Współczesne teorie rynku siły roboczej na tle podniesienia się średniej stopy bezrobocia w rozwiniętych krajach kapitalistycznych

Abstract

The article tackles the problem of the state of theoretical knowledge and ways of interpreting the unemployment phenomenon being extremely important for the contemporary theory and practice of economic activity in the capitalist system. A direct cause of a revival of discussions on this problem is a parallel maintenance of a high unemployment rate and a high inflation rate. Initially, more and more discussions were focussed on explaining causes of growth of an unemployment rate, and after the recession from the years 1980-1982 the main attention was concentrated on causes behind a lack of response on the part of unemployment level to a relative improvement in business situation (especially in Western Europe) and its maintenance at a higher level. In these discussions there clash two trends being continuation of the Keynesian-Neoclassical controversy about compulsory or voluntary character of unemployment . The second part of the article contains an attempt at confrontation of labour market theories discussed earlier on connected with attempts to explicate growth of unemployment basing on relevant statistical data referring mainly to the United States. The confrontation allows the author to advance a conclusion about detachment of most such theories, and especially the neoclassical theory, from the real developments. It points at their largely apologetic character striving to mask real causes of unfavourable changes occurring on labour markets and primarily growth of unemployment and its structural character. The empirical data presented in the article seem to support the Keynesian interpretation of observed changes, which does not conceal shortcomings of capitalism to the degree it is done by the neoclassical theory in its traditional or modified forms.