The Library
Public policy and unemployment in France, 1920-1938
Tools
Syme, Robert Anthony (1996) Public policy and unemployment in France, 1920-1938. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.
|
PDF
WRAP_Theses_Syme_1996.pdf - Unspecified Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (10Mb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://webcat.warwick.ac.uk/record=b1403962~S1
Abstract
This study is an attempt to highlight the relative importance of unemployment in France in the 1930s, despite the very low rate of aggregate unemployment. It has been shown that even if one accepts the official unemployment figures, they disguised a very large structural imbalance within the unemployed group. There was great variation in the incidence of unemployment among the sub-groups of the population and the economy, and the duration of unemployment for those affected was very high, even by international standards.
This preponderance of long-term unemployment necessitated government action, of which three policies are studied in this Thesis: the public works programmes of 1932- 1936, the repatriation of foreign workers and the 40-hour week. Using both archival and quantitative analysis, examination of the effectiveness of the policies concerned in reducing unemployment has been undertaken. The results show that the government’s anti-unemployment policies did reduce unemployment, but their effectiveness was compromised by the hostility of employers to the legislation regarding foreign workers and hours of work and by the government’s own policy of remaining on the gold standard. The battles over the implementation of these measures are as important as the measures themselves, and raise questions about the ability of governments to affect the workings of the labour market when it does not directly implement the policies itself.
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor | ||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Unemployment -- France, Labor market -- France, Manpower policy -- France|xHistory -- 20th century, Full employment policies -- France | ||||
Official Date: | September 1996 | ||||
Dates: |
|
||||
Institution: | University of Warwick | ||||
Theses Department: | Department of Economics | ||||
Thesis Type: | PhD | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Supervisor(s)/Advisor: | Broadberry, S. N. | ||||
Sponsors: | Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) ; University of Warwick.Department of Economics ; Royal Historical Society | ||||
Extent: | 322 leaves : illustrations | ||||
Language: | eng |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year