Labor Economics

Strike Ballot
A vote of union members to decide on taking strike action, operating under union rules or legal requirements.
Pay Control
Control over wage rates as part of a prices and incomes policy.
No-Strike Agreement
An agreement between a firm and the union(s) representing its employees that in the event of disagreements which cannot be resolved by negotiation both sides will accept the results of arbitration rather than resorting to strike action.
Reservation Wage
The minimum wage a worker is willing to accept while engaging in job search activities.
Hiring
The process of taking on new employees, an essential function of management, which may be subject to various legal restrictions.
Residual Unemployment
Understanding residual unemployment, its components, and implications in economic contexts.
Employee
A person working for somebody else, for wages or salary, under a contract of employment.
Piecework
The system of pay by which a worker's wages are proportional to the quantity of output produced.
Technological Unemployment
Unemployment arising from advancements in technology leading to redundancy in certain job types.
Wages Council
A governmental body established to set minimum wages for specific industries or types of work.
Backward-Bending Supply Curve
A supply curve illustrating how supply increases with price up to a certain point before declining, often influenced by the interplay between the income and substitution effects.
Non-Pecuniary Benefits
Definition and analysis of non-pecuniary benefits within the context of economics, focusing on their meaning, importance, and implications.
Performance-Related Pay
A comprehensive overview of performance-related pay, its historical context, analytical frameworks, and implications in economics.
Perquisites
Perquisites: Payments in kind attached to jobs, such as company cars and medical insurance.
Skills
The ability to perform certain tasks satisfactorily which may involve physical dexterity, mental ability, or both.
Ability and Earnings
The relationship between an individual's inherent abilities and their earnings potential.
Age-Earnings Profile
The relationship between age and the mean earnings of workers of that age.
Collective Bargaining
System of negotiation between employees and employers determining wage rates, work hours, and employment conditions.
Compensating Wage Differential
A differential in wages intended to compensate workers for special non-pecuniary aspects of a job.
Demarcation
The reservation of particular tasks to workers with specialized skills and the associated conflict over job roles.
Discouraged Worker
A comprehensive overview of the term 'Discouraged Worker' in economics.
Disguised Unemployment
A detailed exploration of the concept of disguised unemployment, its origin, and its relevance in various economic frameworks.
Dismissal for Cause
Termination of employment due to unsatisfactory conduct or failure to meet employment standards.
Earnings
The financial remuneration received by the employed labor force, inclusive of basic pay, bonuses, and overtime.
Efficiency Wages
An in-depth look at efficiency wages, where employers pay higher-than-market-clearing wages to boost worker productivity.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
A detailed examination of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, its historical context, functions, and relevance in economics and the labor market.
Equal Pay
Definition and meaning of equal pay in employment, highlighting legislation and general principles.
Equalizing Wage Differential
A wage differential necessary to compensate workers for non-pecuniary disadvantages of a job.
Extensive Margin
The margin affected by a discrete change in the level at which an activity is undertaken.
Firm-Specific Human Capital
Specialized skills, experience, or qualifications which are of value only to one specific employer.
Hours of Work
The number of hours per day or per week that a worker is contracted to perform
Immobile Factors
An examination of factors immobile within the realm of economics, their causes, and implications.
Industrial Action: Definition and Meaning
An in-depth exploration of industrial action, tactics used by both workers and employers during industrial disputes.
Insiders and Outsiders
Understanding the insider–outsider distinction and its implications for unemployment in economic theory.
intensive margin
The margin affected by changes in the level to which an existing activity is undertaken.
Job Acceptance Schedule
The set of characteristics of jobs that workers engaged in job search are willing to accept.
Layoffs
Permanent terminations or temporary suspensions by a firm of the employment of all or part of its workforce.
Lock-Out
An industrial action by employers, where workers are excluded from their workplace and pay without being dismissed.
Long-Term Unemployment
The economics term 'long-term unemployment' explicates a period of unemployment lasting more than one year and its associated economic implications and policy considerations.
Minimum Wage: Definition and Meaning
A comprehensive analysis of the concept and implications of minimum wage in economic theory and practice.
Natural Wastage
An examination of the phenomenon where employees leave the workforce through retirement or personal reasons, facilitating workforce reduction without redundancies.
Output per Hour Worked
A measure of output per unit of labour input, used in comparing productivity.
Outworker
A worker employed by an enterprise for a task or delivery of goods and services under contract, but working externally
Overmanning
Definition and exploration of the term 'overmanning' in an economic context
Overtime
A comprehensive dictionary entry on the term 'overtime' in an economic context, including its definition, historical background, and analytical frameworks.
Part-Time Work
Working for fewer than the regular full-time hours per week, shaped by both employee and employer preferences.
Pay Freeze
An in-depth analysis of the concept of pay freeze, applications in various economic frameworks, historical context, and case studies.
Payroll
A list of those employed by a given firm, or the amount paid to them.
Payroll Tax
An overview of payroll tax, its implications, and economic perspectives.
Pecuniary Externality
An externality that is felt through prices rather than quantities, accompanying phenomena like immigration affecting labor markets.
Phased Retirement
A flexible approach to retirement characterized by a gradual decrease in work commitments, often through part-time or short-term contracts, rather than an abrupt exit from the labor force.
Picketing
The procedure during strikes of placing strikers outside workplaces to inform, persuade, and potentially dissuade other stakeholders from crossing the picket line.
Redeployment
The process of shifting factors of production from one use to another, often involving labor movement within or outside firms.
Registered Unemployed
Unemployed individuals officially recorded and receiving unemployment-related benefits.
Sacking: Definition and Meaning
An exploration into the term 'sacking' in the context of labor economics, its definition, implications, and comparative analysis with related concepts.
Self-Employment - Definition and Meaning
An exploration of self-employment, its implications for taxation, insurance, and the mixture of income components involved.
Shift Work
Detailed analysis and context of shift work in economics and labor market.
Short-Time Working
Short-time working: reducing hours of work to minimize layoffs and maintain workforce attachment.
Sickness Benefit
A benefit paid to workers temporarily unable to work because of illness.
Skilled Work
Work requiring specialized knowledge, technical qualifications, or experience.
Sticky Wages
Wage rates that are not readily changed in response to changes in market conditions.
Trade Union
An exploration of trade unions, their roles, functions, and significance in labor markets.
Training
The process of improving workforce skills through formal instructional courses or on-the-job training.
Underemployment
Employment of skilled workers in unskilled jobs or involuntary part-time employment. Includes hidden unemployment.
unionized
Explanation of unionized occupation or workplace involving labor unions representing worker interests.
Unskilled Work
An exploration of the concept, history, and analytical frameworks related to unskilled work in economics.
Voluntary Unemployment
A comprehensive analysis of voluntary unemployment, its causes, and implications in economic theory.
Wage Differential
A detailed exploration of wage differential within the context of economics, covering its meaning, types, and analytical frameworks.
Wage Drift
Tendency for the average level of wages actually paid to rise faster than wage rates
Wage Freeze
An economic measure imposing a ban on changes in wages, mostly to control inflation as part of a prices and incomes policy.
Wage Resistance
Examination of the difficulty in reducing wages, either in real or nominal terms.
Wage Round
A period of regular pay negotiations, usually when employees are unionized.
wage(s) - Definition and Meaning
Understanding Wage(s): Payment for work performed by employees, typically calculated based on hours worked, and contrasts with salaries received by independent contractors.
Wildcat Strike
An exploration of wildcat strikes, where employees initiate work stoppages without union authorization.
Work Study
The study of working procedures with a view to improving their efficiency, safety, or comfort.
Working Conditions
The conditions under which employees have to work, including various factors affecting their safety, comfort, and productivity.
Works Council
Definition and meaning of works council, a body that facilitates dialogue between management and workers on matters of mutual interest.
Wrongful Dismissal
Termination of employment by the employer contrary to the employee’s contract of employment.