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A history of Dobb’s Wages

Author

Listed:
  • Allisson, François
  • Chassonnery-Zaïgouche, Cléo

Abstract

Maurice Dobb’s Wages, a short textbook-style work commissioned by John Maynard Keynes for the Cambridge Economic Handbooks series, was first published in 1928. It went through six revised editions by 1959, along with numerous reprints and translations up to the 1980s. This paper analyses the evolution of the book’s content in order to question the status of economic theory in relation to the study of labour issues. The first section examines the making of the handbook and shows how Wages addressed the usefulness of economic theory, particularly price theory. The second section traces the evolution of Dobb’s views on wages, shaped by his controversy with John Hicks in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The third section explores the growing scepticism of Wages across its subsequent editions and translations, following its trajectory from the centre to the periphery of economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Allisson, François & Chassonnery-Zaïgouche, Cléo, 2026. "A history of Dobb’s Wages," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 138374, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:138374
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    File URL: https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/138374/
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • B13 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Neoclassical through 1925 (Austrian, Marshallian, Walrasian, Wicksellian)
    • B24 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist; Scraffian
    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General

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