BUSINESS.
  19. Part II, Chapter XV COÖPERATION: GETTING RID OF THE EMPLOYING CLASS.
  20. GET RID OF THE ENTREPRENEUR.
  21. Part II, Chapter XVI THE TRUE WAGES QUESTION.
  22. Part II, Chapter XVII WHAT MAY PLACE THE WAGES CLASS AT A DISADVANTAGE?
  23. Part II, Chapter XVIII WHAT MAY HELP THE WAGES CLASS IN ITS COMPETITION FOR THE PRODUCTS OF INDUSTRY.
  24. WOMAN'S WAGES.
  25. Part II, Chapter XIX MAY ANY ADVANTAGE BE ACQUIRED BY THE WAGES CLASS THROUGH STRIKES OR TRADES-UNIONS?
  26. LEGISLATION AGAINST STRIKES AND COMBINATIONS.
  27. TRADES-UNIONS.
  28. CONCLUDING REMARKS.
  29. About Liberty Fund
  30. The Online Library of Liberty
  31. Copyright Information

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