Михаил Попов - Working Day Reduction as the Ground of Modern Economic Development

In the modern economy there is a factor of increasing in labour expenditures in the production sphere, immediately not connected to increasing in social welfare: it is production of armaments, maintenance of military personnel. Of course, the amount of such expenditures essentially differs depending on whether we speak about an aggressive policy, interference in internal affairs of other countries or such expenditures are caused by care for defensive capacity facing danger of external aggression.

The USA have the highest expenses on armed forces in the world: about $600 bn a year. An approximate assessment of the general value of working time in production for these purposes can be given. In the USA the output volume of manufacturing industries is about $1800 bn. If a half of the total sum of military costs is spent on purchase of armaments – $300 bn – then corresponding output makes 16.7% of production of manufacturing industries. This is an approximate part of working time spent on armament production in the general working time fund in manufacturing industries.

It is obvious that military costs of the USA are a factor inducing other countries to spend on armaments. Total financial costs on armaments of other countries are lower than the USA’s costs for these purposes. At the same time, owing to supremacy of the USA in labour productivity, general labour expenditures on military production lag possibly behind American costs, at least less significantly than financial costs in other countries.

If the economy of the USA did not have a militarist component, then the sixth part of the general working time fund in the country’s manufacturing industry would be saved without any harm for social welfare. Similar saving would take place in other countries too, though in less significant scales. All of it would lead to reduction of working time in the production sphere per one able-bodied member of the society and, accordingly, assist in formation of prerequisites for free development of everyone.

Expenditures of Labour in the Production Sphere, Taking into Account Expenditures of Labour in Housekeeping

The described above dynamics of labour expenditures characterize time of paid labour in production. Meanwhile, in the society there is a sector of material benefits production that does not suppose payment of labour: we are speaking about housekeeping. To make an adequate notion about volumes of time in productive activities at the social scale it is necessary to take into consideration expenditures of domestic labour too.

According to its content domestic labour duplicates paid labour, to some extent. Cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, etc., can be referred to identical kinds of working activities. At the same time, the role of production of means of production is less significant in domestic labour: most of tools – kitchen-ranges, electric appliances, garden tools, etc. – are produced in the production sphere oriented at satisfaction of social needs.

It follows that opportunities for saving of domestic labour are determined by progress of social production. For example, building of the water-supply system let release members of the society from labour in transportation of water. Utilization of electric and gas stoves sharply reduced time for cooking, and growing production of semi-finished products assisted in it too. In modern apartments labour time for their heating came to naught. Perhaps, one would not find any kind of activities in housekeeping which would not experience a positive influence of scientific and technological progress having caused decreasing in working time expenditures per a unit of a positive effect.

Certainly, with respect to the sphere of domestic labour the determinative part belongs to social production because the latter supplies the first with the main mass of means of production and ensures technical progress in it.

However, this ratio does not predetermine superiority of the total volume of labour time in social production. Corresponding calculations are required to fix the quantitative ratio between these two sectors of production.

Necessary data for such calculations are anyway present in modern statistics.

General expenditures of labour in the economy and total wastes of labour in the services sphere are given in statistics of the OECD. Then, by means of subtraction the second index from the first value total expenditures of labour in social production can be determined.

Statistics of labour expenditures in housekeeping are reflected in time budgets made, for example, in the USA. Though these budgets characterize individuals’ activities, but if we know the total population, we can get the corresponding total value.

Of course, the quality of statistics for the examined kinds of production is not equal. In respect of social production macroeconomic data are present. Such indices are annually determined according to the comparable method for several of countries.

As for time budgets, they are made in respect of individuals what conditions the problem of aggregated data. This kind of statistics has not that detailed and universal modification as calculation of time of paid labour what complicates international comparisons in this sphere.

In these conditions to determine the total value of labour time in housekeeping we have to use extrapolation, spreading of conditions typical for one country to other countries close to it in economic development and so on.

So, in the source used for our calculations indices of labour expenditures in housekeeping for inhabitants of several European countries, aged 20-74, are present [34]. Meanwhile, both younger and older members of the society participate in domestic labour. In statistics of the USA the similar index is determined for inhabitants aged 15 and older. In our research we admit that data for members of the society, included into the age groups, are spread to all persons aging over 15, at the same time, a part of population of this age group peculiar to each country is taken into account. It is supposed that this part, both in 1993 and 2007, coincides with the part as of the 1 stof January 2016. Total domestic labour expenditures in the examined countries are determined this way.

Canada’s time budgets are considered to be identical to the similar data in statistics of the USA.

We believe that using such methods that make the results approximate does not cancel theoretical significance of the latter.

Using this approach, first of all, it is appropriate to compare volumes of labour expenditures in social production to domestic labour.

Table 7

The Ratio of Expenditures of Domestic Labour, Labour in Social Production and General Expenditures of Paid Labour in Several Countries in 2007

It follows from the data above that expenditures of labour in “domestic” production, as a rule, many times surpass the working time fund of people occupied in the production sphere and exceed 50% of general labour expenditures of all people occupied in the economy. Certainly, it would be unjustifiably to ignore this sphere of economic activities.

What is this significant volume of domestic labour expenditures conditioned with in the modern economy? First of all, it is conditioned with the fact that the part of population fulfilling such labour is higher than the part of economically active population. Along with able-bodied members of the society both the rising generation and retired people participate in domestic labour. At the same time, people’s participation in domestic labour is quite stable and does not change radically what is characteristic for employment in the production sphere.