In economics a wage is the return to labor. This compensation/return may be in the form of goods produced by the laborer or "in kind" or in money when the laborer is employed in an enterprise with others. But in any case the compensation/return is still called a wage or wages. For instance, a man existing in a world without others will acquire his wages directly from his labor on land that is free. Without consideration for tools and weapons and the like, the food he hunts and gathers are his wages. A self employed person in the lawn care business will realize income in the form of wages for his labor and interest for his investment in the lawn mower and other capital goods.

In finance a wage is the amount of money paid for some specified quantity of labour. When expressed with respect to time (usually per hour), it is typically called the wage rate, and is specified in pre-tax amounts. It is often the main monetary item upon which a worker and an employer focus when negotiating an employment contract.

In the financial sense early forms of wages included salt (from which the word salary is derived). In modern English, the word salary tends to be used when referring to employment in which the employee is not paid by the hour.

Depending on the structure and traditions of different economies around the world, wage rates are either primarily market-driven (the USA) or influenced by other factors such as tradition, social structure and seniority, as in Japan.

Several countries have enacted a statutory minimum wage rate in an attempt to prevent the exploitation of low-paid workers.

Etymology

Wage derives from words suggesting making a promise, often in monetary form. Specifically from the Old French word wagier or gagier meaning to pledge or promise, from which the money placed in a bet (wager) also derives. These in turn may derive from the French gage to wager, the Gothic wadi, or the Late Latin wadium, also meaning "a pledge".

Wages in the United States

In the United States, wages for most workers are set by market forces, or else by collective bargaining, where a labor union negotiates on workers' behalf. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires a minimum wage at the Federal level although states and cities can and sometimes do set their own higher minimum. For certain Federal or State Government contacts, employers must pay the so-called prevailing wage as determined according to the Davis-Bacon Act or its State equivalent. Activists have also undertaken to promote the idea of a living wage higher than current laws require.

See also

• Labour (economics)
• Employment
• Wage slavery
• Living wage
• Working class
• Davis-Bacon Act
• Salary
• Labour power
• Compensation of employees
• Wage labour
• Wage share

External links

• Wealth of Nations - click Chapter 8
• WorklifeWizard, American Wage Checker
• Understanding Capitalism Part III: Wages and Labor Markets - Critical of capitalism
• U.S. Department of Labor: Minimum Wage Laws - Different laws by State
• Average U.S. farm and non-farm wage
• Employment and Wage Reports

Employment compensation

Løn (arbejde) | Lohn | Salario | Lønn (økonomi) | Remuneraţie | Wage