wage-fund

The company's wage-fund is used to pay all employees on the first of the month.

Definition

Noun: - wage-fund (also written as wage fund): In classical economics, a fixed amount of capital set aside by an employer or a society to pay wages to workers. It is the total sum of money available for labor compensation in a given period, assumed to be predetermined and limited.

Usage Examples

• (The total money for wages was seen as unchangeable.)
• (The limited wage budget cannot support all labor.)
• (The theory was flawed because it assumed a rigid wage budget.)

Advanced Usage

• "wage-fund doctrine": The economic theory that wages are determined by the ratio of the wage-fund to the number of workers. This doctrine was influential in the 19th century but later rejected.
  • The wage-fund doctrine was used to justify low wages, claiming that raising pay would reduce employment. (The theory argued wages were fixed by the fund.)
• "wage-fund fallacy": The mistaken belief that the total amount of wages is a fixed, predetermined sum.
  • Modern economists dismiss the wage-fund fallacy, emphasizing that wages can grow with production. (The idea of a fixed wage pool is incorrect.)

Variants and Related Words

• Wage (n): payment for labor or services, usually calculated per hour, day, or piece of work.
  • The workers demanded a higher wage. (They wanted more pay per hour.)
• Fund (n): a sum of money set aside for a specific purpose.
  • The company created a fund for employee training. (Money reserved for training.)
• Wage-fund theory (n phrase): the specific economic theory associated with the wage-fund concept.
  • The wage-fund theory was central to classical political economy. (The theory about fixed wage capital.)

Synonyms

• Labor fund: an alternative term for the wage-fund, emphasizing money allocated for labor.
  • The labor fund was insufficient to cover all workers. (The wage budget was inadequate.)
• Wage pool: a more modern term referring to the total money available for wages.
  • The wage pool is divided among employees based on performance. (The total wage budget.)

Related Idioms

• Live on a fixed wage: to survive on a salary that does not increase.
  • Many families live on a fixed wage, struggling with inflation. (They have a stable but limited income.)
• Fund the wage bill: to provide money to pay all employees.
  • The company must fund the wage bill before any other expenses. (Payroll must be covered first.)

Additional Notes

• The term "wage-fund" is primarily historical and theoretical, used in discussions of 19th-century economics. It is rarely used in modern labor economics.