Labour Market and Social Legislation in Walras' Thought

Throughout his career, Leon Walras has been deeply worried about the questions of labour market, social conflict and social legislation, throughout his career. He engaged in controversies with the economists and the socialists of his time and his opinions about these questions changed notably through time. This paper examines the Walrasian viewpoint on the functioning of the labour market, on the role of the state for better organizing it and his ideas relating to the labour legislation and social insurance.