An analysis of the labour supply data to test the plausibility of the application of the Lewis growth model in Newfoundland.

Kletz, Selwyn John. (1970) An analysis of the labour supply data to test the plausibility of the application of the Lewis growth model in Newfoundland. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine whether the labour supply of Newfoundland meets the requirements of the Lewis Growth Model. The main objective is therefore not to determine whether the policy implications of the Lewis model are relevant to Newfoundland, but to determine whether it can be applied in the province under existing labour supply conditions. The introduction is used to define the concepts which are used, to outline the scope of the thesis, and to briefly summarize and criticize the Lewis model. Chapter II analyses the quantitative aspects of the Newfoundland labour supply, while chapter III is used to inquire into the qualitative aspects of the labour supply. The task set in chapter IV is to determine whether a surplus labour force does exist in the province, whether the wage rates are indeed low, and whether the productivity of labour has risen during the past few years. -- The general conclusion is that the labour supply of Newfoundland does meet the requirements of the Lewis Growth Model, for neither the quantitative nor the qualitative aspects of the labour supply contradict the ground rules of the model. However, a brief analyses of the model itself, in the appendix, points to a few shortcomings of the model, and therefore to the inadvisability of applying the model to Newfoundland.

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