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Real wages and labor productivity in Britain and Germany, 1871-1938 : a unified approach to the international comparison of living standards

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Broadberry, Stephen and Burhop, Carsten. (2010) Real wages and labor productivity in Britain and Germany, 1871-1938 : a unified approach to the international comparison of living standards. Journal of Economic History, Vol.70 (No.2). pp. 400-427. ISSN 0022-0507

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0022050710000331

Abstract

Throughout the period 1871-1938, the average British worker was better off than the average German worker, but there were significant differences between major sectors. For the aggregate economy, the real wage gap was about the same as the labor productivity gap, but again there were important sectoral differences. Compared to their productivity, German industrial workers were poorly paid, whereas German agricultural and service sector employees were overpaid. This affected the competitiveness of the two countries in these sectors. There were also important differences in comparative real wages by skill level, affecting the extent of poverty.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Divisions:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Wages -- Great Britain -- History, Wages -- Germany -- History, Labor productivity -- Great Britain -- History, Labor productivity -- Germany -- History, Cost and standard of living -- Great Britain -- History, Cost and standard of living -- Germany -- History
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Economic History
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
ISSN:	0022-0507
Date:	June 2010
Volume:	Vol.70
Number:	No.2
Number of Pages:	28
Page Range:	pp. 400-427
Identification Number:	10.1017/S0022050710000331
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Publication Status:	Published
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
Funder:	Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/5772