What are the effects of a shortage of labor on the economy? Would this drive up wages more than prices? Would the standard of living within the country increase? Why is a shortage of labor never allowed to happen? Why is it that as soon as there is the slightest indication of a shortage of skilled or unskilled labor, workers are quickly imported in from another country? Why is a real shortage of labor never allowed to happen? Do business interests influence immigration and economic policy? It is supply and demand. An excess of demand for labor and a shortage of workers will mean higher wages, as businesses compete for scarce labor. Karl Marx wrote about "the army of the unemployed" driving down wages to subsistence levels. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reserve_army_of_labour#Marx.27s_discussion_of_the_concept In any of the countries with high standards of living, there are certain jobs that are regarded as jobs native citizens do not want to do. These are not merely all low wage jobs, but also jobs that require high degrees of education but only pay modest salaries. Or jobs that pay only moderately poorly but invlove very unpleasant working conditions. But would the wages and/or working conditions of these jobs be higher, or in some cases better, if there was not so many desperate people willing to fill them? What I mean is this: Would those jobs still be jobs native citizens would not want to do if the "shortage" of labor was not solved by bringing in people from outside the conuntry's borders?
1 .It means demand exceeds supply 2 .No 3 .Yes What is your problem, Anders? Everybody knows that growth accelerates when you let outside labour in when it cannot be filled internally . To argue otherwise would be Racist . I am sure you do not want to be seen as that . Do you anders?
Given 'wage norms' and therefore the replacement of supply/demand with human resource management methods, the effect is ambiguous. Crikey, even our understanding of skills shortages are confused by human resource responses
I notice the open borders types seem to think that only means a contiguous border. If you open borders, it need to be a global opening, otherwise it would be racist.
Wages would go up as employers compete for scarce labor. But in order to pay these higher wages, they must raise the price of their products. A spiral of inflation follows. Still, with almost everyone employed I would expect the general standard of living to increase as the economy in general would be good. A shortage of labor means that factory owners are missing out on potential profits. The state is also missing out on potential taxes. So they both want to import "guest" labor. Yes, I would expect high unemployment to drive down wages. Maybe until they hit minimum wage or the workers are better off as criminals or on welfare. Without import of foregin labor, those jobs would have to be done by natives. But the employers would have to offer much higer wages for those jobs in order to get anyone to do them.
This assumes that we can necessarily utilise standard supply and demand. Labour shortages will often reflect skills shortages, but these jobs are characterised by labour market segmentation (where, due to profit motive, the firm will ignore external market considerations and adopt artificial human resource management within 'internal labour markets')
One example is the Alabama farmers and Georga Farmers. They pay $15 per hour for workers. And the have openings.. A lot of openings since most of their illgal hires left town because of the new laws to go after the worker and spare the employer. I guess the gubment is screwing over the US employers withthout procecution. LOL.. Crops this year went unpicked. LOL... Perhaps this is a way to make more people eat processed manufactured food. Great for capitalism's control over the small bidness.
This is a very different situation because cheap illegal labor can just be used to grow tomatoes in other states. All the states are competing with eachother, even if some of them resort to illegal labor. American workers need to be protected, not just from cheap third-world labor in their own state, but also cheap third-world labor in other states, and in the rest of the world. One or two states cannot solve the problems all by themselves. It would be different if Georgia and Alabama were actual countries, and were allowed to tax the import of tomatoes grown in other states that employ illegal low-wage labor.
Response to the Great Dane A shortage of labor means that factory owners are missing out on potential profits. The state is also missing out on potential taxes. So they both want to import "guest" labor. RESPONSE Deliberate UK Labour Party policy during the first decade of their tenure . A great idea in principle , but they did not think it through , and failed to see direct consequences and take appropriate actions -- like adjusting infrastructure appropriately QUOTE Yes, I would expect high unemployment to drive down wages. Maybe until they hit minimum wage or the workers are better off as criminals or on welfare. RESPONSE Where in the West or US do you have anything like full employment ? The question is , at best , academic QUOTE Without import of foregin labor, those jobs would have to be done by natives. But the employers would have to offer much higer wages for those jobs in order to get anyone to do them. RESPONSE Doesn't work like that , certainly in the EU . Economic migrants simply move to where the work is and take up the slack . The movement of people from the Baltic States , Poland , Bulgaria and Rumania showed that from 2004 . They could not be stopped from moving by Law . The indigenous population were so lazy/stupid /brain dead that they refuse to do the " dirty" jobs even if they are " broke" . As a separate Topic , one needs to discuss ways to deal with that sort of unemployed and to decide whether wholesale and carte blanche labour movement is as useful as it seems to Theory Tellers of the left wing variety . ]
A myth. Take something simple as harvest picking. There were plenty of native workers willing to pick. They were actively discouraged because foreign labour was cheaper (e.g. the farmer would provide accommodation and use it to recoup labour costs). We see the same in construction. Bogusly called self-employed, the market was corrupted by middle men employing the skilled labourers. Foreign labour provided greater economic rents
