Topics in Classical Micro- and Macroeconomics (eBook)

Preface 
5 
Contents 14
Part I Labor Values: Theory and Measurement 21
1 The So-Called ``Transformation Problem'' Revisited 24
1.1 Introduction and Overview 24
1.2 Lipietz's Theorem 25
1.3 Labor Value Ratios: The Systematic Component in Their Price Expressions? 26
1.4 Conclusions 27
References 28
2 Baseline Approaches to the Labor Theory of Value 29
2.1 Introduction 29
2.2 Labor Value Accounting: Some Propositions 33
2.3 Four Baseline Approaches to Marx' Labor Theory of Value 36
2.3.1 The Temporal Single System Interpretation (TSSI) 36
2.3.2 The Aggregate Single System Interpretation (ASSI) 39
2.3.3 The Conventional Dual System Approach (CDSA) 41
2.3.4 The Marxian Dual System Approach (MDSA) 45
2.4 Conclusions 50
References 52
3 Using Labor Values: Labor Productivity and Technical Change 55
3.1 Introduction 55
3.2 Labor Productivity. A Marxian Critique of its Value-Added Decomposition 56
3.2.1 The Measurement of Labor Productivity 56
3.2.2 Input–Output Tables and Measures of Real Value Added 58
3.2.3 Labor Values as Measures of Labor Productivity 60
3.2.4 Notes on Technological Change 65
3.2.5 Disaggregating Aggregate Measures of Labor Productivity 67
3.2.6 A Summing Up 71
3.3 Technical Change and the Law of Decreasing Labor Content 72
3.3.1 Basic Propositions on Price-Value Relationships 72
3.3.2 Notes on the Law of Decreasing Labor Content 76
3.3.3 Multiple Activities and Joint Production: Some Observations 78
3.3.4 The Okishio Theorem and the Tendency of the Profit Rate to Fall 80
3.3.5 The Law of Decreasing Labor Content: Empirical Results 81
3.4 Conclusions 87
References 87
4 Marx After Stone: The Marxian Contribution to the UN's SNA 89
4.1 Introduction 89
4.2 Employment Multipliers and Labor Values in Pure Joint Production Systems 91
4.2.1 Employment Multipliers 92
4.2.2 Labor Values 94
4.2.3 Summary 99
4.3 Measurements of Total Labor Requirements Using Input–Output Methodology 100
4.3.1 A Physical Input–Output Example 101
4.3.2 Case 1: Industry Coefficients 101
4.3.3 Case 2: The Output Method 103
4.3.4 Case 3: The Commodity–Technology Hypothesis 104
4.3.5 Case 4: The Industry–Technology Hypothesis 106
4.3.6 Concluding Remarks 107
4.4 Actual Labor Values vs. Zero–Profit Prices in Sraffian Models of Fixed Capital 108
4.4.1 Introduction 108
4.4.2 Average and Individual Labor Values in Single Product Systems 110
4.4.3 Individual Values in the Case of Fixed Capital: Steedman's Example of Falling Efficiency Reconsidered 114
4.4.4 Rising Efficiency and Rising Book Valuesof Machinery 118
4.4.5 Final Remarks 121
4.5 Conclusions and Outlook 122
References 125
5 Actual Labor Values in a General Model of Production 127
5.1 Introduction 127
5.2 A General Equilibrium Approach to Marxian Economics 129
5.2.1 Reproducible Solutions 130
5.2.2 The Optimum Labor Theory of Value 131
5.3 A New and Measurable Definition of Labor Values for Joint Production Systems 133
5.3.1 Marx's Case of Multiple Activities 134
5.3.2 Joint Production 135
5.3.3 The Input–Output Approach to Joint Production 138
5.4 Values, Prices and Profits 142
5.5 Conclusions 146
References 146
6 Employment Multipliers and the Measurement of Labor Productivity 147
6.1 Introduction 147
6.2 The Measurement of Total Factor Requirements Using Input–Output Tables 148
6.3 Joint Production 150
6.4 System Indicators of Employment and Productivity 151
6.5 Some Results for an Analysis of Technical Change 155
6.6 The Case of a Uniform Composition of Capital 157
6.7 Conclusions 158
References 160
7 Technology Assumptions and the Energy Requirementsof Commodities 162
7.1 An Overview on Problems and Results 162
7.2 Analytical Preliminaries 167
7.3 Energy Consumption 169
7.4 Energy Costs 176
7.5 Comparing Energy Consumption and Energy Costs 182
7.6 Summary 189
References 189
Part II Production Prices and the Standard Commodity. A Critical Reassessment 191
8 In Search of Foundations for a Classical Theory of Competition 194
8.1 Classical Ruthless Competition 194
8.2 Two-Sector Economies 195
8.2.1 The Crude State of the Society 195
8.2.2 Some Observations 197
8.2.3 Production of Commodities by Meansof Commodities 198
8.3 Sraffian Multisectoral Economies 205
8.3.1 Economic Properties 206
8.3.2 Mathematical Foundations 208
8.4 A Streetcar Named Desire: The von Neumann Production Price Model 212
8.5 Differentiated Sectoral Wage and Profit Rates 219
8.6 Capital Stock Matrices and Sectoral Profit Rates 231
8.6.1 Capital Consumed and Capital Advanced 231
8.6.2 Makeshift Construction of Empirical Depreciation and Capital Stock Matrices 234
8.7 Conclusions and Outlook 240
References 241
9 Two Concepts of Basic Commodities for Joint Production Systems 243
9.1 Introduction 243
9.2 Basic Leontief-Commodities 244
9.3 L-Basics: Further Discussion 248
9.4 Basic Sraffa-Commodities 255
9.5 Conclusion 260
References 260
10 Some Continuity Properties of a Reformulated Sraffa Model 261
10.1 Introduction 261
10.2 Limit Cases of Sraffian Models of Production Prices 261
10.3 Some Propositions 264
10.4 Conclusions 268
References 269
11 The Standard Commodity and the Theory of Income Distribution 270
11.1 Introduction 270
11.2 The Sraffian Approach to Income Distribution 270
11.3 The Standard Commodity 272
11.4 Hiding Nonlinearities: The Role of the Standard Commodity 272
11.5 Conclusions 277
References 277
12 Sraffa's Standard Commodity: No Fulfillment of Ricardo's Dream of an `Invariable Measure of Value' 278
12.1 Introduction 278
12.2 Flaws in the Interpretation of the Standard Commodity 279
12.3 Flaws in the Construction of Sraffa's Standard of Value 282
12.4 On the Non-Existence of an `Invariable Measure of Value' 286
12.5 Conclusions 290
References 291
Part III Gravitation or Convergence in Classical Micro-Dynamics 292
13 Dressing the Emperor in a New Dynamic Outfit 295
13.1 Introduction 295
13.2 An Extension of the Walrasian Tâtonnement Process 298
13.3 Global Stability by Derivative Control 301
13.4 Examples 306
13.5 Conclusions 310
References 311
14 Stability: Independent of Economic Structure? A Prototype Analysis 312
14.1 Introduction 312
14.2 Cross-Dual Dynamics in Walrasian Production Economies 314
14.3 Universal Stability 319
14.4 Newton Methods: Old and New 325
14.5 Ignorable Components? 330
14.6 Conclusions 336
References 337
15 Classical and Neoclassical Competitive Adjustment Processes 339
15.1 Introduction 339
15.2 Neoclassical Stability Analysis in the Short and in the Long Run 340
15.3 Classical Competition: Notes on the Literature 343
15.4 A New Approach to the Stability of Market Economies 347
15.4.1 Square Joint Production Systems 347
15.4.2 Process Extinction 353
15.4.3 Product Extinction 356
15.5 Conclusions 357
References 359
16 Composite Classical and Keynesian Adjustment Processes 361
16.1 Introduction 361
16.2 Notes on the Literature 362
16.3 Dual Dynamics 364
16.4 The Composite System 367
16.5 Some Preliminaries 368
16.5.1 Stability of the Keynesian Caseand the Composite System 369
16.5.2 Stability of the Classical Caseand the Composite System 372
16.6 A New Approach to the Stability of Composite Systems 375
16.7 An Alternative Investigation of the Stability of Composite Systems 381
16.8 Some Simulations Studies 384
16.9 Conclusions 389
References 398
Part IV Gravitation or Convergence in Classical Macro-Dynamics 401
17 Some Stability Properties of Goodwin's Growth Cycle Model 403
17.1 Introduction 403
17.2 An Extended Goodwin Cycle 403
17.3 The Goodwin Case Reconsidered 407
References 408
18 Endogenous Aspirations in a Model of Cyclical Growth 409
18.1 Introduction 409
18.2 A Model of Cyclical Growth 410
18.3 Discussion of the Model 413
18.3.1 The Implied Dynamics 413
18.3.2 Properties of the Steady State 414
18.3.3 The Phase Portrait of the Model 414
18.3.4 Local Stability 416
18.3.5 Asymptotic Stability in the Large 417
18.4 Conclusions 419
References 420
19 Partial Cooperation with Capital vs. Solidarity in a Model of Classical Growth 421
19.1 Introduction 421
19.2 Solidarity Among Workers 425
19.3 Partial Cooperation Between Labor and Capital 427
19.4 A Simple Completion of Goodwin's Growth Cycle and the Implications of Cooperation 433
19.5 Conclusions 438
References 443
20 The Classical Growth Cycle: Reformulation, Simulation and Some Facts 445
20.1 Introduction 445
20.2 A Growth Cycle Model with a Government Sector 449
20.3 Some Simulation Results 454
20.4 A Look at the Data 457
20.5 Concluding Remarks and Outlook 469
References 472
21 The Goodwin Distributive Cycle After Fifteen Years of New Observations 474
21.1 Introduction 474
21.2 The Growth Cycle Model: Basic Ingredients for a Limit Cycle Result 477
21.3 Exploring Growth Cycles for the US Economy: A Brief Reconsideration 479
21.4 The US Economy: Extended Data Set and Basic Econometric Issues 481
21.5 Business Cycles and Long Phase Cycles in the US Economy: Bivariate P-SPLINE Testing 483
21.6 Conclusions 486
References 488
22 Classical Dynamics in a General Keynes–Wicksell Model 490
22.1 Introduction 490
22.2 The General Model 491
22.3 Comparative Statics, Dynamics and the Steady State 497
22.4 Medium Run Dynamics 500
22.4.1 Adaptive Expectations 500
22.4.2 Regressive Expectations 503
22.5 Long Run Dynamics and Global Stability 504
22.6 Some Numerical Results 508
22.7 Conclusions 511
References 515