Labor Economics

Automatic Checkoff
In labor economics, automatic checkoff refers to the authorization for the employer to deduct union dues and other assessments from an employee's salary automatically and remit them to the labor union; also called compulsory checkoff.
Backward-Bending Supply Curve
A graphical representation illustrating how increases in wages can lead to a decrease in the amount of labor offered in the market, as individuals begin to substitute leisure for work.
Featherbedding
Featherbedding refers to work rules that require payment to employees for work that is not actually performed or that is unnecessary.
Halsey Premium Plan
An innovative wage incentive system created by Frederick A. Halsey, designed to enhance worker productivity and address the shortcomings of the piece-rate system.
Hard-Core Unemployed
The hard-core unemployed are individuals who either have never had a full-time job or have been unable to find work over an extended period of time. These individuals are typically disadvantaged due to a lack of education and job skills.
Iron Law of Wages
The Iron Law of Wages is an economic theory proposed by English economist David Ricardo, which suggests that real wages tend to gravitate towards the minimum wages necessary for the subsistence of workers.
Labor Theory of Value
An economic theory proposing that the true value of a good is determined by the amount of labor required to produce it, often associated with Marxist economics. It generally disregards any positive contribution of capital to the production process.
Lump of Labor Hypothesis
The Lump of Labor Hypothesis is an economic assertion that suggests a zero-sum game scenario where there is a fixed amount of work available within an economy, implying that any increase in productivity or technological advancement will directly reduce the number of available jobs. This hypothesis is widely considered to be fallacious by most economists.
Make-Work
The term 'make-work' refers to the uneconomic utilization of the workforce, where jobs are created not for their value or necessity but to provide employment opportunities.
Nominal Wage
Nominal wage refers to the amount of money earned by workers in current dollar terms, without adjusting for inflation or changes in purchasing power.
Subsistence Theory of Wages
An economic proposition asserting that wages cannot fall below the subsistence level for an extended period as such a level cannot sustain the labor force.
Two-Tier Wage Plans
Two-Tier Wage Plans involve union wage concessions that allow new employees to be paid a lower rate than veteran employees, aiming to enable companies to compete more effectively.
Unit-Labor Cost
An essential measure in economics and business that calculates the cost of labor required to produce one unit of a good or service.
Wage Floor
A wage floor, or minimum wage, is the lowest legal remuneration that employers can pay their workers, established either by law or through an agreed-upon wage bracket in collective bargaining agreements.
Wage Stabilization
Wage Stabilization refers to the act of maintaining wages at a certain level, preventing fluctuations, typically implemented as policy measures to curb inflationary pressure. These policies aim to control rapid changes in wage levels to maintain economic stability.

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