scholarly journals The reswitching of techniques and its epistemological implications: a deepening of criticism

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 797-814
Author(s):  
ALAIN HERSCOVICI
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Structural Instability ◽  
Equilibrium Stability ◽  
Neoclassical Theory ◽  
General Architecture

ABSTRACT This paper aims (a) to explain the mechanisms from which the problem of reswitching of techniques is formulated and (b) to analyze the implications with regard to the general architecture of neoclassical macroeconomics. I will show how these elements allow refuting the neoclassical theory of income distribution, and why they translate into structural instability. In the first part, I will explain the mechanisms that correspond to the problem of reswitching of techniques; in the second part, I will study the implications linked to the reswitching, with regard to the determinants of income distribution and the equilibrium stability.

Exchange on "The Fundamental Contradiction in the Neoclassical Theory of Income Distribution"

1978 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-58
Author(s):  
Martin Bronfenbrenner ◽  
Carl Gerdes ◽  
Martin Bronfenbrenner
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Neoclassical Theory

scholarly journals Solving the Reswitching Paradox in the Sraffian Theory of Capital

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Carlo Milana
Keyword(s):  
Interest Rate ◽  
Theoretical Analysis ◽  
Income Distribution ◽  
Neoclassical Theory ◽  
Relative Prices ◽  
The Interest Rate ◽  
Capital Intensive ◽  
Theory Of Production ◽  
Input Prices ◽  
Sraffian Theory

The possibility of the reswitching of techniques in Piero Sraffa’s intersectoral model, namely the recurring capital-intensive techniques with monotonic changes in the interest rate, is traditionally considered as a paradoxical violation of the assumed convexity of technology putting at stake the viability of the neoclassical theory of production. It is argued here that this phenomenon can be rationalized within the neoclassical paradigm. Sectoral interdependencies can give rise to the well-known price Wicksell effect, which is the revaluation of capital goods due to changes in relative prices triggered by monotonic variations in income distribution. The reswitching of techniques is, therefore, the result of cost-minimizing technical choices facing returning ranks of relative input prices in full consistency with the pure marginalist theory of factor rewards. The theoretical analysis proposed in this article is applied empirically to the counterexamples of various case studies presented in the literature.

A Realist Perspective on Contemporary "Economic Theory" (Foreword by O. Ananyin)

2006 ◽  
pp. 75-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Lawson
Keyword(s):  
Economic Theory ◽  
Life Events ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Economic Life ◽  
Social Phenomenon ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Neoclassical Theory ◽  
Fundamental Feature ◽  
Major Powers ◽  
Realist Perspective

The author elaborates on methodological issues of current tendencies in neoclassical theory and demonstrates the necessity of an alternative model of science, which he calls "realist". According to this perspective, constant and regular conjunctions of economic life events should not be the main object of analysis. Rather, the author proposes to consider structures and mechanisms governing events in question. Instead of deductivism, which, as Lawson believes, is a fundamental feature of orthodox economics, the abductive method of economic explanation is proposed that entails investigation of major powers, on which any social phenomenon depends. Society is thereby regarded not as a closed, but rather as an open system.

The State’s Role in Ensuring Fair Income Distribution in Vietnam Today: Some Issues from the Theory of Justice as Fairness by John Rawls

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-195
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
John Rawls ◽  
Social Stability ◽  
Social Equality ◽  
Justice As Fairness ◽  
Theory Of Justice ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
Economic Philosophy ◽  
The Relationship

Fairness in income distribution is a factor that both motivates employees and contributes to maintaining social stability. In Vietnam, fair income distribution has been studied from various perspectives. In this article, through the analysis and synthesis of related documents and evidence, and from the perspective of economic philosophy, the author applies John Rawls’s Theory of Justice as Fairness to analyze some issues arising from the implementation of the state’s role in ensuring fair income distribution from 1986 to present. These are unifying the perception of fairness in income distribution; solving the relationship between economic efficiency and social equality; ensuring benefits for the least-privileged people in society; and controlling income. On that basis, the author makes some recommendations to enhance the state’s role in ensuring fair income distribution in Vietnam. Received 11thNovember 2019; Revised 10thApril 2020; Accepted 20th April 2020

Inequality and the Safety Net Throughout the Income Distribution, 1929-1940

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Feigenbaum ◽  
Price Fishback ◽  
Keoka Grayson
Keyword(s):  
Income Distribution ◽  
Safety Net
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