The Role of Overtime Working in the Recent Wage Inflation Process

Citation

Hart RA (1973) The Role of Overtime Working in the Recent Wage Inflation Process. Bulletin of Economic Research, 25 (1), pp. 73-86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8586.1973.tb00068.x

Abstract
The present dilemma facing economists concerning high levels of both wage inflation and unemployment in recent years has been approached, principally, by adapting conventional theory to a new set of circumstances. The dilemma exists primarily for those who view the present inflation as demand orientated, low aggregate demand being incompatible with high rates of increase in money wage rates or earnings. To those who believe that the inflation is cost rather than demand orientated, the dilemma is not so real. Presumably, strong pushfulness among trades unions in highly unionized industries might persist despite low demand conditions in the economy generally. One writer has gone as far as to suggest that union pushfulness may have been accentuated as a compensation for the creation of additional unemployment. The most obvious way employers can change their degree of use of existing labour in the short-run is through changes in overtime hours. It is the object of this paper to examine the meaning and the significance of changes in overtime hours when they are included in the analysis of wage inflation.

Journal
Bulletin of Economic Research: Volume 25, Issue 1