Journal article

Publication year: 1993

Pages: 53-77

Journal: Jahrbuch für Sozialwissenschaft: Zeitschrift für Wirtschaftswissenschaften

Volume number: 44

Issue number: 1

ISSN: 0075-2770

Publisher: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht

Abstract: 

Today, unemployment is one of the main worldwide challenges for economic policymakers. To solve the problems concerned, accurate definition and measurement are necessary.

In this paper, unemployment is regarded as ''an insufficient use of labor as a means of production''. It consists, on the one hand, of persons who are unemployed although they are able and willing to work (type-A-unemployment) and, on the other hand, employed persons whose labor-force is used inefficiently in the production process (type-B-unemployment).

The latter type of unemployment has received little attention in economic discussion and this paper is therefore concerned only with the definition and measurement of type-B-unemployment.

A theorical measure based on a modified non-parametric frontier-production-function-approach is suggested. Using this approach and a data set of German water-supplying enterprises it is provided that a considerable amount of type-B-unemployment exists. The calculated results provide some evidence with regard to the causes of this kind of unemployment. This knowledge is a vital factor in the struggle to eliminate this ''insufficient use of labor as a means of production''.

Harvard Citation style: MULLER, F. and BECK, M. (1993) HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT AS AN ECONOMIC-PROBLEM - DEFINITION AND MEASUREMENT IN THE GERMAN WATER-SUPPLY INDUSTRY, JAHRBUCH FUR SOZIALWISSENSCHAFT, 44(1), pp. 53-77

APA Citation style: MULLER, F., & BECK, M. (1993). HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT AS AN ECONOMIC-PROBLEM - DEFINITION AND MEASUREMENT IN THE GERMAN WATER-SUPPLY INDUSTRY. JAHRBUCH FUR SOZIALWISSENSCHAFT. 44(1), 53-77.