Marshall’s economics of work: a reassessment

This article reassesses some key aspects of Alfred Marshall’s economics of work, showing their value, limitations and enduring relevance for modern economic enquiry. It establishes that, for Marshall, work mattered not just because of the income it gave to workers, but also because of the kind of lives that it enabled workers to lead. Based on a wide conception of work, Marshall supported the reform of work, including the reduction of working hours, in order to improve workers’ quality of life. The article argues that some of Marshall’s core ideas on work and work reform can offer help in rethinking how modern economics conceptualises work and how it approaches issues of progress in workers’ well-being.