"Labour history or labor history is a sub-discipline of social history which specializes in the history of the working classes and the labour movement."
This subfield considers the evolution of labor markets and policy interventions over time, including historical struggles for workers' rights and the emergence of unions.
Industrial Revolution: The time period where major innovations in manufacturing and production techniques transformed the economy.
Classical and neoclassical economics: The theories and principles that explain how economies work, including the role of supply and demand, markets, and individuals' behavior.
Division of labor: The specialization of labor in which each worker focuses on a specific task or process.
Labor unions: Organized groups of workers who join together to negotiate for better wages, hours, and working conditions.
Gender and labor: The ways in which gender affects employment opportunities and wages.
Minimum wage laws: Legislation that sets a limit on the lowest amount employers can legally pay their workers.
Migration and labor: The movement of people from one geographic region to another, in search of better job opportunities and/or better living conditions.
Human capital: The knowledge, skills, and abilities that individuals acquire through education and training, which contribute to their overall productivity.
Income inequality: The uneven distribution of wealth and income across different groups of people.
Labor market institutions: The laws, regulations, and policies that govern how labor markets operate.
Labor supply and demand: The forces that influence the number of people who are willing to work in a particular job or industry and the number of job openings that are available.
Employment discrimination: The unlawful treatment of workers based on their race, gender, age, or other characteristics.
Wage differentials: The differences in wages paid to workers with similar levels of education, experience, and skill.
Labor market segmentation: The phenomenon where labor markets tend to be divided into different segments, based on factors such as education, experience, and skill level.
International labor markets: The interaction between labor markets in different countries and the impact of globalization on employment opportunities and wages.
Industrial Relations: The study of the relationships between workers, employers, and their representatives, with a focus on collective bargaining, disputes resolution, and labor laws.
Human Capital Theory: The analysis of the education, training, and work experience of individuals and how they affect productivity, earnings, and career opportunities.
Labor Market Discrimination: The examination of the effect of race, gender, ethnicity, and other factors on job opportunities, wages, and working conditions.
Migration and Immigration: The study of the factors that influence the movement of people across geographic regions in search of employment or better working conditions.
Labor Market Institutions: The analysis of the role of labor market institutions like unions, minimum wage laws, and labor standards in shaping employment and working conditions.
Economic History of Labor Markets: The study of changes in labor markets over time, including the impact of technological advancements, economic crises, and policy reforms.
Labor Supply and Demand: The analysis of the relationship between the number of workers available and the number of jobs available in a given labor market, along with other factors determining labor supply and demand.
Occupational Economic Analysis: The evaluation of the demand and supply of workers in specific occupations, along with the factors influencing the demand and supply such as technology, globalization and other circumstances.
The Economics of Education and Training: The analysis of how education and training affect productivity, earning, and career advancement, and the different ways of investment into education and training.
Labor Market Segmentation: The study of the division of labor markets into different segments based on various characteristics such as skill, race, and gender, as well as the effects of market segmentation on average wages and working conditions.
"The central concerns of labour historians include industrial relations and forms of labour protest, the rise of mass politics, and the social and cultural history of the industrial working classes."
"Labour historians chiefly focus on urban or industrial societies, which distinguishes it from rural history."
"Labour historians may concern themselves with issues of gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors besides class."
"Labour history developed in tandem with the growth of a self-conscious working-class political movement in many Western countries in the latter half of the nineteenth century."
"Whilst early labour historians were drawn to protest movements such as Luddism and Chartism."
"The focus of labour history was often on institutions, chiefly the labour unions and political parties."
"Exponents of this institutional approach included Sidney and Beatrice Webb."
"The work of the Webbs, and other pioneers of the discipline, was marked by optimism about the capacity of the labour movement to effect fundamental social change and a tendency to see its development as a process of steady, inevitable and unstoppable progress."
"Early work in the field was 'designed to service and celebrate the Labour movement.'"
"Labour historians concern themselves with issues of industrial relations and forms of labour protest such as strikes and lock-outs."
"Labour historians focus on the rise of mass politics, especially the rise of socialism."
"Labour historians delve into the social and cultural history of the industrial working classes."
"The growth of a self-conscious working-class political movement involved the rise of mass politics."
"Labour historians may concern themselves with issues beyond the labour movement, such as gender, race, ethnicity, and other factors besides class."
"The work of the Webbs was marked by optimism about the capacity of the labour movement to effect fundamental social change."
"Labour historians chiefly focus on urban or industrial societies."
"Labour history distinguishes itself from rural history, focusing more on urban or industrial societies."
"The focus of labour history was often on institutions such as the labour unions and political parties."
"The work of the Webbs and other pioneers saw the development of the labour movement as a process of steady, inevitable, and unstoppable progress."