Records of long-eighteenth-century English wage rates exhibit almost absolute nominal rigidity over many decades, alongside significant dispersion between the wages paid by different organizations for the same type of work in the same location. These features of preindustrial wages have been obscured by data aggregation and the construction of real wage series, which introduce variation. In this paper, we argue that the standard explanations for wage rigidity in economic history are insufficient. We show econometric evidence for monopsony power in one major organization and argue that the main historical wage series are also affected by employer power. Eighteenth-century England had an imperfectly competitive labour market with large frictions. This gave large organizations the power to set wage policies. We discuss the implications for the eighteenth-century British economy and research into long-run wages more generally.

How was trust created and reinforced between the inhabitants of medieval and early modern cities? And how did the social foundations of trusting relationships change over time? Current research highlights the role of kinship, neighbourhood, and associations, particularly guilds, in creating 'relationships of trust' and social capital in the face of high levels of migration, mortality, and economic volatility, but tells us little about their relative importance or how they developed. We uncover a profound shift in the contribution of family and guilds to trust networks among the middling and elite of one of Europe's major cities, London, over three centuries, from the 1330s to the 1680s. We examine almost 15,000 networks of sureties created to secure orphans' inheritances to measure the presence of trusting relationships connected by guild membership, family, and place. We uncover a profound increase in the role of kinship - a re-embedding of trust within the family - and a decline of the importance of shared guild membership in connecting Londoners who secured orphans' inheritances together. These developments indicate a profound transformation in the social fabric of urban society.

How were unskilled workers selected and hired in preindustrial labor markets? We exploit records from the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral, London (1672–1748), to analyze the hiring and employment histories of over 1,000 general building laborers, the benchmark category of “unskilled” workers in long-run wage series. Despite volatile demand, St Paul’s created a stable workforce by rewarding the tenure of long-standing workers. More senior workers received more days of work each month, preference when jobs were scarce, and the opportunity to earn additional income. We find the cathedral’s strategy consistent with reducing hiring frictions and turnover costs.

Apprenticeship in London was the concern of both livery company and city institutions. In this article, we connect evidence about the petitions submitted by apprentices to the Lord Mayor’s Court for early discharge from their indentures with the entries recording their apprenticeship and freedom surviving in the records of Goldsmiths’ Company. Each contains a distinct set of complementary information about apprenticeship in London. By positioning appeals to the Lord Mayor’s Court against the company’s records of youths’ trajectories through apprenticeship, we can expand our understanding of the contractual framework of training and associated enforcement mechanisms in early modern London. As we show, the Court was used to negotiate with masters, as well as to terminate contracts. Quitting an apprenticeship through the court did mildly ‘scar’ the chances of youths (not masters), but the Court process appears to have largely protected reputations. Finally, we provide the first estimate of gaps in livery company registration of apprentices, particularly female apprentices.

Human capital is central to current debates about the sources of growth and divergence in the premodern economy. Apprenticeship, the key formal arrangement by which occupational skills were transferred in this period, has in the past often been associated with guild monopolies and exclusion, implying a drag on the accumulation of human capital. Several stimulating recent contributions have pointed to apprenticeship as a potentially important explanation for English or European advances in manufacturing and technology in the run up to industrialisation. In this paper, we explore mechanisms that helped improve quality among artisans. We focus on one in particular: the selection of training masters by apprentices.

The Economic History ReviewVolume 74, Issue 3 p. 857-858 BOOK REVIEW Henderson, John, Florence under siege: surviving plague in an early modern city ( New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019. Pp. vii+363. 39 plates. 4 maps. 9 figs. 4 tabs. ISBN 9780300196344 Hbk. £30.00) Patrick Wallis, London School of Economics & Political ScienceSearch for more papers by this author Patrick Wallis, London School of Economics & Political ScienceSearch for more papers by this author First published: 07 July 2021 https://doi.org/10.1111/ehr.13097Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onEmailFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume74, Issue3August 2021Pages 857-858 RelatedInformation