On the definition of involuntary unemployment

Malcolm Sawyer () and David Spencer

Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), 2008, vol. 37, issue 2, 718-735

Abstract: Keynes gave two definitions of involuntary unemployment which could be seen more as tests for the existence of involuntary unemployment than definitions. It is argued that Keynes's definitions are inadequate as tests of unemployment and in many circumstances would fail to reveal the existence of unemployment. We argue that unemployment as a theoretical construct is always involuntary, and the appearance of voluntary unemployment arises only through the mismeasurement of unemployment. We argue that involuntary unemployment has to be viewed as a macroeconomic concept rather than a microeconomic one. In a collective sense, the degree of unemployment is not the outcome of decisions made by the individuals concerned.

Date: 2008
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