From orphan to artisan: apprenticeship careers and contract enforcement in The Netherlands before and after the guild abolition
利用荷兰莱顿和乌得勒支400多名孤儿学徒的新数据，研究行会存续期间及废除后学徒制的运作，发现学徒工资逐步增长使师傅无需强制执行合同，且行会废除后孤儿学徒数量增加，表明行会此前限制了培训机会。
Employing novel data on over 400 apprenticed orphaned boys from the Dutch cities of Leiden and Utrecht, this article explores the functioning of apprenticeship during and after the guilds. Although the mobility of apprentices was high and contracts were uncertain, no complaints arose from masters or guilds. Wages paid to these apprentices demonstrate that their labour made a gradually increasing contribution to the workshop from the start of their term. This enticed masters to take on apprentices and removed the need for contract enforcement. After the guilds were abolished, the number of apprenticed orphans in the crafts grew, suggesting that guilds previously hampered access to training. Additional data collected for regular (non‐orphan) apprentices corroborates these findings.