Inverted "S" - The complete neoclassical labour-supply function

Reviewing the literature on the labour supply of the working poor, Sharif a rgues that the negatively sloping supply function widely observed at very l ow wages reflects distress sales of labour, not a "perverse mentality" as m any theorists have assumed. The theory supported here uses the traditional neoclassical constrained utility maximization framework to derive a supply function with both positively and negatively sloping segments - respectivel y upwards and downwards from a subsistence-wage level below which survival requires increased labour supply. Addition of the standard backward-bending segment at very high wages gives a complete picture of the neoclassical su pply function: an inverted "S".