This book promotes an in-depth understanding of the key mechanisms that govern the functioning of capitalist economies, pursuing a Classical Political Economics approach to do so. It explores central theoretical issues addressed by the classical economists Smith and Ricardo, as well as Marx, while also operationalizing more recent theoretical developments inspired by the works of Sraffa and other modern classical economists, using actual data from major economies. On the basis of this approach, the book subsequently provides alternative explanations for various microeconomic issues such as the determination of equilibrium prices and their movement induced by changes in income distribution; the dynamics of competition of firms within and between industries; the law of tendential equalization of interindustry profit rates; and international exchanges and transfers of value; as well as macroeconomic issues concerning capital accumulation and cyclical economic growth. Given its scope, the book will benefit all researchers, students, and policymakers seeking new explanations for observed phenomena and interested in the mechanisms that give rise to surface economic categories, such as prices, profits, the unemployment rate, interest rates, and long economic cycles.
Author(s): Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 465
Tags: Economic Policy, Classical Political Economics, Modern Capitalism
Front Matter ....Pages i-xix
Front Matter ....Pages 1-1
The Classical Theory of Value and Distribution (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 3-39
Circular Flow of Capital and Social Reproduction (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 41-82
Controversial Issues in the Theories of Value and Distribution: The ‘Transformation Problem’ and the ‘Capital Theory Critique’ (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 83-132
Labour Values, Prices of Production and Wage Rate of Profit Curves in Actual Economies (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 133-195
Competition: Classical and Neoclassical (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 197-245
Front Matter ....Pages 247-247
Real Competition and Empirical Evidence (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 249-283
Asymmetries in International Trade (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 285-334
The Rate of Profit, Economic Growth and Crises (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 335-379
Productive-Non-productive Labour and National Accounts (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 381-404
Classical Political Economy and the Evolution of Post-War Capitalism (Lefteris Tsoulfidis, Persefoni Tsaliki)....Pages 405-437
Back Matter ....Pages 439-456
