Essay labor as an economic resource. Labor as a resource and labor as a process. List of used literature

Labor as economic resource 1. Two approaches to determining the essence of wages. 2. Labor markets: 3. a) competitive labor market; 4. b) monopsony model. 5. 3. The influence of the trade union on the labor market.

There are two approaches to determining the essence of wages. According to the labor theory of value, labor power is a commodity. wage represents the payment of labor costs. According to marginalism, the commodity is labor and, therefore, wages are remuneration for labor.

According to the labor theory of value, the commodity is not labor, but labor power. Labor power is the ability to work. It represents the totality of physical and intellectual abilities necessary to create products. Labor is the process of consuming labor power.

According to the labor theory of value, labor cannot be a commodity because: 1. There is no labor at the time of hiring, there is only the ability to work, i.e. labor power. 2. Labor has no value, it is a source (creator of value). Value is embodied social labor. Therefore, labor is a source of value, but itself has no value (in the very process of energy expenditure, labor does not freeze, is not materialized)

The cost of labor is determined by the cost of the means of subsistence necessary for the reproduction of the worker and his family. This value is less than the value created by the labor of the worker. Wages appear externally as remuneration for labor. In reality it represents the payment of the cost of labor power.

According to the theory of marginalism, wages represent the price of such a factor of production as labor. The price of labor is determined by the market based on the relationship between industry demand for labor and its supply. To determine the appropriate amount of purchased labor resource, it is necessary to compare the income created by each employee with the costs of labor remuneration (set by the market). It is necessary to hire workers until equality is achieved between the income created by the worker and the costs of paying him. This will be the ultimate worker. This employee has MRPL =MRCL. All others hired up to the limit worker will create MRPL>MRCL.

Real wages are expressed in the quantity of goods and services that can be purchased with a nominal wage. W (nominal) W (real) = P

Time wages are monetary payments for labor services depending on the amount of time worked. Piece wages are payments calculated depending on the quantity of products produced.

Advantages of time-based payment: – Convenient for performing complex and complex work; – Creates the prerequisites for quality work. Disadvantages of time-based payment: – Does not stimulate labor intensity; – Requires control over current activities, rather than their results.

Advantages of piecework payment: – Intensifies work; – Reduces supervision costs. Disadvantages of piecework payment: – Does not interest the employee in improving quality; – Not suitable for complex, long-term, complex work.

A perfectly competitive labor market involves: – Demand for certain type labor presents big number firms competing with each other; – Numerous workers with the same qualifications and profession offer this type labor independently of each other; – Absence of any association on the part of both buyers of labor services (monopsony) and their sellers (monopoly); – Neither firms nor workers exercise control over wage rates. Wages are set by the market based on the relationship between industry demand and labor supply.

W SL W 1 W 2 0 DL LD L 0 LS Labor supply and demand for it for the industry under conditions perfect competition

W B SL= MRC W 0 DL= MRP L 0 Labor supply and demand for an individual firm under perfect competition

Monopsony in the labor market means the presence of a single buyer of labor resources. The main features of a monopsony are: 1. The number of employees in a given company makes up the bulk of all those employed in a particular type of labor. 2. Complete (or almost complete) lack of mobility of workers; there is no opportunity to change employers when selling their labor. 3. Establishment by the monopsonist (sole employer) of control over the price of labor in the interests of maximizing profits.

Labor as a resource is considered in modern economic theory as the main factor of production, and in theory - as a commodity. It can be measured by the number of people (population categories), the number of man-hours (time) of labor, labor costs in monetary units and other methods. There are many designations for labor as a category of population that provides supply in the labor market: labor resources, population of working age, economically active population, labor force, amateur population and others. Assessment of labor supply in hours dominates in the works of Western authors, including at R.J. Ehrenberg and R.S. Smith. In Russian literature, the amount of a resource sold in the labor market is usually measured by the number of people. However, when we measure a commodity sold in a given market in this way, we should not be misled into thinking that labor is no different from other commodities, most of which have a material form and are measured in physical units.

Labor as a commodity

Labor, as a commodity, differs significantly from all other goods. Unlike an ordinary commodity market, where the products sold become the property of the buyer, in a democratic society a person does not become the property of the employer. In international documents on human rights, in the Constitution Russian Federation(v.37) and Labor Code The Russian Federation (Article 2) states that labor is free and forced labor is prohibited. In the labor market, a person sells his work time, abilities and knowledge, labor services, but at the same time remains personally free.

Typology and segmentation of labor markets

Typology is the identification of certain groups of phenomena in a wide range of phenomena, each of which has internal unity and significant differences from all other groups. Segmentation is the identification in a wide range of phenomena of certain spheres, sectors, layers that have fairly clear external boundaries. Upon careful examination, it turns out that in many cases the types of labor markets identified by scientists are simultaneously spheres, sectors, segments of the whole, and vice versa.

The difference between typology and segmentation is very conditional. However, there are well-established ideas about what are called types and what are segments of the labor market.

The types of labor markets most often include external and internal markets, formal and informal markets, international, national and regional markets.

Domestic market

According to G.G. Rudenko and B.Ch. Murtozaev, “the external (professional) labor market is focused on the mobility of labor between enterprises and organizations, and the internal one is based on the movement of personnel within organizations.” The concept of the internal (intra-company) market in some at least conditionally, since its subjects are not those people who are looking for work, but already functioning workers, the personnel of the enterprise. However, the concept is useful for describing, firstly, remuneration. As mentioned above, labor, as a commodity, in most cases is not paid at the time of conclusion employment contract, but regularly in the process of employee participation in the activities of the enterprise. At the same time, in full accordance with market principles, wages can vary depending on labor contribution, increase due to bonuses, bonuses, decrease due to deductions, etc. In other words, such an important market process as payment for the cost of labor as a product is carried out on the intra-company, and not on the external market.

Labor as a resource is considered in modern economic theory as the main factor of production, and in labor market theory - as a product. It can be measured by the number of people (population categories), the number of man-hours (time) of labor, labor costs in currency units and other methods. There are many designations for labor as a category of the population that produces supply in the labor market: labor resources, working-age population, economically active population, labor force, amateur population and others. Estimation of labor supply in terms of working hours dominates the work of Western creators, including R. J. Ehrenberg and R. S. Smith. In Russian literature, the amount of resource sold on the labor market is usually measured by the number of people. But when we measure the product sold in a given market in a similar way, we must not fall into the delusion that labor is no different from other products, most of of which has a material form and is measured in physical units.

Labor as a product

Labor, as a product, differs significantly from all other products. Unlike an ordinary commodity market, where the products sold become the property of the buyer, in a democratic society a person does not become the property of the employer. International documents on human rights, the Constitution of the Russian Federation (Article 37) and the Labor Code of the Russian Federation (Article 2) indicate that labor is free and forced labor is prohibited. In the labor market, a person realizes his working time, opportunities and knowledge, labor services, but at the same time remains personally free.

Typology and segmentation of labor markets

Typology is the identification of certain groups in a broad set of phenomena, each of which has internal unity and significant differences from all other groups. Segmentation is the identification of certain spheres, sectors, layers within a broad set of phenomena that have fairly precise external boundaries. Upon careful examination, it turns out that in almost all cases the types of labor markets identified by scientists are at once spheres, sectors, sectors the whole, and vice versa. The difference between typology and segmentation is very conditional. Still, there are deep-rooted ideas about what to call types and what sectors of the labor market.

The types of labor markets in most cases include external and internal markets, formal and informal markets, international, national and regional markets.

Domestic market

According to G. G. Rudenko and B. Ch. Murtozaev, “the external (professional) labor market is focused on the mobility of labor between enterprises and organizations, and the internal one is based on the movement of personnel within organizations.” The concept of an internal (intra-company) market is somewhat arbitrary, because its subjects are not those people who are looking for work, but already functioning employees, the personnel of the enterprise. Nevertheless, this concept is useful for describing, firstly, remuneration. As mentioned above, labor, as a product, is almost always paid not at the time of conclusion labor contract, and often in the process of the employee’s role in the activities of the enterprise. With all this, in full accordance with market principles, wages can change depending on the labor contribution, increase due to bonuses, prizes, decrease due to deductions, etc. In other words, this is a fundamental market process, such as payment of the price of labor, as a product, carried out on the intra-company, and not on the external market.

1.2.2. labor in the system of economic resources

In economic literature, resources are also called factors of production. Marshall identified four such factors: land, labor, capital and organization of production. At the same time, he emphasized: “In a certain sense, there are only two factors of production - nature and man. Capital and organization are the result of the work of man, carried out with the help of nature and governed by his ability to foresee the future and his readiness to take care of the future... from any point of view, man is the center of the problem of production, as well as the problem of consumption, and also the consequent problem of the relations between the former two, having a double designation - “distribution” and “exchange”... Man acts as both the goal of production and its factor” [Marshall. T. 1.S. 209]. Modern economists, following mainly Marshall, usually call economic resources land, labor, capital and entrepreneurial ability.

In this case, the term “land” is used as a synonym for the term “natural resources”; the term “labor” refers to the cost of working time or the number of workers; the term “capital” characterizes buildings, structures, equipment used in the production of goods; the term "entrepreneurial ability" refers to the activities of rational use land, labor and capital.

The named terms cannot be considered adequate to the essence of the objects they denote. Thus, land is only part of natural resources. Labor, as shown above, is primarily the process of converting resources into benefits1. Capital is a broad concept that characterizes general case, any source of income: land, Creative skills people, machines, buildings, etc. The terms “capital resources”, “capital goods” used by some authors [Sanders. P. 20; Dictionary of Economics (Collins). P. 203] do not clarify the essence of the phenomenon. For example, a capital good is not only equipment, but also jewelry, securities, positions in government (for some individuals), etc. The last of the named factors of production - entrepreneurial abilities - is a type of human creative ability, i.e. , which in meaning should relate to the “labor” factor.

The only explanation for the existing classification of economic resources is its connection with sources of income: from land - rent; from labor (hired employees) - wages; from capital - interest (dividends); from entrepreneurial abilities - entrepreneurial profit. However, the indicated external correspondence of the structure of resources and income does not reflect the essence of economic processes.

1 “The phrase “land”, “labor”, “capital” would be more balanced if the expression “labor” meant “workers” [Marshall. T. 1. P. 208].

Based on the above considerations, it is advisable to divide the set of economic resources into three types.

Nature (natural resources).

Labor potential.

Human-produced resources.

Nature as a type of resource is characterized by the area, location and fertility of the land, minerals, climate, forests, water reserves, hydropower, etc. Natural resources play not only a passive role as a source of raw materials and energy. Thanks to special physico-chemical and biological properties land is an active resource that provides the opportunity for a multiple increase in the value of products compared to the value of costs. An example is an ear growing from a single grain. In other words, land is one of the important sources of “net product,” i.e., what remains after reimbursement of costs incurred.

Labor potential in general characterizes the possibilities of participation of a person, employees of an enterprise, and the country's population in the production and exchange of goods. When identifying these possibilities before last quarter XX century the term "labor" was commonly used. In particular, K. Marx calls labor force (Arbeitskraft) the object of purchase and sale in labor markets [Marx. P. 178]. Modern authors also use this term [Ehrenberg. P. 32]. Most often it denotes the potential of workers: their number, knowledge and skills.

Since the 70s XX century under the influence of the publications of Nobel laureate G. Becker, the term “human capital” began to be widely used. It characterizes the components of human potential that can become a source of income for household, enterprises and countries. Such components can be a person’s physical and creative abilities, his knowledge, skills, and activity. It is easy to notice that the term “human capital” is broader than the term “labor force,” although it does not contain anything fundamentally new, since the components of the labor force (knowledge and skills) are sources of income. In practice, the concept of “human capital” is used to assess the profitability of investments in education and advanced training. Many authors wrote about this before Becker, including Smith and Marshall.

IN modern production All higher value acquire ethical aspects human activities, which are determined by such personality characteristics as morality, conscientiousness, attitude towards others, ability to work

work in a team. In relation to these qualities, the term “human capital” is not very suitable, since it is difficult to identify the corresponding income.

Concluding the review of terminology on labor resources, we note that in the literature of the USA and England, along with the term “human capital”, there is also the term “human resources” (Human Resource). This term is used in the field of knowledge, which in the USA and England is called human resource management (Human Resource Management), and in Germany, Austria and Switzerland - personnel management (Personal management). Analyzing these terms, K. Scholz, one of the largest specialists in Germany on labor issues, provides a table of changes in terminology, from which it follows that in German-language literature the term “Personalrnanagement” replaced “Personalverwaltung” (“personnel management”) and “Personalwirtschaft” ( “personnel economics”), and in the English-language literature the term “Human Resource Management” replaced the term “Personnel Management”.

The considered examples show that scientific terminology cannot fail to take into account the traditions of the country and the norms of its language. There is reason to believe that in Russian, a person’s capabilities in production activities are most adequately expressed by the term “labor potential.”

In economic literature resources are also called factors of production. Marshall highlighted four such factors: land, labor, capital and organization of production. At the same time, he emphasized: “In a certain sense, there are only two factors of production - nature and man. Capital and organization are the result of man's work, carried out with the help of nature and governed by his ability to foresee the future and his readiness to take care of the future... from any point of view, man is the center of the problem of production, as well as the problem of consumption, as well as the consequent problem of the relationship between the first two, which has double designation - “distribution” and “exchange”... Man acts as both the goal of production and its factor” [Marshall. T. 1.S. 209]. Modern economists, following mainly Marshall, usually call economic resources land, labor, capital and entrepreneurial ability.

Wherein the term "land"» is used as a synonym for the term “natural resources”; the term "labor" the cost of working time or the number of employees is indicated; term "capital" characterizes buildings, structures, equipment used in the production of goods; term " entrepreneurial skills" refers to activities related to the rational use of land, labor and capital.

The named terms cannot be considered adequate to the essence of the objects they denote. Thus, land is only part of natural resources. Labor, as shown above, is primarily the process of converting resources into benefits. Capital is a broad concept that characterizes, in general, any source of income: land, human creativity, machines, buildings, etc. The terms “capital resources”, “capital goods” used by some authors [Sanders. P. 20; Dictionary of Economics S. 203] do not clarify the essence of the phenomenon. For example, a capital good is not only equipment, but also jewelry, securities, positions in government (for some individuals), etc. The last of the named factors of production - entrepreneurial abilities - is a type of human creative ability, i.e. , which in meaning should relate to the “labor” factor.

The only explanation for the existing classification of economic resources is its connection with sources of income: from land - rent; from labor (hired employees) - wages; from capital - interest (dividends); from entrepreneurial abilities - entrepreneurial profit. However, the indicated external correspondence of the structure of resources and income does not reflect the essence of economic processes.

Based on the above considerations, it is advisable to divide the set of economic resources into three types.

1. Nature (natural resources).

2. Labor potential.

3. Human-produced resources.

Nature as a type of resource, it is characterized by the area, location and fertility of the land, minerals, climate, forests, water reserves, hydropower, etc. Natural resources play not only a passive role as a source of raw materials and energy. Due to its special physical, chemical and biological properties, land is an active resource that provides the opportunity for a multiple increase in the value of products compared to the value of costs. An example is an ear growing from a single grain. In other words, land is one of the important sources of “net product,” i.e., what remains after reimbursement of costs incurred.

Labor potential in general, it characterizes the possibility of participation of a person, employees of an enterprise, and the population of the country in the production and exchange of goods. When determining these possibilities until the last quarter of the 20th century. the term "labor" was commonly used. In particular, K. Marx calls labor the object of purchase and sale in labor markets [Marx. P. 178]. Modern authors also use this term [Ehrenberg. P. 32]. Most often it denotes the potential of workers: their number, knowledge and skills.

Since the 70s XX century influenced by publications Nobel laureate G. Becker began to widely use the term “human capital”. It characterizes the components of human potential that can become a source of income for a household, enterprise and country. Such components can be a person’s physical and creative abilities, his knowledge, skills, and activity. It is easy to notice that the term “human capital” is broader than the term “labor force,” although it does not contain anything fundamentally new, since the components of the labor force (knowledge and skills) are sources of income. In practice, the concept of “human capital” is used to assess the profitability of investments in education and advanced training.
Many authors wrote about this before Becker, including Smith and Marshall.

In modern production, ethical aspects of human activity are becoming increasingly important, which are determined by such personality characteristics as morality, conscientiousness, attitude towards others, and the ability to work in a team. In relation to these qualities, the term “human capital” is not very suitable, since it is difficult to identify the corresponding income.

Concluding the review of terminology on labor resources, we note that in the literature of the USA and England, along with the term “human capital”, there is also the term “ human resources". This term is used in the field of knowledge, which in the USA and England is called management by human resourses, and in Germany, Austria and Switzerland - personnel management. Analyzing these terms, K. Scholz, one of the largest specialists in Germany on labor issues, provides a table of changes in terminology, from which it follows that in German-language literature the term (“personnel management”) has replaced (“personnel economics”).

The considered examples show that scientific terminology cannot fail to take into account the traditions of the country and the norms of its language. There is reason to believe that in Russian a person’s capabilities in production activities are most adequately expressed by the term “labor potential”.

Thus, as can be seen from sections 1.2 and 1.2, the term “labor” has two essentially different meanings: labor process and labor potential.