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Is Time Spent, Passed Or Counted? The Missing Link Between Time And Accounting History, Paolo Quattrone

Accounting Historians Journal

This paper takes its inspiration from Voth's [2000] work on Time and Work in England, 1750-1830 which argues that the British industrial revolution led to greater production levels not because of an increase in the productivity of labor but because of the larger amount of hours worked per week. This change led to a decrease of free time in favor of worked time. If this was the case, one might argue, accounting played a marginal role either in increasing the efficiency of the work force, or in disciplining the shop floor to guarantee control of the labor process. This paper …