DUAL LABOR-MARKETS AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN JAMAICA - A MODERN SYNTHESIS

This paper reformulates a dualistic model of the Jamaican labour market incorporating regional (rural/urban), organizational (formaL/informal), agricultural (farm/non-farm), and governmental variables with the labour market segmentation theory (primary/secondary). The model re-analyzes the role of internal (rural-urban) migration, the informal sector, labour price distortions, the under-utilization of labour, population growth, education, and vocational training. By synthesizing this analysis with the empirical effects of governmental policy on unemployment (divided into four periods, 1950-72, 1972-80, 1980-89, 1989-present), the model provides an effective contextual framework for future employment creation policy.