Meaning of Labour. In simple language, “labour” means human efforts. But in Economics, labour consists of those human efforts, mental or bodily or both which are undertaken in the expectation of reward.
Thus, labour includes the following two things:
- Labour can be physical as well as mental. For example, the labour of a worker is physical and that of a university lecturer mental.
- Labour is that human effort which is undertaken for the sake of earning a wealth of a living. For example, where a man sings for his own recreation, his effort does not amount to labour. But, if he sings in expectation of a reward in a theatre, his exertion is labour.
Main features of Labour as a Factor of Production
The main Features of labour as a factor of production are as follows:
1. Role in production: Labour plays a very important role in production Land cannot produce by itself except when worked by men.
2. Active Factor: Land of its own cannot produce anything unless labour is applied to it. Capital is the produced means of production. Thus, labour alone is the main factor of production and the only active factor.
3. Developed and Undeveloped Countries: The Importance of labour in developed and developed countries is the same. Its importance in undeveloped countries is still greater because the future of these countries depends on the batter utilization of their man powers resources.
4. Evidence of literacy and technical training: The supply of labour in a country depends not on the number of workers available but also on the quality of workers as judged from the level of literacy and the level of technical training attained by the people of the country.
