IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/ozl/journl/v7y2004i4p515-524.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Labour-Savings, Capital-Intensive Production Techniques Reduce Unemployment Rates in Developing Countries? Evidence from Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Ranald J. Taylor

    (Murdoch University)

Abstract

Traditional economic wisdom predicts that unemployment rates will rise in most of the developing countries as a result of following an industrialisation process that utilised a labour-saving production technique. The findings of this paper suggest otherwise. Based on the development experience of Malaysia, unemployment rates were found to decline significantly when Malaysia switched from a labour intensive production technique to one that is capital intensive. The Malaysian experience suggests that initiatives put in place to encourage capital investment may lead to employment growth, thereby reducing unemployment

Suggested Citation

  • Ranald J. Taylor, 2004. "Can Labour-Savings, Capital-Intensive Production Techniques Reduce Unemployment Rates in Developing Countries? Evidence from Malaysia," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 7(4), pages 515-524, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:7:y:2004:i:4:p:515-524
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://ftprepec.drivehq.com/ozl/journl/downloads/AJLE074taylor.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Layard, Richard & Nickell, Stephen & Jackman, Richard, 2005. "Unemployment: Macroeconomic Performance and the Labour Market," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199279173.
    2. Nathalie Greenan, 2003. "Organisational change, technology, employment and skills: an empirical study of French manufacturing," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 27(2), pages 287-316, March.
    3. Solow, Robert M., 2000. "Growth Theory: An Exposition," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, edition 2, number 9780195109030.
    4. Young, Allyn A., 1928. "Increasing Returns and Economic Progress," History of Economic Thought Articles, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, vol. 38, pages 527-542.
    5. Rowthorn, Robert, 1999. "Unemployment, Wage Bargaining and Capital-Labour Substitution," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(4), pages 413-425, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jesus Felipe & John S.L. McCombie, 2013. "The Aggregate Production Function and the Measurement of Technical Change," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 1975.
    2. Engelbert Stockhammer, 2004. "Explaining European Unemployment: Testing the NAIRU Hypothesis and a Keynesian Approach," International Review of Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 18(1), pages 1-26.
    3. repec:pra:mprapa:43050 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Christos N. Pitelis, 2011. "Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Integration," Chapters, in: Miroslav N. Jovanović (ed.), International Handbook on the Economics of Integration, Volume III, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala & Pablo F. Salvador, 2008. "Capital accumulation and unemployment: new insights on the Nordic experience," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 32(6), pages 977-1001, November.
    6. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala, 2008. "The Rise and Fall of Spanish Unemployment: A Chain Reaction Theory Perspective," Working Papers 633, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    7. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala & Dennis J. Snower, 2010. "Phillips Curves And Unemployment Dynamics: A Critique And A Holistic Perspective," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(1), pages 1-51, February.
    8. Nishi, Hiroshi & Stockhammer, Engelbert, 2020. "Distribution shocks in a Kaleckian model with hysteresis and monetary policy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 465-479.
    9. Robert Vergeer & Alfred Kleinknecht, 2012. "Do Flexible Labor Markets Indeed Reduce Unemployment? A Robustness Check," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(4), pages 451-467, December.
    10. Raurich, Xavier & Sala, Hector & Sorolla, Valeri, 2006. "Unemployment, Growth, And Fiscal Policy: New Insights On The Hysteresis Hypothesis," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 285-316, June.
    11. Naastepad, C. W. M. & Kleinknecht, Alfred, 2004. "The Dutch productivity slowdown: the culprit at last?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 137-163, June.
    12. Vasiliki Bozani, 2011. "NAIRU, Unemployment and Post Keynesian Economics," Working Papers 1104, University of Crete, Department of Economics.
    13. Jeanfils, Philippe & Burggraeve, Koen, 2008. ""NONAME": A new quarterly model for Belgium," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 118-127, January.
    14. Marika Karanassou & Hector Sala, 2010. "Labour Market Dynamics in Australia: What Drives Unemployment?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 86(273), pages 185-209, June.
    15. Engelbert Stockhammer, 2008. "Is The Nairu Theory A Monetarist, New Keynesian, Post Keynesian Or A Marxist Theory?," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 479-510, July.
    16. Robert VERGEER & Alfred KLEINKNECHT, 2014. "Do labour market reforms reduce labour productivity growth? A panel data analysis of 20 OECD countries (1960–2004)," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 153(3), pages 365-393, September.
    17. Enn Lun Yong, 2019. "Unemployment and the European Union, 2000–2017: structural exploration of distant past economic experience and future prosperity," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 8(1), pages 1-21, December.
    18. Albert van der Horst, 2003. "Structural estimates of equilibrium unemployment in six OECD economies," CPB Discussion Paper 19, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    19. Driver, Ciaran & Muñoz-Bugarin, Jair, 2010. "Capital investment and unemployment in Europe: Neutrality or not?," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 492-496, March.
    20. Chella, Namapsa & Phiri, Andrew, 2017. "Long-run cointegration between foreign direct investment, direct investment and unemployment in South Africa," MPRA Paper 82371, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    21. Kauppi, Heikki & Koskela, Erkki & Stenbacka, Rune, 2004. "Equilibrium unemployment and investment under product and labour market imperfections," Bank of Finland Research Discussion Papers 11/2004, Bank of Finland.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity: General (includes data sources); One; Two; and Multi-sector Growth Models; Technological Change; Research and Development;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General
    • O41 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models
    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ozl:journl:v:7:y:2004:i:4:p:515-524. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sandie Rawnsley (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/becurau.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.