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Builders’ Working Time in Eighteenth Century Madrid

Author

Listed:
  • Mario García-Zúñiga

    (University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU)

Abstract

This paper provides the first estimates of the number of days worked per year in the construction sector in Madrid between 1740 and 1810. Using a database of 389,000 observations with over 2.15 million paid days, we demonstrate how the length of the working year in the second half of eighteenth century was very close to the modern standard of 300 days, and that, by the end of the century, building workers—both skilled and unskilled— actually worked around 280 days, a far higher number than suggested by the current estimates for Spain or the figures proposed recently for northern Europe.

Suggested Citation

  • Mario García-Zúñiga, 2020. "Builders’ Working Time in Eighteenth Century Madrid," Working Papers 0195, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).
    • Handle: RePEc:hes:wpaper:0195
    as

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    File URL: https://www.ehes.org/wp/EHES_195.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Spain; pre-industrial labour market; 18th century; working year; construction history;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J3 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs
    • J49 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Particular Labor Markets - - - Other
    • N33 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N63 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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