wage
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(wāj) 
n.
To engage in (a war or campaign, for example).
n.
- Payment for labor or services to a worker, especially remuneration on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis or by the piece.
- wages Economics. The portion of the national product that represents the aggregate paid for all contributing labor and services as distinguished from the portion retained by management or reinvested in capital goods.
- A fitting return; a recompense. Often used in the plural with a singular or plural verb: the wages of sin.
To engage in (a war or campaign, for example).
[Middle English, from Old North French, of Germanic origin.]
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wage
Fowler's Modern English Usage:
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wage, wages
Wages is normally used in the plural (Their wages are still too low); an older singular construction survives only in the biblical line For the wages of sinne is death (Romans 6:23). But wage is also used (What sort of wage are you paid?), and is the obligatory form in certain fixed expressions (wage-earner, minimum wage).
| wadi, Whit, Welsh rabbit | |
| wagon, waggon, wainscot, waitress, waitperson |
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Actual remuneration paid to an employee for services rendered.
Minimum wages are established by the federal fair labor standards act .
Minimum wages are established by the federal fair labor standards act .
| WPM, W-9 Form, W-4 Form Employees Withholding Allowance Certificate | |
| Wage Assignment, Wage Bracket, Wage Ceiling |
Roget's Thesaurus:
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wage
noun
- Payment for work done: compensation, earnings, emolument, fee, hire, pay, remuneration, salary, stipend. See pay/owe.
- Something justly deserved. comeuppance, desert2 (often used in plural), due, guerdon, recompense, reward. Informal lump1 (used in plural). Idioms: what is coming to one, what one has coming. See reward/punish/deserve.
verb
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wages, payment received by an employee in exchange for labor. It may be in goods or services but is customarily in money. The term in a broad sense refers to what is received in any way for labor, but wages usually refer to payments to workers who are paid by the hour, in contrast to a salary, which implies a more fixed and permanent form of income (e.g., payment by the month rather than by the hour). In economic theory, wages reckoned in money are called nominal wages, as distinguished from real wages, i.e., the amount of goods and services that the money will buy. Real wages depend on the price level, as well as on the nominal or money wages.
In the United States, wages increased fivefold between 1860 and 1960. Adjusted for inflation and expressed in 1982 dollars, the typical weekly wage of a U.S. worker increased from $262 in 1960 to $298 in 1970, but increased foreign competition and slower U.S. economic growth forced weekly wages down to $274 in 1980 and $255 in 1991. In the 1990s, U.S. wages grew very slowly, to $270 in 1998, despite record economic growth. In the United States and elsewhere, a "gender gap" often exists, in which women are paid less than men for comparable positions.
See also minimum wage.
Economic Theories about Wages
Many theories have been advanced to explain the nature of wages. The first of them was the subsistence theory of wages, also called the "iron law of wages," of which David Ricardo was one of the main exponents. The theory maintains that wages cluster around the bare subsistence level of workers. A wage rate much above the subsistence level causes an increase in the number of workers; competition will then lead to a depression of wages back toward the cost of subsistence. Wages that are below subsistence reduce the size of the working population; in that case competition will raise wages, but only up to the subsistence level again.
In the surplus-value theory as propounded by Karl Marx, the value produced by the worker in excess of what is paid in wages is called surplus value. The surplus value, exacted from the worker, constitutes the capitalist's profit. The wage-fund theory is that wages are advanced out of a fixed fund of capital, from which an excess withdrawal, either through legislation or through union pressure, will ultimately reduce the amount available for other workers. Any increase in wages would also have to be taken out of profits, and their reduction would cause a decline in savings, which provide the capital from which the wage fund is derived.
The marginal-productivity theory maintains that employers will only pay a wage that is, at most, equal to the amount of extra value added to the total product by one additional worker. The bargaining theory modifies the marginal-productivity theory by taking into consideration other factors (e.g., laws and social and political changes) that might affect the determination of wage levels and by acknowledging that certain basic assumptions (equal bargaining power of employer and employee, free competition between the two, and mobility of labor) that characterize the marginal-productivity theory do not hold in our present economic system.
Bibliography
See A. Rees and D. P. Jacobs, Real Wages in Manufacturing, 1890-1914 (1961); E. H. P. Brown, A Century of Pay (1968); J. W. Wright, The American Almanac of Jobs and Salaries (serial).
The history of wages in early modern Europe is a study of contrasts. To begin with, most people toiled on family farms or in family enterprises. Hence wages were a dominant part of income for only a small fraction of the population. Nevertheless, hiring workers for wages and working for someone else part of the time were extremely common. The tension between these two facts has informed the two key debates about wages in the early modern period. The first debate, accepting the ubiquity of paid labor, uses wages to infer standards of living and thus examine Malthusian cycles. The second debate involves both the extent of wage labor and the institutions that made it respond or not respond to the laws of supply and demand.
In 1798, the British social theorist Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) argued that in agrarian economies (agriculture absorbed two-thirds of all workers in nearly all European regions prior to 1800) incomes depended on the ratio of land to population. More land allowed higher output per person; more people drove down the output per person. Because land rents increase when land is scarce, wages are even more sensitive to scarcity than output per person. This narrative has been adopted, with slight variation, by many different scholars who believe that these iron laws held firm for millennia. For some, these shackles were eventually broken by the increased use of coal, for others by access to the agricultural output of the New World, or even by technical change broadly defined and dated to sometime in the mid-eighteenth century. From the time of the Black Death (mid-fourteenth century) to the 1750s, wage series did follow a broad Malthusian pattern. In England, for instance, wages started from a low in the mid-1300s, rose for nearly a century and a half in response to the epidemic's massive mortality rate, then fell for an equally long time, bottoming out in the seventeenth century. The rise of wages in the eighteenth century was not pronounced, but wage stability in the face of massive population growth was nonetheless an important achievement. Bits and pieces of this story can be seen in all European countries, though each in its fashion raises questions about the standard Malthusian model.
In recent years, Malthus has been under strong challenge. First, as Van Zanden states, wages are not income. At the individual level, nonwage compensation—from common rights, or home manufacture, for instance—was an important element of most families' income in the early modern period. At the national level, earnings from land, capital, skills, and entrepreneurship were of considerable value, even though their distribution was quite different from that of wages. As the recent historical record suggests, economies can experience massive growth without witnessing much real wage increase for the unskilled. In the past as in the present, one should investigate wages with some concern for inequality.
Second, and more problematic, is the evidence that comes from examining regional patterns in wages. Regional variation in wages at any point in time is of the same order of magnitude as the two-century variation in wages of a local Malthusian cycle. If we compare high wage regions to low wage regions Malthus's theory fails again. In fact, high population areas did not have low wages. On the contrary, economically leading areas were most often very densely populated relative to the European hinterland. Northern Italy, the Low Countries, and England all were or became densely populated in their period of economic leadership; and they were all also high wage economies. Economic historians now argue that Malthus's emphasis on endowments and demography explained in part the evolution of economies and wages. Political institutions and economic institutions have at least as much importance.
The second debate arrays two sides. On one side scholars argue that families in the early modern era preferred self-sufficiency to the uncertainty or unfairness of market interaction. Therefore they avoided labor markets. These scholars also argue that, unlike in modern society, workers and their employers were enmeshed in a web of social relations that only capitalism would break. In this view, labor exchange was relational rather than market-driven. In such a situation, one would prefer to employ an acquaintance at a higher wage rather than hire an outsider for less. In contrast, the argument continues, modern factory workers have no social relations either with management or with the distant shareholders of the corporation they work for; hence wages are free to reflect the iron law of supply and demand.
That view has come under repeated challenge. In part, this is because the arguments that seek to differentiate early modern from modern labor markets have been made on unsound quantitative evidence and are based on a very naive view of how labor markets operate. When scholars take into account that labor markets are always imperfect, differences between those of the preindustrial and contemporary eras cease to be differences in kind.
The market-avoidance argument fails for empirical reasons: only a small fraction of farms and enterprises were the right size to have an exact balance between their labor demand and their family labor supply. Imbalances arose for different reasons, including seasonal peaks in labor demand at harvest, the demographic cycle in crafts, and the difficulty of adjusting farm size to family size. Therefore many, probably most, families either bought or sold days of labor, earning or paying wages. These wages did reflect supply and demand, rising in summer as demand for labor increased, and falling when population growth was rapid and during bad harvests, when the amount of work was reduced, and so on.
There were some important exceptions. For instance, in eastern Europe the strengthening of serfdom stymied labor markets. But there were other areas, like the Low Countries, where wage labor was quite prevalent by the end of the Middle Ages. Overall, the extent of wage labor seems to have paralleled the extent of markets in general: where trade and commerce were more active, one could observe more active labor markets.
Bibliography
Allen R. C. "The Great Divergence in European Wages and Prices from the Middle Ages to the First World War." Explorations in Economic History 38, no. 4 (October 2001): 411–448.
Brown, Henry Phelps, and Sheila V. Hopkins. A Perspective of Wage and Prices. London, 1981.
Campbell, B. "Agricultural Progress in Medieval England: Some Evidence from Eastern Norfolk." Economic History Review 36, no. 1 (February 1983): 26–46.
de Vries, J., and A. van der Woode. The First Modern Economy: Success, Failure and Perseverance of the Dutch Economy 1500–1815. Cambridge, U.K., 1997.
Epstein, S. "Craft Guilds, Apprenticeship, and Technological Change in Preindustrial Europe." Journal of Economic History 58, no. 3 (September 1998): 684–713.
Grantham, G. "Contra Ricardo: On the Macroeconomics of Pre-Industrial Economies." European Review of Economic History 3, no. 2 (August 1999): 199–232.
Hoffman, P. T. Growth in a Traditional Society. Princeton, 1998.
Hoffman, P. T., D. Jacks, and P. Lindert. "Real Inequality in Europe Since 1500." Journal of Economic History 62, no. 2 (June 2002): 322–355.
Jones, E. L. The European Miracle: Environments, Economies, and Geopolitics in the History of Europe and Asia. 2nd ed. Cambridge, U.K., 1987.
Malthus, T. R. An Essay on the Principle of Population. 1798.
Mokyr, J. The Lever of Riches: Technological Creativity and Economic Progress. New York, 1990.
North, D. C. Structure and Change in Economic History. New York, 1981.
Ozmucur, S., and S. Pamuck. "Real Wages and Standards of Living in the Ottoman Empire 1489–1914." Journal of Economic History 62, no. 2 (June 2002): 293–321.
Reddy, W. M. The Rise of Market Culture: The Textile Trade and French Society, 1750–1900. Cambridge, U.K., 1984.
Van Zanden, J. L. "Rich and Poor before the Industrial Revolution: A Comparison between Java and the Netherlands at the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century." Explorations in Economic History 40, no. 1 (January 2001): 1–23.
Wrigley, E. A. Continuity, Chance and Change: The Character of the Industrial Revolution in England. Cambridge, U.K., 1988.
Wrigley, E. A., and R. S. Schofield. The Population History of England 1541–1871: A Reconstruction. Cambridge, Mass., 1981.
—JEAN-LAURENT ROSENTHAL
Payment for services to a worker, usually remuneration on an hourly, daily, or weekly basis.
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n
The compensation to an employee, agreed on by the employee and employer, for work completed by the employee.
Random House Word Menu:
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categories related to 'wage'
- Labor - wage: payment for labor on hourly or piecework basis
See crossword solutions for the clue
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For other uses, see WAGE (disambiguation).
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009) |
A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor.
Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees. Compensation is a monetary benefit given to employees in return for the services provided by them.
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Contents
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Determinants of wage rates
Depending on the structure and traditions of different economies around the world, wage rates are either the product of market forces (supply and demand), as is common in the United States, or wage rates may be influenced by other factors such as tradition, social structure and seniority, as in Japan.[1]
Wages in the United States
In the United States, wages for most workers are set by market forces, or else by collective bargaining, where a labor union negotiates on the workers' behalf. The Fair Labor Standards Act establishes a minimum wage at the federal level that all states must abide by, among other provisions. Fourteen states and a number of cities have set their own minimum wage rates that are higher than the federal level. For certain federal or state government contacts, employers must pay the so-called prevailing wage as determined according to the Davis-Bacon Act or its state equivalent. Activists have undertaken to promote the idea of a living wage rate which account for living expenses and other basic necessities, setting the living wage rate much higher than current minimum wage laws require.
See also
- Compensation of employees
- Employee benefit (non-monetary compensation in exchange for labor)
- Employment
- Labour in Economics
- List of Average Wages per Country
- Performance-related pay
- Wage labour
- Wage share
- Real wage
- Minimum wage
- List of sovereign states in Europe by net average wage
Political science:
References
External links
 |
Look up wage in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Wealth of Nations - click Chapter 8
- Understanding Capitalism Part III: Wages and Labor Markets - Critical of capitalism
- U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wage Laws - Different laws by State
- Average U.S. farm and non-farm wage
- LaborFair Resources - Link to Fair Labor Practices
- The Truth Behind Wages in Mining - Link to An Article Abouth How Wages are measured and Current Standards for Mining Professionals
- Database Central Europe - Data on average wages in Central Europe and in Emerging Markets
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Translations:
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Wage
Dansk (Danish)
n. - løn, betaling, vederlag, føre (krig)
v. tr. - kæmpe, vove, sætte på spil
idioms:
- wage administration lønkontor, lønadministration
- wage cut lønnedgang
- wage earner lønmodtager, lønarbejder
- wage packet lønningspose
- wage scale løntrin
- wage slave lønslave
- wage war føre krig
Nederlands (Dutch)
loon, (oorlog/campagne) voeren, wagen
Français (French)
n. - salaire, paie (npl), (Écon) coût salarial, prix (du péché), gage, garantie
v. tr. - mener une campagne (contre), (fig) faire la guerre contre, (GB, dial) louer, parier, gager
idioms:
- wage administration gestion des salaires
- wage cut réduction de salaire
- wage earner salarié, soutien de famille
- wage packet enveloppe de paie, paie, salaire
- wage scale échelle de salaire
- wage slave personne avec un emploi généralement subalterne et son salaire, comme seul moyen de subsistance
- wage war faire la guerre, mener une campagne contre
Deutsch (German)
n. - Lohn
v. - führen
idioms:
- wage administration Lohnbuchhaltung
- wage cut Lohnkürzung
- wage earner Lohnempfänger
- wage packet Lohntüte
- wage scale Tarif, Lohnskala
- wage slave Lohnsklave
- wage war Krieg führen
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ημερομίσθιο, μεροκάματο, μισθός, ανταμοιβή
v. - διενεργώ, κάνω (πόλεμο)
idioms:
- wage administration διεύθυνση καθορισμού μισθών
- wage cut περικοπή μισθού
- wage earner μισθωτός, ημερομίσθιος
- wage packet φάκελος μισθοδοσίας
- wage scale (οικον.) κλίμακα αποδοχών, μισθολόγιο
- wage slave βιοπαλαιστής, μεροκαματιάρης
- wage war διεξάγω πόλεμο
Italiano (Italian)
salario, paga, intraprendere, ingaggiare
idioms:
- wage cut taglio del salario
- wage earner salariato
- wage packet accordo salariale
- wage scale tabella salariale
- wage slave salariato da miseria
- wage war muover guerra
Português (Portuguese)
n. - salário (m)
v. - empreender
idioms:
- wage cut corte de salário (m)
- wage earner assalariado (m)
- wage packet envelope de pagamento (m)
- wage scale escala de salários (f)
- wage slave trabalhador assalariado (m)
- wage war guerra salarial (f)
Русский (Russian)
заработная плата, расплата, осуществлять
idioms:
- wage cut снижение заработной платы
- wage earner наемный работник, кормилец
- wage packet заработная плата
- wage scale шкала заработной платы, расценки
- wage slave человек, вынужденный тяжело работать за невысокую зарплату
- wage war вести войну
Español (Spanish)
n. - salario, sueldo, paga, haber, jornal
v. tr. - emprender, empeñar, librar (combate, etc.), contratar, ajornalar, apostar, arriesgar
idioms:
- wage administration contabilidad de pago, contabilidad salarial
- wage cut reducción de salarios
- wage earner asalariado, obrero, trabajador.
- wage packet sobre de paga
- wage scale escala de salarios, escala de haberes
- wage slave esclavo del trabajo, asalariado con pésimas condiciones de trabajo
- wage war hacer la guerra
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - lön
v. - föra (krig)
中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
薪水, 代价, 报偿, 工资, 开展, 进行
idioms:
- wage administration 工资管理
- wage cut 工资减少
- wage earner 靠工资为生的人
- wage packet 工资袋
- wage scale 工资等级表
- wage slave 工资奴隶, 雇佣劳动者
- wage war 对...开战, 战斗
中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 薪水, 代價, 報償, 工資
v. tr. - 開展, 進行
idioms:
- wage administration 工資管理
- wage cut 工資減少
- wage earner 靠工資為生的人
- wage packet 工資袋
- wage scale 工資等級表
- wage slave 工資奴隸, 雇傭勞動者
- wage war 對...開戰, 戰鬥
한국어 (Korean)
n. - 임금, 급료 , (죄의) 응보
v. tr. - (전쟁 따위를) 수행하다, 고용하다, (도박 따위에) 걸다
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 賃金, 給料, 報い
v. - 行う
idioms:
- wage administration 給与管理
- wage cut 賃金カット
- wage earner 賃金労働者
- wage packet 給料袋, 給料
- wage scale 賃金スケール
- wage slave 賃金の奴隷
- wage war 戦う
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) أجر (فعل) يشن حربا, يستأجر عاملا, ينشب شغب, يراهن
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - שכר, משכורת, גמול
v. tr. - ערך, ניהל
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