Do labour supply and demand curves exist?

Fleetwood, Steve

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to show that circumstantial and empirical evidence for the existence of labour supply and demand curves is at best inconclusive and at worst casts doubt on their existence. Because virtually all orthodox models of labour markets, simple and complex, are built upon the foundation stones of labour supply and demand curves, these models lack empirically supported foundations. Orthodox labour economists must, therefore, either provide stronger evidence or stop using labour supply and demand curves as the foundation stones of their models. The conclusion discusses implications for future orthodox and heterodox labour economics. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Sep 3, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 15, 2016
• Journal: Cambridge Journal of Economics
• Print ISSN: 0309-166X
• Electronic ISSN: 1464-3545
• Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 38
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 1087-1113
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cje/beu003
• Keywords: labour market, laws, labour supply, labour demand, open systems
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/812725
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cje/beu003
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Cambridge Journal of Economics following peer review. The version of record Fleetwood, S. (2014) Do labour supply and demand curves exist? Cambridge Journal of Economics, 38 (5). pp. 1-27. ISSN 0309-166X is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cje/beu003
• Contract Date: Mar 15, 2016