Equation 4 · What the Machine Breakers Actually Wanted
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Read the formula alongside the article passage below. Each part has a deeper page with its role in the equation, the supporting passage and nearby citations.
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Symbol s_L
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subscript
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What the article says around this equation
where w is the real wage, Y/L output per worker, and labour’s share of value added. Productivity growth is necessary for durable wage growth but not sufficient for it: the second term can absorb the first for decades. Allen’s contribution is to show that in Britain it did.
Sources cited in the article section
- [7] Pessimism Perpetuated: Real Wages and the Standard of Living in Britain during and after the Industrial Revolution ↗
- [8] Engels' pause: Technical change, capital accumulation, and inequality in the British industrial revolution ↗
- [9] The History of Technological Anxiety and the Future of Economic Growth: Is This Time Different? ↗
These citations give research context. Read each source to check which claims it supports.