Glamor Economics

Chapter 48

Chapter 7 Section 2 The driving force behind economic development - the labor market
Labor is an important driving force for the development of the national economy.The establishment of the labor market is a necessary means to optimize the allocation of human resources.In the labor market, labor power exists as a special commodity.Since it is a commodity, it has the basic characteristics of a commodity.However, as a special commodity, labor power is different from ordinary commodities:
1.The relationship between supply and demand of labor force manifests in different forms.Wages are the price of labor. Wages are rigid and can only rise but not fall under normal circumstances. This is an important difference between labor prices and ordinary commodity prices.Therefore, when labor supply exceeds demand, wages will rise, and when supply exceeds demand, instead of falling wages, unemployment will occur.

2.The relationship between labor and its consumers is different.After an ordinary commodity is sold to a consumer, the buyer has the ownership and the right to dispose of the commodity at will.The labor commodity sells only the labor of the laborer, not the laborer himself. The main consumer of the labor commodity is a legal person, and the relationship between the legal person and the laborer is a contractual relationship. The legal person does not have the ownership of the laborer and the right to dispose of it at will The management of workers must be bound by law.

3.The relationship of demand between labor forces and between labor force and ordinary commodities is different.Among ordinary commodities, there is a competitive relationship between similar commodities. When the demand for brand A commodities is large, the demand for brand B commodities will be small; there is also a disguised competitive relationship between different categories of commodities. As the demand for commodities increases, the demand for Class B commodities will decrease.The labor commodity is different.The increase in the demand for labor force will increase the purchasing power of the society, which will increase the demand for other commodities, which in turn will increase the demand for labor force; the increase in the demand for one kind of labor force will lead to a corresponding increase in the demand for other labor forces due to the complementary relationship.Conversely, an increase in the demand for general goods will also increase the demand for labor.Only machines compete with and substitute for labor.

4.While labor has the attributes of a commodity, it also has basic human requirements, namely, the right to survive, to work, to be respected, and to develop.The use value of labor force is closely related to the degree of satisfaction of these rights.These rights of the labor force and the requirements of the enterprise are a pair of contradictory unity, both consistent and contradictory.When this pair of contradictions is handled well, the enthusiasm of the labor force will be high, and the use value of the labor force will be fully utilized; otherwise, the labor force will be passive and slow down, and even cause damage to enterprises and society.Therefore, the labor force cannot be treated simply like ordinary commodities, and enterprises must take effective measures to ensure the basic requirements of the labor force.

5.Labor force has many different use values ​​at the same time, which can serve both production and consumption. Moreover, labor force has the ability to enhance its own value and use value, that is, it has the ability to learn. Through learning and training, the labor force can The use value of labor has been continuously improved, or new use value has been obtained, so that the labor force itself can actively adapt to changes in market supply and demand, and transfer and adjust among different industries and enterprises, so as to meet the requirements of continuous upgrading of industrial structure.

6.The supply of ordinary goods is elastic, but the supply of labor is inelastic.In terms of total quantity, when the supply of common commodities exceeds demand, the supply can be reduced, and when the supply exceeds demand, the supply can be rapidly increased.On the other hand, the supply of labor is rigid, and it is impossible to reduce the supply when the supply exceeds demand, and it is difficult to increase the supply when the supply exceeds demand.Due to this feature, the wage level is the main factor that regulates the flow of labor between different industries. Industries and enterprises with high labor productivity and wage levels have relatively abundant labor supply, while industries and enterprises with low wage levels often experience labor shortages.

7.The adjustment factors of supply and demand are different.The supply and demand of ordinary commodities are mainly regulated by prices, while the supply and demand of labor are not completely regulated by wages.In addition to wages, non-price factors such as social status, working conditions, workplaces, and development prospects determine the flow of labor. Those high-quality labor forces who are in short supply in the market often require participation in the distribution of profits.

Since labor is a commodity, there will be a situation of oversupply in the labor market, which is commonly referred to as unemployment.From the perspective of the whole society, due to the constant competition and structural adjustment of enterprises, unemployment often exists.The existence of a certain proportion of unemployment helps to form a buyer's market for labor, promotes competition among labor, and is of positive significance to the improvement of the overall quality of labor.For every unemployed person, a new job can always be found through the process of learning, training and searching, so unemployment is always temporary.

[links to related words]

The labor market is an integral part of the market system and a place for exchanging labor force, that is, a place for exchange between laborers with labor capacity and economic entities using labor force in production and operation, and it is the sum of economic relations that allocate labor force through the market.The exchange relationship in the labor market is represented by the exchange of labor and money.

The labor force has a broad sense and a narrow sense.The labor force in the broad sense refers to the entire population, while the labor force in the narrow sense refers to the population with labor capacity.In actual statistics, the total number of social labor resources = working-age population + the number of people actually participating in the labor force outside the working age - the number of people within the working age who are unlikely to participate in the labor force.In layman's terms, labor force is the sum of human labor capacity, the mental and physical power contained in the human body.

(End of this chapter)