Machine generated contents note: 1.The "Social Question" since the 19th Century -- Introduction -- 1.An evidently asymmetrical power relationship -- 1.1.An asymmetry already acknowledged by Adam Smith -- 1.2.A contemporary manifestation of asymmetry: stress and harassment at work -- 1.3.An asymmetry that lawmakers and jurists have had to acknowledge -- 1.3.1.The contract of engagement of service or the fiction of free will -- 1.3.2.The distinction between dependent and independent labour -- 1.3.3.The nature of the employment contract: a relation of subordination by which an employee "r; exchanges a freedom against a security"r; -- 1.3.4.Labour law: the employer's de facto power within a legal framework -- 2.The recurrence of economic crises during the industrial era -- 2.1.Crises of short duration -- 2.2.Long-term fluctuations -- 3.Working time and wages during a long cycle --

Contents note continued: 3.1.The extension of working time at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution -- 3.2.The irregular division of gains in productivity between income and leisure -- 4.Workers' claims -- 4.1.A dominant theme: higher wages -- 4.2.The "r; special"r; place occupied by the reduction of working time -- 4.3.The goals targeted by the reduction of working time -- 4.4.Opposition from the employers -- 4.5.The criticisms made by economists of the reasoning of the Labour Movement -- 4.6.The will to change society -- 5.Public intervention in the market -- 5.1.The dawn of specific labour laws (before 1914) -- 5.1.1.The limitation of working time -- 5.1.2.From civil equality to the right of coalition -- 5.1.3.The State intervenes at last but with shortcomings -- 5.2.From the State as "r; simple arbiter"r; to the State as "r; orchestrator"r; (after 1914) --

Contents note continued: 5.2.1.From the goal of reducing working time to the establishment of a minimum wage -- 5.2.2.The decisive recognition given to collective bargaining -- 5.2.3.The recognition of the major principles -- 5.2.4.Strong imbrication between legal and contractual procedures -- 5.3.Regulations governing working time today in France -- 5.3.1.Part-time work -- 5.3.2.Overtime -- Conclusion: erroneous and fallacious reasoning? -- 2.The Neoclassical Model of the Labour Market -- Introduction -- 1.The theory of labour supply -- 1.1.The hypothesis of optimal choice -- 1.1.1.The equalisation of the marginal utility and disutility of labour -- 1.1.2.The labour/leisure trade-off model -- 1.2.The individual labour supply curve -- 1.3.The interpretation of the historical evolution of working time -- 1.4.Global labour supply on the market -- 2.The theory of labour demand -- 2.1.Labour demand of a competing company -- 2.1.1.The case where labour is the only variable factor --

Contents note continued: 2.1.2.The case where labour is linked to other variable factors -- 2.2.The global demand for labour on the market -- 3.The equilibrium of the labour market, its modifications and distortions -- 4.The relaxation of the hypotheses underlying the basic neoclassical model -- 4.1.The different hypotheses brought into question -- 4.2.Wage negotiation models -- Conclusion: unconvincing models of the labour market -- 3.The Asymmetry of Bargaining Power -- Introduction -- 1.The consequences of this asymmetry of power on labour supply -- 1.1.Labour supply and its situation of dependence -- 1.2.Individual labour supply when an employer decides to modify its duration -- 1.3.Global salaried labour supply in a situation of dependence -- 1.4.Comparison with other markets characterised by asymmetries of power -- 2.A deeper appreciation of labour demand -- 2.1.Long-run demand for labour by a company -- 2.2.Demand for employees by a company --

Contents note continued: 2.3.Long-run labour demand on the market -- 3.Equilibrium and disequilibrium of the labour market in a situation of asymmetric power -- 3.1.Maximising profits by extending working time -- 3.2.Maximising profits by not channelling gains in productivity into the wage rate -- 3.3.Crises of overproduction/underconsumption (or overinvestment) -- 4.The "r; rigidity"r; of the real wage rate -- Conclusion: a social history that becomes intelligible over short periods -- 4.The Dual Impact of Technical Progress -- Introduction -- 1.The apparent contradiction between short- and long-run consumption functions -- 1.1.The Keynesian hypothesis of the concavity of the short-run consumption function -- 1.2.The linearity of the long-run consumption function -- 1.3.The wrong answers of this contradiction -- 1.3.1.Post-Keynesian reformulations -- 1.3.2.Permanent income and life cycle theories -- 2.The specific role of innovations in consumer goods --

Contents note continued: 2.1.The effect of these innovations on the consumption utility function -- 2.2.The effect of these innovations on the trade-off between consumption and saving -- 2.3.Other determinants of consumption behaviour -- 2.3.1.The variation of the production-consumption of public goods -- 2.3.2.The structure of income distribution in society -- 2.3.3.The value of assets -- 2.3.4.Real interest rates -- 2.3.5.Factors of uncertainty -- 2.3.6.Demographic factors -- 2.3.7.Natural and cultural factors -- 2.3.8.Available free time -- 3.The relative effects of technical progress on growth and the use of factors -- 3.1.Interaction between the behaviours of production and those of consumption -- 3.2.The Implications for the theory of growth -- 3.3.Specific implications for labour -- 4.The irregularity of growth -- 4.1.Juglar cycles -- 4.1.1.The role of innovations -- 4.1.2.The scenario of short-run business cycles -- 4.2.Kondratieff waves or supercycles --

Contents note continued: 5.Comparing the facts -- 5.1.The beginnings of the Industrial Revolution -- 5.2.The Post-War Boom and its demise -- 5.3.Working time and Malthusianism -- 5.4.The pseudo explanations for mass unemployment -- Conclusion: a social history that becomes intelligible over a long period -- 5.The Normative Implications for Labour Policies -- Introduction -- 1.The combat against unemployment -- 1.1.Short-term unemployment -- 1.1.1.Prevention -- 1.1.2.Absorbing existing unemployment -- 1.2.Long-term unemployment -- 1.2.1.Prevention -- 1.2.2.The absorption of existing unemployment -- 2.The effects of neoconservative economic policies confronted by long-term unemployment -- 2.1.Labour is a homogeneous factor: the return of short (or average) run cyclic crises -- 2.2.Labour is a heterogeneous factor: the aggravation of income inequality -- 3.The effects of increasing employment in the public sector -- Conclusion: equal sharing of added value and labour demand --

Contents note continued: 6.Is a Synthesis of Economic Theories Possible? -- 1.The neoclassical approach: the main fault -- 2.The Keynesian approach: an unfinished critique -- 3.The Marxian approach: an unfortunate isolation -- 4.The Schumpeterian approach: belated recognition -- General Conclusion -- Notes -- References -- Economic and social history -- Political and historical economics of economic thinking -- Economics of labour -- Economics of growth.