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Question

‘Reserve Army of labour’ term was used by who among the following economists ?

The correct answer is
Karl Marx

Marx and the 'Reserve Army of Labour'

The term 'Reserve Army of Labour' was conceptualized and popularized by the economist and philosopher Karl Marx.

In his seminal work, Das Kapital, Marx used this term to describe the segment of the working class that is consistently unemployed or underemployed, existing as a pool of available labour power.

  • This reserve army is essential for the functioning of capitalism, according to Marx.
  • It helps keep wages low, as the threat of unemployment keeps the employed workers compliant.
  • It provides a flexible workforce that capitalists can draw upon during economic booms and shed during downturns.
  • Marx argued that capitalism inherently generates this surplus population or 'reserve army' to maintain its profit-making mechanisms.

Therefore, Karl Marx is the economist associated with the term 'Reserve Army of Labour'.

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Important Questions from Economic Growth & Development

  1. The following Economics Terms can be arrange in chronological order on the basis of the concept development :
    (i) Scarcity definition.
    (ii)wealth definition
    (iii)Growth definition.
    (iv) welfare definition.
  2. What is the key distinction between productive and non-productive work in Classical Economic Theory?
  3. Which among the following conditions are true for Golden Rule of Accumulation of Edmund Phelps for optimum capital accumulation ? Choose from the code below :
    I. Savings rate is unique.
    II. Marginal productivity of capital be equal to capital depreciation.
    Codes :
  4. Which of the following is the correct assumption for the Lewis two sector model ?
  5. Which of the following is a major indivisibility of Rosenstein-Rodan Model of development ?
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