Industrialization and employment in developing countries : a comparative study /

Written at a leisurely pace, though for a relatively sophisticated audience of economists interested in development economics, this book analyzes the relation between changes in employment and changes in output. To the extent that economic development can increase output faster than employment in developing countries, growing unemployment may result. The author (University of Alberta) provides a thorough discussion of the importance of the issue and the difficult econometric problems in resolving it. The necessary data do not exist. Thus, Gupta examines the situation in 13 different countries, estimating various elasticities of output and capital/labor substitution, with special emphasis on India and South Korea where data are more extensive. He concludes that factor-price distortions are much the smaller part of the problem (though he measures only changes in wages, not compensation), and that much faster output growth is necessary to absorb growth in the industrial labor force. Recommended for upper-division and graduate collections. -H. Kasper, Oberlin College