Le marché du travail et ses institutions. Le cas des Pays-Bas du XVIe au XXe siècle.

Abstract

Labour's market and its institutions. The case of the Netherlands, XVIth till XXth century. Labour's market and its institutions. The case of the Netherlands, XVIth till XXth century. Netherlands, xvith till xxth century. This article deals with problems of the labour market and its institutions in the Netherlands for the period since the sixteenth century up to the present. In the article the argument is brought forward that the idea of a free market for labour is part of nineteenth century ideology. During most of history labour was not free. The constraints were part of the structure of society or of production like the guild system or slavery, but also in colonial situations coercion outside slavery was normal. Apart from that contract labour could be enforced by legal methods. The discussion on free or unfree labour has been focused on forced labour as part of the poor relief system and the prison system. Both cases show an overlap, but both can be hardly explained by economic factors. Nor the workhouse in the poor relief, nor the prison could produce in such a way that profit was the result.