Job Tenure and Unskilled Workers before the Industrial Revolution: St Paul's Cathedral 1672-1748

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Grinnell College; University of London; University College London; University of London; London School Economics & Political Science
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC HISTORY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-0507
• DOI: 10.1017/S0022050723000347
• 发表日期: 2023
• 页码: 1101-1137
• 关键词: real wages; urban-environment; labor-markets; england; London; unemployment; prices; time

摘要

How were unskilled workers selected and hired in preindustrial labor markets? We exploit records from the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral, London (1672-1748), to analyze the hiring and employment histories of over 1,000 general building laborers, the benchmark category of unskilled workers in long-run wage series. Despite volatile demand, St Paul's created a stable workforce by rewarding the tenure of long-standing workers. More senior workers received more days of work each month, preference when jobs were scarce, and the opportunity to earn additional income. We find the cathedral's strategy consistent with reducing hiring frictions and turnover costs.