ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part provides an overview of the theoretical perspective upon wage determination and labor market processes. It presents the distinction between "job competition" and "wage competition" models of labor market behavior. While wages are rigid in the job competition sector, the distribution of jobs among workers is determined by a cost calculus, and workers are allocated on the basis of their "productiveness" or "trainability." The part suggests that outside the job competition sector, the process of wage determination does conform to the conventional competitive model. It examines the relationship between the dual labor market model and post-Keynesian economic theory.
