Involuntary Unemployment

13 Pages Posted: 14 Jul 2011

See all articles by Walter E. Block

Walter E. Block

Loyola University New Orleans - Joseph A. Butt, S.J. College of Business

William Barnett

Loyola University New Orleans

Date Written: July 12, 2011

Abstract

Our claim is that in a purely free enterprise system, there can be no such thing as involuntary unemployment, as long as wage demands are in accord with expected productivity, as perceived by the potential employer. Seeming counterexamples are shown to violate one or more of these conditions. Nevertheless, there is great resistance on the part of professional economists to this axiomatic claim. The second part of the paper attempts to probe the cause of this resistance, and finds in praxeology, a rejection of Keynesian economics and psychological analysis, the cure for it.

Suggested Citation

Block, Walter E. and Barnett, William, Involuntary Unemployment (July 12, 2011). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1884523 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1884523

Walter E. Block (Contact Author)

Loyola University New Orleans - Joseph A. Butt, S.J. College of Business ( email )

6363 St. Charles Avenue
Box 15, Miller 321
New Orleans, LA 70118
United States
(504) 864-7944 (Phone)
(504) 864-7970 (Fax)

William Barnett

Loyola University New Orleans ( email )

526 Pine Street
New Orleans, LA 70118
United States

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