Soft Coal, Hard Choices - The Economic Welfare of Bituminous Coal Miners, 1890-1930 (Hardcover)

Did miners really owe their souls to the company store? Did they receive lower pay than in other jobs, despite the constant danger they faced? Was the quality of life in mining towns uniformly dismal? Soft Coal, Hard Choices answers these and other questions. The book contradicts many myths using evidence ranging from company records to oral histories to statistics collected by state and federal governments. While most studies of labor in the coal industry focus on union struggles, Fishback discloses the beneficial impact of competition among employers for labor. He further examines the impact of legal environment and the development of institutions like company towns. Careful analysis using economic theory and statistics reveals numerous insights about the welfare of coal miners in the early 1900s. Unions helped miners obtain higher wages, but so did competition among employers. Employers were unable to exploit local and housing monopolies because the miners had the option of moving from town to town. Workers choosing between mining and other jobs faced a hard choice between similar alternatives. High hourly earnings and freedom from close supervision in mining helped compensate miners for accepting more risk of accidents and layoffs. The combination of narrative and analysis in Soft Coal, Hard Choices will interest historians, economists, and the general reader alike.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United States
Release date:	August 1992
First published:	May 1992
Authors:	Price V. Fishback (Associate Professor of Economics)
Dimensions:	243 x 163 x 27mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Hardcover
Pages:	290
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-506725-5
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > Humanities > History > American history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social institutions > Work & labour Books > Business & Economics > Industry & industrial studies > Energy industries & utilities > Coal & solid fuel industries Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > General Books > History > American history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Economic history Books > History > World history > 1750 to 1900 Books > History > World history > From 1900 > General Promotions
LSN:	0-19-506725-8
Barcode:	9780195067255

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