ABSTRACT
People, institutions, societies, and economies all have their imperfections. So it is unexceptional that what is called a market economy has its share of failures. But the fact that perfection is non-existent in no way diminishes the disutility of market failures. They can be depressing and deadly to people, families, and societies. Unemployment is an economic failure because it is a manifestation of the failure of a market to equilibrate as viewed along the quantity axis. Underemployment, as that of adjuncts, is a failure of a market to equilibrate along the price axis. There are two groups of workers in underemployment part-time workers who want full-time employment, and contract workers doing full-time work who desire regular employment. In cases the work is available; underemployed workers are performing it. The surplus of resources goes far beyond the unemployment of labor. Capital structures and equipments are idle most of the time, and there are often huge amounts of unused commercial space.
