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Manpower, Labor Absorption, and Employment in Colombia

A Comment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Larry S. Zudak
Larry S. Zudak*
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, Copeland Hall, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701
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Extract

The unemployment problem in Colombia was recently discussed by Geithman and Landers (1973) in this journal. They argue that one of the fundamental causes of unemployment is a “higher capital-labor ratio” than would otherwise exist, according to factor endowments and the structure of final demand. This is attributed to the dependency of less developed countries (LDCs) on capital from advanced countries (ACs), with laborsaving characteristics suitable for the latter (Geithman and Landers, 1973: 317). Their excessive capital intensity thesis is based on Bruton's cross-sectional statistical study (1967), which made a number of simplified assumptions which should be examined in some detail.

Since Bruton and Geithman and Landers use the production function in their analysis, it is necessary to briefly discuss its most important characteristics. The quantities of capital (K), labor (L), and other inputs required by the industrial sector or the entire economy to achieve various levels of output (Q), can be viewed as a generalized production function.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , May 1976 , pp. 225 - 236
Copyright
Copyright © University of Miami 1976

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References

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