Question

Explain four important characteristics of labour as a factor of production.

Explain four important characteristic features of labour.

Give two characteristics of labour.

Answer 1

Characteristics of labour as a factor of production:

1. Labour is perishable and cannot be stored. If a worker does not work on a particular day, her/his labour is wasted. The labourer has to sell his labour immediately, irrespective of the prices paid in terms of wages. Hence, labour has a weak bargaining power.
2. Labour is an active factor of production. Without labour, other factors of production, such as land and capital, cannot produce anything. Labour is a living organism that requires sympathetic treatment.
3. Labour cannot be separated from the labourer because the labourer will have to be present at a workplace where work is going on. The worker and the service rendered by a worker go together. She/he cannot sell labour like land and capital.
4. Labour can improve efficiency by investing capital in workers' education and training.

Answer 2

Characteristics of labour:

1. Labour is mobile: It can move from one place to another or from one use to another. This mobility of labour depends on the education and skill of the workers, wage differences between different sectors, social customs, etc.
2. Labour has alternative uses: Any worker can engage in different fields of work. For example, an unskilled worker can work as a rickshaw puller, porter, etc.
3. Labour generates income: When any individual provides mental and physical labour and land as factors of the production process, it generates income for that individual.
4. Labour cannot be separated from the labourer: A landowner as a person and the land he owns can be considered different entities. A capitalist as a person is a distinct entity from the capital he owns. But a labourer always carries his labour-power with him. Hence, we often use labour and labourer synonymously.