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Oxford Economic Papers Advance Access originally published online on December 17, 2004
Oxford Economic Papers 2005 57(1):169-189; doi:10.1093/oep/gpi011
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Right arrow E24 - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution
Right arrow J24 - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
Right arrow N34 - Europe: 1913-
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© Oxford University Press 2004; All rights reserved

General human capital and employment adjustment in the Great Depression: apprentices and journeymen in UK engineering

Robert A. Hart

Department of Economics, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK; e-mail: r.a.hart{at}stir.ac.uk

The relationship between training and firm-level employment adjustment given an unanticipated fall in product demand has been central to human capital theory. The most cataclysmic negative output shock occurred in 1929-30. At this time, easily the most important source of United Kingdom general training was the apprenticeship system. Using data collected by the Engineering Employers’ Federation (EEF), this paper examines the impact of the Great Depression on numbers of apprentices and skilled journeymen. Statistics cover eight skilled engineering occupations in 27 local labour markets over the period 1928–38. Relative employment adjustment responses of apprentices and journeymen accord well with general human capital arguments.

Key Words: JEL classification: E24 • J24 • N34


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