Re: Full Employment is what?

[Paul Davidson <pdavidson@xxxxxxx>]

At 12:13 PM 5/29/01 -0700, Mason wrote:
> Is it a safe assumption that all thinkers on
> the subject of
> full employment have in mind that "full employment" is
> relative to the labor pool and that the labor pool is
> international?


> National measurements of
> unemployment are based on an
> assumption of a zero exclusive of the standing army of
> unemployed waiting at the borders of all developed nations.
>
> What are the implications of this for the ELR/JG proposals?
> In particular, will absolute immigration control be necessary?
> If so, is this realistic?  Can all nations be Japan?  Can
> Japan
> be Japan?


Excellent point-- when I was in Cambridge decades ago, Nicky Kaldor asked
me what the US will do when it achieves full employment of its domestic
labor force but faces hordes of unemployed in South America. 

Of course Bill Mitchell the assumption of the ELR people is
that ELR will be universally adopted by all countries-- and if Bill
Mitchell is to be believed, his JG program guarantees jobs in your home
area -- so no need to move therefore no immigration problem!

[By the way Bill, how about all JG jobs in your own home -- so there is
no need to commute!  That should save fossil fuels and get the
environmentalist Nader vote. --)]
 Paul

Paul Davidson

Editor, JOURNAL OF POST KEYNESIAN ECONOMICS

Holly Chair of Excellence in Political Economy

Economics Department - University of Tennessee

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