About Suffering and Law in the Labour Market

58 Pages Posted: 11 Feb 2021

See all articles by Uri Weiss

Uri Weiss

Polonsky Academy, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute

Date Written: 2020

Abstract

In this article, I begin with the question, what should be the agenda of political economy and of law and economics? I argue that the agenda should include humanistic economic questions, such as how to protect weak workers and how to minimize suffering. Humanistic economics is especially important when we discuss legal questions. Then, I discuss this article’s central question: How should power gaps be handled in the labour market? I examine the various answers to this question and discuss the fundamental controversies in political economy. In particular, I examine the solution of a free market vis-à-vis the social-democratic solutions of labour legislation—especially the minimum wage law, encouragement of organized labour, and transfer of wealth through tax laws.

Keywords: Law and Economics, Game Theory, Labour Law, Distributive Justice, Taxation, Adam Smith, Marx

Suggested Citation

Weiss, Uri, About Suffering and Law in the Labour Market (2020). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3771090 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3771090

Uri Weiss (Contact Author)

Polonsky Academy, Van Leer Jerusalem Institute ( email )

Feldman Building
Givat-Ram
Jerusalem, 91904
Israel

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