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Cited by 31Housing, Finance, and NeoliberalismEconomic Theory and PolicyPolitical Economy and Marxism

Finance, discipline, and the labour share in the long-run: France (1911–2010) and Sweden (1891–2000)

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Gouzoulis, Giorgos·2021·British Journal of Industrial Relations
DOI 10.1111/bjir.12576
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Abstract

There is an ongoing debate within political economy on how finance affects capital–labour relations. Industrial relation scholars have demonstrated that financialization empowers capital and induces the liberalization of industrial relations. Additionally, meso and macro level studies show that finance reduced the labour share during neoliberalism. However, the literature is relatively limited and does not extend to the pre‐WWII period. Considering finance as historically integral to capitalism, this paper estimates the impact of finance on the labour shares of France (1911–2010) and Sweden (1891–2000). The results show that mortgage debt decreases the labour shares of both countries, thus, the financialization of households induces industrial discipline historically. However, the negative effect is substantially smaller in Sweden where housing finance is state‐led and bargaining coordination is centralized over the last century.

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  • The rise of household financialisation has made indebted working-class households more risk-averse at the workplace due to fear of defaulting on their debt and thus more compliant to accept wage cuts and work under precarious contracts.

    “Finally, the rise of household financialisation has made indebted working-class households more risk-averse at the workplace due to fear of defaulting on their debt and thus more compliant to accept wage cuts and work under precarious contracts”

    From Mapping modern economic rents: the good, the bad, and the grey areas (2023) · cites this paper as Gouzoulis, 2021

    The Household Finance section says debt commitments make workers fear default and avoid risking employment by bargaining more aggressively or joining unions. The France and Sweden results also link household indebtedness to working-class self-discipline. Our copy does not specifically say indebted workers accept wage cuts or precarious contracts. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Authors
Gouzoulis, G.
Affiliations
University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Gouzoulis, Giorgos
ORCID
Gouzoulis, Giorgos
Venue
British Journal of Industrial Relations
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2020-11-04
Volume
59
Issue
2
Pages
568-594
ISSN
  • 0007-1080 (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-8543
DOI
10.1111/bjir.12576
OpenAlex
W3095702316
Cited by
31
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4
FWCI
3.12
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • British Journal of Industrial Relations (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • Queen Mary Research Online (Queen Mary University of London) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Explore Bristol Research (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Bristol Research (University of Bristol) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Finance › Housing, Finance, and Neoliberalism
  • Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › General Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economic Theory and Policy
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Economy and Marxism
Keywords
financialization, labor share, labor-capital relations, mortgage debt, household finance, industrial discipline, housing finance, neoliberalism, France, Sweden, long-run economic history

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