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labor market

created by Noung

(thing) by Noung (3.4 d) (print)   ?   (I like it!) Fri Nov 02 2001 at 13:06:20

Just like any other market, but a bit more interesting because it involves volatile human beings.

Just like any other market. What does that mean? That means it basically obeys the rules of supply and demand. If a lot of people are providing ("selling") a particular skill, then people won't buy (employ) at such a high price. Unskilled or semi-skilled labour is an example of this - there are plenty of people who can sit in a factory and pack things into boxes, which is why you're not likely to get much above the minimum wage for it.

On the other hand, highly-skilled positions (lawyer, doctor, programmer) get paid a lot because they're hard to find, or provide very specialised skills.

The demand for this labour ultimately comes from the customer - s/he demands a product, so a company demands labour to make the product or provide the service.


(thing) by Loinen (1.3 y) (print)   ?   (I like it!) Sun Dec 02 2001 at 9:24:14

A marxist interpretation says that labour market is not like any other market because the supply and the demand have significant difference here: A worker sells her labour but gets paid only for her "humanity". Marxists argue that
value of labour > value of reproducing human
and this is where surplus value is derived from. Therefore exploitative capitalists don't pay for the full value of workers' labour.

It should be clear that as Noung writes not all people possess the skills needed and therefore validity of marxist theory is diminished. But I would say that it still has some relevance on the spheres of production in which hardly any special skills nor education is needed.


printable version
chaos

supply and demand Kanaka Women and the industrial revolution life-cycle poverty
structural change Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 Marxist Globalized Korean women
Why equal distribution of income is good The value of a body employ customer
programmer labor supply work factors of production
economics market labour Theory of surplus value
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