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Why economists dislike a lump of labor

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  • Tom Walker

Abstract

The lump-of-labor fallacy has been called one of the “best known fallacies in economics.” It is widely cited in disparagement of policies for reducing the standard hours of work, yet the authenticity of the fallacy claim is questionable, and explanations of it are inconsistent and contradictory. This article discusses recent occurrences of the fallacy claim and investigates anomalies in the claim and its history. S.J. Chapman's coherent and formerly highly regarded theory of the hours of labor is reviewed, and it is shown how that theory could lend credence to the job-creating potentiality of shorter working time policies. It concludes that substituting a dubious fallacy claim for an authentic economic theory may have obstructed fruitful dialogue about working time and the appropriate policies for regulating it.

Suggested Citation

  • Tom Walker, 2007. "Why economists dislike a lump of labor," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 65(3), pages 279-291.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsocec:v:65:y:2007:i:3:p:279-291
    DOI: 10.1080/00346760701635809
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. de Koning, J. & Layard, R. & Nickell, S. & Westergaard-Nielsen, N., 2004. "Policies for full employment," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 47444, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Blog mentions

    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Invitation to Ryan Avent for a Debate
      by Sandwichman in ecological headstand on 2011-08-26 01:21:00
    2. Tim Kane: "Overtime, rooted in the LOL fallacy"
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2014-03-20 10:27:00
    3. Those Wacky Europeans!
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2009-05-08 05:03:00
    4. Basic Econometrics: Robots Demand Shorter Hours!
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2014-01-30 04:52:00
    5. Who knew? People oppose austerity -- because the lump of labour fallacy!
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2015-02-17 23:00:00
    6. Whack-a-Mole Tim and the Fixed Amount of Cheese-Eating Work Fallacio
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2014-05-31 00:05:00
    7. No Evidence that Business Week Economics Editor Knows What He is Talking About
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2009-07-09 20:56:00
    8. David Cameron leads Britain into the 19th century
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2014-10-15 02:47:00
    9. This Just In!
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2014-12-18 02:11:00
    10. Number One!
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2009-08-02 08:22:00
    11. The Luddites Had a Time Machine! (and other claims the truth or falsehood of which is not relevant)
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2015-01-20 11:32:00
    12. Labour Markets: "A crazy explanation for what is happening to workers"
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2014-01-23 05:48:00
    13. Only So Much Boilerplate to Go Round
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2009-07-17 07:17:00
    14. Fawcett: "The Regulation of the Hours of Labour by the State" (abridged) IV
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2009-09-01 01:07:00
    15. Jobless Recovery v. Working Less
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2009-07-10 23:39:00
    16. The Danger of Boilerplate
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2009-06-18 23:32:00
    17. Megan McArdle: As the Lump Crumbles...
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2013-06-19 04:30:00
    18. Bailouts and JAWBS
      by Sandwichman in EconoSpeak on 2008-11-21 00:18:00
    19. What's Wrong with the Case AGAINST Shorter Work? VI
      by Sandwichman in The Lump of Labor on 2011-12-16 06:50:00

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Tito Boeri & Pietro Garibaldi & Espen R. Moen, 2022. "In medio stat victus: Labor Demand Effects of an Increase in the Retirement Age," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 35(2), pages 519-556, April.
    2. Peter Frase & Janet Gornick, 2009. "The Time Divide in Cross-National Perspective: The Work Week, Gender and Education in 17 Countries," LIS Working papers 526, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    3. Heijs, Joost & Arenas Díaz, Guillermo & Vergara Reyes, Delia Margarita, 2019. "Impact of innovation on employment in quantitative terms: review of empirical literature based on microdata," MPRA Paper 95326, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Alina Lavrinenko & Natalia Shmatko, 2019. "Twenty-First Century Skills in Finance: Prospects for a Profound Job Transformation," Foresight and STI Governance (Foresight-Russia till No. 3/2015), National Research University Higher School of Economics, vol. 13(2), pages 42-51.
    5. James Banks & Richard Blundell & Antoine Bozio & Carl Emmerson, 2010. "Releasing Jobs for the Young? Early Retirement and Youth Unemployment in the United Kingdom," NBER Chapters, in: Social Security Programs and Retirement around the World: The Relationship to Youth Employment, pages 319-344, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2012. "The relationship between elderly employment and youth employment: evidence from China," MPRA Paper 37221, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2012. "延迟退休年龄会挤出年轻人就业吗? [Will Postponing Retirement Crowd out Youth Employment?]," MPRA Paper 49811, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Nov 2012.

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