Judy Stephenson
British economic historian at University College London (Bartlett School of Sustainable Construction; previously at LSE). Her 2018 Economic History Review paper “‘Looking for Work?’ Or ‘Looking for Workers?’” is the most consequential recent challenge to Robert Allen’s high-wage thesis. Stephenson conducted detailed archival reconstruction of the wage records on which Allen’s London real-wage series is based — primarily Greenwich Hospital and other large institutional building accounts — and showed that the figures recorded there were fees paid to labour contractors rather than earnings of individual labourers, overstating actual worker pay by 20–30%. Her broader research program covers pre-industrial construction labour, wages and earnings methodology, and the institutional history of the construction sector.
Associated positions
Section titled “Associated positions”- High wages & induced innovation — principal recent critic.
Key works
Section titled “Key works”- “‘Looking for Work?’ Or ‘Looking for Workers?’ Days and Hours of Work in London Construction in the Eighteenth Century” (Economic History Review, 2018).
- Contracts and Pay: Work in London Construction 1660–1785 (2020).
- Numerous papers and blog posts on wage methodology and construction-history sources.