Some Positivistic Models of Long-Run Labor Allocation Dynamics

Abstract

We formulate economic laws of long-run labor re-allocation across agriculture, manufacturing, and services based on empirical evidence and derive the implications of these laws for the future (transitional and limit) labor allocation dynamics in developed and developing countries. Our approach for deriving these predictions is positivistic in the sense that we try to derive the direct implications of the laws, i.e. we try to minimize the dependence of our predictions on theoretical/ideological arguments. Due to this fact and because the economic laws are qualitative statements, our modeling approach requires the use of geometrical/axiomatic dynamic modeling techniques, set theory, and logic.