Labor

A resource of mental and physical capabilities that is used up in the production process. The contribution of labor to production depends on its availability and efficiency. Societies with highly efficient labor tend to be much more productive than societies with less efficient labor. By and large, the availability of capital is funda mentally important to providing efficient labor.

Labor, like other factors of production, is a tradable resource in a market; its price is influenced significantly by the forces of supply and demand, but distortions might not always guarantee a market price for its use. For example, in contemporary societies, trade unions, wage regulation, inflation, and immigration influence the price and availability of labor considerably.