The question of a constant wage share (Bowley's Law) has long been both an empirical and theoretical point of contention between rival theories of macroeconomic (functional) distribution. This paper explores some of these theoretical debates and issues related to Bowley's Law in contextualizing a simple empirical test of the real wage productivity elasticity of a cross section of 15 advanced economies across the 34-year period from 1963 to 1996. The evidence supports the hypothesis of a structural break in functional distribution on or around 1979 when real wages exhibit productivity inelasticity and the share of wages in national income starts a downward trajectory almost across the board. This is especially striking given the wide variety of labor market institutions and conditions across the 15 advanced economies. The paper concludes by posing the question that in light of the evidence presented perhaps a possible rethinking is in order (especially vis-Ã -vis possible national union strategies) regarding Marx's predictions on the fate of the working class as capitalism progresses.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Volume (Year): 29 (2007) Issue (Month): 4 (July) Pages: 573-600 Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML
(with abstract),
plain text
(with abstract),
BibTeX,
RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite),
ReDIF