Wage theories: past and present

Abstract

The authors study the essence and evolution of views on such an important economic category as wages, as well as the main modern directions of theories of wages. Salary, which is the price of labor, is considered the most important source income of the population, and its level is determined by the action of certain forces on the labor market, the interaction of demand and supply of labor. When a market economy is a commodity, labor, respectively, acquires properties corresponding to the product, such as, for example, the dependence of its price on correlation of supply and demand for certain professions and specialties, and, as a result, this price may be unstable. The first economist to implement a systematic interpretation of wage theory in the framework of a clear classification of income in a capitalist society, was A. Smith, although various theories were put forward before him in this field, but they had a comprehensive character. To date, there are various views, methods, tools studies in the framework of the theory of employment, presented by various directions and schools, the main ones are: neoclassical school, Keynesian school, monetary school, institutional and sociological school, the concept of a flexible market. The competitiveness of national economies in the global market is determined by greater part of the ability to innovate and perceive the latest technological achievements based on human, intellectual, social capital, that is, quality labor force and employee motivation. Raising wages and the quality of education, modernization based on new technologies, etc. considered as the main factors in the growth of productivity of human capital.