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Labour Supply, Employment and Unemployment in Macroeconomics: A Critical Appraisal of Orthodoxy and a Heterodox Alternative

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  • Malcolm Sawyer
  • David Spencer

Abstract

The paper begins with a critical evaluation of the modelling of the individual supply function of labour in orthodox economics. The varying ways in which the aggregate labour supply curve has been represented in macroeconomics texts is then outlined. A proposal for a simple representation of the aggregate labour supply curve based on economic, social and institutional realities is then provided. Finally the implications of our discussion for macroeconomic analysis are drawn.

Suggested Citation

  • Malcolm Sawyer & David Spencer, 2010. "Labour Supply, Employment and Unemployment in Macroeconomics: A Critical Appraisal of Orthodoxy and a Heterodox Alternative," Review of Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 263-279.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revpoe:v:22:y:2010:i:2:p:263-279
    DOI: 10.1080/09538251003665651
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Samuel Bowles & Yongjin Park, 2005. "Emulation, Inequality, and Work Hours: Was Thorsten Veblen Right?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 115(507), pages 397-412, November.
    2. Sawyer, Malcolm & Spencer, David, 2008. "On the definition of involuntary unemployment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 718-735, April.
    3. Altman, Morris, 2001. "A behavioral model of labor supply: casting some light into the black box of income-leisure choice," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 30(3), pages 199-219, May.
    4. Harold G. Vatter, 1961. "On the Folklore of the Backward-Sloping Supply Curve," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 14(4), pages 578-586, July.
    5. Liliana Winkelmann & Rainer Winkelmann, 1998. "Why Are the Unemployed So Unhappy?Evidence from Panel Data," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 65(257), pages 1-15, February.
    6. Keith Cowling, 2006. "Prosperity, Depression and Modern Capitalism," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 369-381, August.
    7. Stephen Nickell, 2008. "Is the U.S. Labor Market Really That Exceptional? A Review of Richard Freeman," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 46(2), pages 384-395, June.
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    Cited by:

    1. Anna M. Carabelli & Mario A. Cedrini, 2010. "Global imbalances, monetary disorder, and shrinking policy space: Keynes's legacy for our troubled world," European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention, Edward Elgar Publishing, vol. 7(2), pages 303-323.
    2. Christos Pierros, 2021. "Assessing the internal devaluation policy implemented in Greece in an empirical stock‐flow consistent model," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 905-943, November.
    3. Ioannidis, Yiorgos, 2011. "Employment in the Keynesian and neoliberal universe: theoretical transformations and political correlations," MPRA Paper 45062, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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