摘要:

In a dispute which has so far lasted nine months, neither side has attempted to advance its cause by reasoned argument. “Negotiations” have made little head way against a starting position of non‐negotiable demands, so that the dispute has settled into a trial of strength. In October's Economic we described the back ground to the dispute; here we attempt to go a stage further by presenting estimates of the number of people who can profitably be employed in the industry. We show that the number is crucially dependent on the price of coal and the costs of producing it. It also depends on which definition of ‘uneconomic pits' is used, and what definition of marginal (avoidable) costs. We recommend using a strict definition of ’uneconomic‘ but a generous interpretation of avoidable cost, and suggest that on this basis the current level of profitable employment in the industry is some 160,000. However, future employment prospects depend on how coal prices move in relation to costs of

ISSN:0140-489X    

DOI:10.1111/j.1468-0319.1984.tb00230.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1984

数据来源: WILEY