mill

Question 1

what occured to the wage index between 1781 -1881?

Answer 1

there has been an overall increasing trend in the wage index. it is a moderate rate of improvement in real earnings. it was only from the late 1850s that the average British worker enjoyed substantial and sustained advances in real wages

Question 2

what occured to prices between 1780 and 1860?

Answer 2

prices have remained fairly constatn over the period

Question 3

what are the issues with aggregate data for mill?

Answer 3

the data is exacerbated by the regional issue. wages changed differently from region to region as did prices. if industrialisation is regional and the intention is to isolate the effects of industrialisation on real wages, then detailed regional data is needed

Question 4

what was the issue with the transition to urban living?

Answer 4

the industrialising nations in the intial process of transformations, towns grew so rapidly and without planning and with substandard and slum housing that led to overcrowding, disease and crime. many of the industry that may have been low wages so if they were next to high wage industries, crimes were likely to occur.

Question 5

what was the issue with the transition to urban living?

Answer 5

the industrialising nations in the intial process of transformations, towns grew so rapidly and without planning and with substandard and slum housing that led to overcrowding, disease and crime. many of the industry that may have been low wages so if they were next to high wage industries, crimes were likely to occur.

Question 6

what did feinstein (1998) argue about real wages and living conditions??

Answer 6

he argued that between 10-25% of the real wage was a premium to compensate the city workers for the costs in terms of health. if this reduction was applied to a third of the population living in towns then average real incomes will be cut by 3-8 percentage points . p 650

Question 7

how does adulteration of food relate to industrialisation?

Answer 7

as more and more people transitioned from agriculture to industry, the direct contact with food and drink suppliers was lost and they had to rely on commercial food suppliers. this led to the unscrupulous supplier adulterating the food and drink they supplied the working class to increase profits

Question 8

what occured to the dependents between 1771 to 1821?

Answer 8

there was a rapidly growing population which led to a tendency for the ratio of dependent to those in work increased. in Britain during this period the number increased from 2.61 to 3.06. this reduced the standard of living of the average family by roughly 10 percent

Question 9

what occured to medical issues during the industrial revolution?

Answer 9

stature or height is regarded by some as a good indicator of the quality of life as it reflects the quantity intake and quality of food and secondly the calorific expenditure of the food in work-effort and the fighting of disease. there was however a fall in the average height of working people in pritain with the most rapid decline occurring in the 1840s

Question 10

what occured to mortality during the industrial revolution?

Answer 10

mortality is a more usual health indictor of the condition of life. one study from a sample of northern parishes found an increase in infant mortality from 1813-1846

Question 11

what were the political, cultural and institutional changes that occurred from the industrial revolution?

Answer 11

the factory was a complete transformation from the more leisure style of agricultural labour. the hours of work were long with sometimes reaching 16 hours per day and the intensity was increased as well due to machines. there was an increase of female and children into the industrial labour force which had large impacts on the quality of family life and health of children. 1834 poor law amendment act meant out of work labourers received less financial help (40% decline) . there was only significant benefits a century after the industrial revolution occured

Question 12

what was James Mill view on the wage fund?

Answer 12

he believed that the the wage depends on the ratio of capital to labour. if the ratio of capital to labour increases then the wage will also increase and vice versa if the capital to labour decreases.

Question 13

what was smiths view on the wage fund?

Answer 13

the demand for labour is determined by the amount of money that is available to pay wages. so smith assumed to see this a s a proportion of the disposable income that the wealthy are to spend to employ others.

Question 14

what was ricardos view on the wage fund

Answer 14

ricardo thought the wage fund in terms of capital and what the worker required to remain productive. it is dependent on the accumulated produce of previous labour or other words the store of capital which is used to pay labour. ie the stored grain is used to pay the labour so they can live and do another years work. no other fund other than capital is in existence from which the labourers as such can draw a shilling. the wage fund is fixed as it is the capital stored from the previous year. the supply of labour is the number of people looking for work and the demand is the wage fund and together they determine the wage

Question 15

what was James Mills view point on the wage fund?

Answer 15

he believed there was a wage fund that was fixed in the short run and it determined the wages. he said that if the ratio of capital to population bear to one another remains the same then the wage will remain the same however if the ratio changes then the wages will change. they are arguing that the wages are fixed at a particular level is the main point as the only thing that matter is the size of the fund and the number of labourers. the only way to increase the wage would be to reduce the number of labourers

Question 16

what was John stuarts mill view on the wage fund?

Answer 16

the wages depended on the demand and supply of labour or as it is often expressed as the proportion between population and capital. by population is here meant the number only of labouring class. and capital is the circulating capital that is expended in the direct purchase of labour. he also believed that the wage fund was determined by the relative amount of capital and population. this meant he also believed that it was impossible for labourers to combine in a trade union and successfully increase wages except from reducing the number of people employed. however he did say if it was possible for unions to increase wages then it would be a good thing. there was a trade off between wages and employment

Question 17

what was william thorntons veiw on wages?

Answer 17

he did not hold the view of the wage fund. he appears to adopt two methods. one is a generalised attack on supply and demand and the second method is a set of examples he gives. his argument is that population growth condemns the population to a low income with the population growth being influenced by that low income. he claims that if the results are not wanted then the theory must be wrong. he argued for the role of human agency and what we may call collective bargaining of the trade union movement. by threatening to strike he believed the workers could get the maximum wagees. he claims there is a range of wages. if they are too low they will anger those who do the work and if they are too low then they will bankrupt the capitalist. therefore where the wages are, it is determined by the bargaining power of the parties

Question 18

did john stuart mill accept thorntons view of the wage fund?

Answer 18

he recanted from his previous view of the wage fund is the popular view. however his true opinion is unknown as he appeared to produce 2 contradictionary responses. he claims that no economist claims supply and demand are the ultimate regulators of value (seems to be critical of supply and demand) all commodities in the long run tend to excahne in the ratio of what it costs to produce and bring them to the place of sale ( theory of value based on the cost of production)

Question 19

what was Mills view on supply and demand?

Answer 19

he claims that no economist claims supply and demand are the ultimate regulators of value (seems to be critical of supply and demand) all commodities in the long run tend to exchange in the ratio of what it costs to produce and bring them to the place of sale ( theory of value based on the cost of production).
the demand and supply when rightly understood signifies the ratio between demand and supply when the price has adjusted itself, is always one of equality. when D>S then price will increase and vice versa. the law of values as affected by demand and supply is that they adjust themselves to bring about an equation between supply and demand. the changes in the market only stop when equilibrium is reached. the equilibrium quantity and price was not deemed to be fixed

Question 20

what was Mills view on thornton?

Answer 20

thornton has proved that the supply and demand is not the complete theory however he does not believe he has proven the theory of supply and demand to be incorrect. Mill does not appear the consideration are subversive of the law of supply and demand. (little vague). he appears to conclude that thorntons strictures on supply and demand are not in general valid and calls his critisms minute and unimportant. (this is not consistent with his quote that he acknowledges them as of great practical importance in the case of labour- he may think the markets for commodities and labour are different due to the different power distributions in the markets ie the hirer- counter would be trade union)
he may believe that Thornton was wrong in goods market but correct in the labour markets due to the power distributions

Question 21

why did Mill argue that the theory of supply and demand in the goods might not be the full theory?

Answer 21

because supply and demand can be equalised at two different prices which would mean the curves are extremely curved which is highly unlikely.