Abstract
The ILO Mission Report on Colombia espoused the idea that since the poor tend to consume relatively more labour-intensive commodities than the rich, a redistribution in their favour will tend to increase employment.1 This proposal led subsequently to a host of attempts to demonstrate its empirical validity at the economy-wide level in a number of less-developed countries.2 The results, however, gave only qualified support to the hypothesis. As Morawetz, put it, ‘The almost unanimous conclusion is that even quite significant redistributions of income seem likely to have only marginal effects on growth and employment, usually increasing the latter by less than 5%.’3
First published by the International Labour Office in the World Employment Programme Research Working Paper Series, November 1977.
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© 1993 Jeffrey James
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James, J. (1993). Income Redistribution, Consumption and Employment. In: Consumption and Development. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22658-0_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22658-0_11
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