著者

柴山 桂太

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.54, no.2, pp.89, 2017 (Released:2019-07-08)

著者

中原 隆幸

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.54, no.3, pp.111, 2017 (Released:2019-10-21)

著者

三木 敦朗

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.56, no.4, pp.84, 2020 (Released:2022-01-17)

著者

福澤 直樹

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.49, no.4, pp.43-53, 2013-01-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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The Federal Republic of Germany is regarded as a welfare stat (e in the local phrase "Sozialstaat",[so to say "social state"]) with high rate of social benefits to the GDP after the World War II. With the concept "social market economy" they have accepted the public intervention to the economy in order to enforce the market mechanism, which has led to unexpectedly high level of the social benefi ts as a result. Recently, however, in the worldwide recession and the competitive pressure from an expanding global economy the additional labor costs beside the wage in a welfare state are regarded as so heavy burden that the policy orientating the cut off of the welfare costs like the "Agenda 2010" was pursued even under the administration of the left government. Thus it is to question whether the welfare and the rational handling of the economy is really incompatible, wherefore the nature of the "Sozialstaat" should be discussed in the historical perspective. In the FRG the people from the conservative to the reformists have agreed with the socially conceived state in bringing together to a vague concept "social" under the hidden immanent variety of its understanding, but in keeping the principle of the free market economy at the same time. However, the country had to remain in an unexpected provisioning state till the mid-50s because of urgent problems as a consequence of the War, even under the administration of the conservative coalition which wanted actually to carry out market-compliant policy. The confusion of the benefit systems, however, had to be gotten together, what was partly realized in the reconstruction of the economic performance. The Pension Reform in 1957 was one of the most significant cases with which the pension was now adapted to the actual wage level dynamically. It means a social benefit has been realized which kept the standard of life of the recipient in substituting the former wage. Thus the scale of social benefits has expanded, during the system maintained the social disparities substantially. This successful transition brought and confirmed the trend of German social policy in the 1960s to meet the social demand favorably in spite of the slow down of the high economic growth till that time. In order to fulfill the growing social demand the systematic redistribution was ineluctably organized, what has continued also in the 70s and 80s even after the oil shock and in the persisting depression. The economic crisis caused financial embarrassments of the fund for welfare systems (with reduced tax revenue and reduced contribution of the Social Insurance), for which reason various propositions for the cutback in expenditure were taken into consideration. In fact some measures were taken which reduced the level and coverage of the benefits in existing welfare systems. But the consensus to be "social" hindered the essential dismantlement of the system. The critical economic environment since the late 1990s has enhanced, indeed, the awareness of the need of reforms. Thus the bundle of countermeasures like the "Agenda 2010" was carried out under the administration of social democrats, which provoked a sensation and seemingly disposed the social discordance. It has become a moot point whether the consensus for the "Sozialstaat" still exists. But the socially conceived management of the market economy itself has not disappeared, which was not inevitably coherent with the equality. The social intervention has been working for the smooth function of the free market and made social capitalism possible, which has allowed eventually the high level of social benefits. Therefore it seems to be still disputable that the consensus to be "social" has already dissolved.

著者

飯田 和人

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.52, no.3, pp.64-76, 2015-10-20 (Released:2017-09-19)

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The purpose of this paper is to consider the theoretical relationship between the embodied-labour version and the abstract labour one, two representative types of labour theory of value, and to show the new mission and possibility of labour theory of value. The embodied-labour version is the labour theory of value developed by Karl Marx, and the most prevailing theoretical type of it nowadays. This theory insists that the magnitude of commodity's value is determined by the quantity of labour used in its production. In the embodied-labour version, the substance of commodity's value is regarded as abstract human labour used and embodied in its production. Here, the abstract human labour is as sort of a human's physiological energy outlaid in the all kinds of labour. In this case, abstract human labour is considered to exist really in the dimension of production. In contrast to it, the abstract labour version insists that labour producing commodity, more directly speaking the concrete useful labour producing its use value, translate into abstract labour, when the commodity is realized as money in the process of circulation (that is the market). In the case of the abstract labour version, the private, concrete labour producing the commodity's use value can be socialized and abstracted, and also it can be realized as the abstract labour producing the commodity's value, when the commodity translates into money (C-M) in the market. The problem to be treated here is the theoretical relation between these two labour theories of value and the circuit of capital. The total movement of capital consists of following three circuits: (1) Money capital: M-C…P…C'…M' (in short M…M') (2) Productive capital: P…C'-M'-C…P (P…P) (3) Commodity capital: C-M-C…P…C' (C'…C') Marx analysed the social reproduction process from the viewpoints of two circuits of capital mainly: productive capital (P…P) and commodity capital (C'…C'). Then the labour theory of value that Marx based on was the embodied-labour version. By these ways, what he could recognize is a social organization (distribution) of concrete useful labours being realized ex post. It was a result of the long term and the average analysis. However if we analyzed the social reproduction process from the viewpoint of circuit of money capital (M…M'), the situation in sight would be different. The first stage of the circuit of money capital (M-C…P…C'-M') is a procurement process of the productive capital by the money capital (M-C{lp + mp}). The scale of the social organization of concrete useful labours is dependent on the number of labour power(lp_1, lp_2,…lp_n) procured by the money capital here. On the other hand, the last stage of the circuit of money capital (C'-M') is a place of commodity's salto mortale in which labours producing commodities are judged whether they are realized as labours producing their values. At this moment, the organization of concrete useful labours formed through the movement of social aggregate capital is judged whether it can get a social acceptance and validity also. If we wished to know the structure of social reproduction ex post recognized by the long term and the average analysis, the embodied-labour theory of value would be an effective tool. However, if we want to understand the process itself of the social organization of labours brought about by movement of money, it would be necessary for us to analyse the social reproduction process from the viewpoint of circuit of money capital. The abstract labour version is a very value theory that will be able to response to such a task. It is a value theory that can achieve its mission elucidating the process of the social organization of human labour, in another dimension and by logic different from the embodied-labour version.

著者

小西 一雄

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.57, no.1, pp.10, 2020 (Released:2022-10-06)

著者

浅田 統一郎

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.55, no.2, pp.7, 2018 (Released:2020-07-13)

著者

佐々木 啓明

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.46, no.3, pp.61-71, 2009-10-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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This paper presents a Kaleckian model of growth in which income distribution and technological progress are endogenously determined through class conflict between workers and capitalists. Using the model, we analyze the short-run and the long-run equilibrium. In the analysis we consider two kinds of effects caused by a rise in the employment rate. First, a rise in the employment rate exerts an upward pressure on wages (i.e., a reserve army effect). Second, a rise in the employment leads capitalists to adopt labor saving technology in order to intentionally create reserve armies of labor (i.e., a reserve army creation effect). These two effects are based on the idea of Karl Marx. The stability of the long-run equilibrium depends on the reserve army effect, the reserve army creation effect, and the relative bargaining power between workers and capitalists. In addition, the stability and results of comparative statics analysis depend on which regime is realized in the short-run equilibrium. If the short-run equilibrium is the wage-led growth and stagnationist regime, the long-run equilibrium is likely to be unstable with the strong reserve army effects, the weak reserve army creation effect, and the weak bargaining power of capitalists. These factors, on the other hand, lead the long-run equilibrium to be stable if the short-run equilibrium is the profitled growth and exhilarationist regime. If the short-run equilibrium is the profit-led growth and stagnationist regime, the long-run equilibrium is stable irrespective of the size of such effects. We investigate the relationship between bargaining power and unemployment in the long run. In the wage-led growth regime an increase in the bargaining power of workers lowers the unemployment rate while in the profit-led growth regime a decrease in the bargaining power of workers lowers the unemployment rate. In this way the relationship between bargaining power and unemployment depends on the regime which realizes in the goods market.

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.56, no.1, pp.65, 2019 (Released:2021-06-25)

著者

岡本 悳也 楊枝 嗣朗

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.51, no.3, pp.20-31, 2014-10-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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The Lehman Shock prompted the Marx tenet school and the Left-wing liberal group to contemplate if capitalism has reached its demise or whether the Shock was a general crisis of capitalism. However, I do not believe either of these phenomena. This is because most of the advanced nations escaped from this crisis and have now started to recover. The Lehman shock was "only a shock" and was not the sort of crisis that would shake the capitalistic organization. Historically, capitalism became increasingly more flexible and tough as a counterbalancing force and a system against the communism. This is maybe a historical paradox or a dialectical development of the history. As for contemporary capitalism, the role of the financial system overwhelmingly bears an important impression under the name of "financial capitalism". It is an anachronistic point of view to define "financial capitalism" as "casino capitalism" & "avaricious capitalism". It is the same kind for Lenin to give similar superficial evaluations as "parasitic" & "rot characteristics "on Imperialism. It could be argued that the intellectual weakening of the Marx tenet school and the Left-wing liberal group could be in a critical situation. As Marx has taught, we should today face squarely what "financial capitalism" is. It is important to clarify the structure and historical phase of "financial capitalism", as well as to reach an ideological connotation. The era of "financial capitalism" is a new era when the public is able to save positively and spontaneously, from the time in which the public enjoys consumption. Savings at the household level is the significant foundation of "financial capitalism", and it is on this firm basis that the financial system generates funds for the improvement of living standards of the public and economic growth of developing countries. However, sometimes this approach could be prone to risk and vulnerability. This is the reality of the principle of "financial capitalism".

著者

森岡 真史

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.41, no.3, pp.54-65, 2004-10-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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This paper critically investigates the classical preposition that the natural prices are the center of gravitation towards which market prices should move through the equalization process of industries' rates of profit. While intensively studied in 1980s and early 90s, in recent years concern for this subject seems to have declined mainly because a series of studies showed that it was by no means easy to construct a model in which rates of profit tended to be equalized. The purpose to take up this problem here is to reconsider the logic of classical argument on gravitation and to analyze systematically the dynamic nature of cross adjustment process where differentials in profit rates trigger the change of production and excess demand in each industry leads to the change of market price. In spite of the erroneous reasoning about the relation between price deviations and profit deviations, if the positive profit deviation in one industry always leads fall of its market price, the classical argument on gravitation is basically valid. The real flaw in the classical argument is that it overlooks the derived change of demand and thus fails to connect price-production movements with the balance between production and demand. This flaw can be removed by combining the adjustment of production caused by differentials in profit rates with the price movement reacting to excess demand. Thus whether the classical argument is right or wrong eventually depends on the dynamic nature of cross adjustment process. Except for few particular cases, cross adjustment brings about at best the permanent fluctuation of production and prices within a closed orbit and quite often leads to their unstable movement. The analysis in this paper demonstrates the above by multi-sector models with various assumptions on time and production period. Models consisting of three or more sectors are more likely to be instable than two-sector models. Furthermore, cross adjustment always causes instabity in discrete time models. Particularly notable is the fact that introduction of the budget constraint does not contribute to the stability of cross adjustment. It is possible to give classical cross adjustment asymptotic stability by introducing 'neo-classical' price substitution effect or 'Keynesian' quantity adjustment. However, considering the deep differences among classical, neo-classical and Keynesian economics in their theories of production adjustment, their mechanical conjugation is of little theoretical significance, even though cross adjustment extended by such conjugation may gain stability. It would be hasty to interpret the above results as 'refutation' of the classical preposition on equalization of profit rates. There are many prepositions or hypothesis in economics lacking logical 'proof' but frequently used for their usefulness or as stylized empirical fact. For the time being, the classical preposition may be regarded one of those prepositions. The model analysis in this paper throws serious doubts not to the classical preposition itself but rather to its underlying mechanisms of price-production adjustment supposed by classical economists. Especially, the mechanisms that firms increase (decrease) their production when their profit rates are above (below) the average level does not sufficiently refrect one of the most important features of capitalist economy that capitalist firms are usually under demand constraint. At any rate, future search of theoretical foundation of profit equalization should start from the different vision on the fluctuation process triggered by differentials in profit rates.

著者

間宮 賢一

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.44, no.2, pp.54-65, 2007-07-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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After the latter half of 1990s, non-regular employment has increased remarkably. It is the reason that each firm reduces the cost of labor and survives in the days of great competition. The main purpose of this paper is to examine the influence on the economic growth, which comes from replacing regular employment with non-regular employment. The wage differential between regular workers and non-regular workers is remarkable. Therefore, consumer confidence of regular workers, who do not lose their job, will deteriorate when the reduction of regular employment is performed. While regular employment has been reduced, long time regular workers have increased. It seems that this tendency will continue in future. Working for a long time decreases consumer demand on mainly leisure time. As the above-mentioned reasons, it is thought that the regular workers average propensity to consume (RW-APC) declines. The degree of decline of RW-APC affects the economic growth rate. If replacing regular employment with non-regular employment does not decline RW-APC that much, the economic growth rate rises. The reason is that the addition of non-regular workers by regular employment reduction increases consumer demand of economy. However, the growth rate comes to fall if RW-APC comes to decline ahead of a certain level. And the economic growth rate falls more greatly, if the degree of decline of RW-APC becomes bigger. In addition, wage increase of non-regular workers raises the economic growth rate and it increases regular and non-regular employment. This can also raise the real wage of both workers. In this way, wage increase of non-regular workers improves employment environment.

著者

阪本 崇

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.53, no.2, pp.45, 2016 (Released:2018-07-09)

被引用文献数

1

著者

涌井 秀行

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.52, no.4, pp.44-53, 2016-01-20 (Released:2018-01-09)

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This paper offers a description of how economic development in Japan was accomplished so quickly. The industrial production index (based on GDP) in five advanced countries shows the rapid economic growth of Japan after World War II. The economy grew about eightfold in the 25 years from 1955 to 1980, which was as much as 2.5 times the economic growth of the United States, Germany, and France, and 1.6 times that of Britain. The speed of economic growth of Japan was phenomenal. This paper discusses the issue of this speed. How was Japan able to increase its productive force rapidly and become an industrialized nation so quickly? The speed shows the differences of structure in various economies, which will be described from the following two perspectives: The first perspective is the world-historic condition, i.e. the Cold War structure, or the U.S. Cold War system vs. the U.S.S.R Cold War system. The second perspective is Japanese domestic conditions, which are broken down under three headings: (1) Capital (funds; machine or technology); (2) Labor (person); (3) Land ownership (agriculture and farmers). From these three conditions, the author defines the Japanese Capitalism structure after WWII as " Exogenous Reproduction Structure." This paper discusses "land ownership." There are three types of land ownership: agricultural land, land for housing, and land for enterprise. Japan accomplished its rapid economic growth by converting the land ownership into capital. Originally, land was not a value-thing, but Japan created the capital by putting a price on the land. It has become the fictitious capital. The stagnation of the Japanese economy is not a problem of business cycles (prosperity-depression), but rather a problem of structure, which appeared as marginal villages (depopulated villages and towns with most inhabitants being senior citizens) in rural and city communities. The Japanese economy has shrunk. The long-lasting sluggish economy is called the "Lost Two Decades." This is the state of the present Japan.

著者

池上 岳彦

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.49, no.1, pp.24-33, 2012-04-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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This paper examines how government deficit and debt increase, and when countries are confronted with fiscal crises. Each developed country can be characterized as "social democratic", "conservative", "liberal" or "familial" regime. Japan is a "familial" regime country with low tax burdens. Why is there no convergence of the regimes? First, the decisions of investment are not so related to the level of tax burdens. Second, there is a variety of countries in people's trust on government sector. Third, there is a variety in policies on the aging society. In many countries, inequality has been enlarging and economic, social and political systems have been in crisis since the "global financial crisis". In particular, severe fiscal stress or crisis can be found in countries with "familial" and "liberal" regimes. Why does the "structural deficit" appear? First, if tax revenues are insufficient to finance social security expenses, it will cause a structural deficit. Second, when socio-political conflicts become intense, the expenditures of related services increase. Third, issuing "Construction Bonds" easily leads to wasteful projects. Fourth, if uncertainty about the future is not eased, the marginal propensity to consume is so low that the multiplier effect of Keynesian policy is limited. Fifth, there is no assurance that the tax reductions which supply-side economists advocate will promote investment. Sixth, when the "bubble" bursts, the decline of tax revenues and the policy to relieve financial institutions will increase the deficit. When does a fiscal or political crisis emerge? First, in countries where people do not trust the government sector, tax increases to finance rising social security expenses is difficult. Second, when foreign investors possess a high share of government debt, their decision to change portfolios may cause a decline in bond prices and a rise of interest rates. If international organizations intervene to avoid defaults, sovereignty in policies will be in danger. Third, if a member of a regional economic integration falls into deep debt, the integrating organization may intervene in the policies. If it forces severe retrenchment, there will be a severe political crisis. Fourth, if the government bond monies are used on wasteful services, fiscal stress is enlarged. Fifth, since the governments in debtor countries don't have influence over the interest rates in financial markets, they cannot save debt service expenses. Sixth, foreign relations and ethnic tensions themselves may bring political crises. Countries experiencing many of these elements may be confronted with sudden fiscal crises. Even in other countries, fiscal crises may be "creeping". Japanese long-term interest rate is low, as household savings have purchased most bonds. That is why international organizations have not seriously pressured Japan to reduce fiscal deficit. Since Japanese population is decreasing, increases in saving cannot be expected. While economic recovery is desirable, it will be accompanied by a rise in interest rates. Unless the Japanese government can reduce the deficit by then, fiscal flexibility will be lost. The main measures to reduce the deficit are expenditure cuts and tax increases. In the case of Japan, there is much room for tax increases. There is no basis to slash social security expenses and load more risk onto individuals and families. Fiscal reform as an institutional change is realized with a combination of many political institutions based on the history of each country. In a country where the government sector is not trusted and the tax burden is light, it is very difficult to realize tax increases. If criticism of the bureaucracy becomes the criticism of the public sector itself, the fiscal consolidation problem will intensify.

著者

大屋 定晴

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.50, no.2, pp.43-55, 2013-07-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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In 2011, global mass protests emerged, such as Occupy Wall Street movement. This paper considers how we can locate American anti-capitalist movements within the global justice movement. Since the protest against the 1999 WTO Ministerial Conference, the movements against neoliberal globalization have extended with a great variety, involving anarchists/autonomists. The latter's characteristics are symbolized by "Direct Action" or "horizontalism". Contemporary anarchist discourses (David Graeber, Marina Sitrin, and Massimo de Angelis) and Postmodern Marxism (Michael Hardt, Antonio Negri) have diffused, and we can see their influence on the Occupy movements in the United States. But the global justice movement subsumes the other oppositional wings; NGOs, some Marxist trends, popular education movements in Latin America, etc. Above all, according to Graber, "Marxism has tended to be a theoretical or analytical discourse about revolutionary strategy" and "[a] narchism has tended to be an ethical discourse about revolutionary practice". How then can we understand the relation between the anarchist's "ethics" and the contemporary Marxist's "theory"? How can we relate anarchist-autonomist views with logics of Marxists who have participated in the global justice movement, such as David Harvey and Samir Amin? Starting from this problem, we can derive five points to consider. 1. How to understand the "outside" of capital - Anarchists and Postmodern Marxists emphasize the creation of "outside" of capital. They suggest somewhat spontaneous emergence of the "common", the "outside", as a result of historical transition from industrial to biopolitical economy (Hardt and Negri), or as a process of "value struggles" (De Angelis). But Marxists propose the analysis of conditions of that emergence. Besides theorizing about capital accumulation/circulation process, theories of "co-evolutionary process" (Harvey) and "under-determination" (Amin) are attempts to study the non-economic conditions of "outside" creation. 2. Imperialism - Hardt and Negri regard the concept of "imperialism" as outdated, and De Angelis underestimates it. On the contrary, Harvey and Amin defend its contemporary importance. This opposition is based on the different interpretation of capitalist time-space. Marxists in question focus on the geographical agglomerations of capitalist activities, while Postmodern Marxists and anarchists emphasize the flattening "space" of capital. 3. State - Direct Action's discourses include the equation of state with capital. Hardt and Negri also identify the "Empire" with capitalistic domination, although considering the "nation-state" as obsolesced. Amin and Harvey oppose these opinions, because they consider the state as an institutional place/space where the capital accumulation process relates to, and collides against, the "co-evolutionary process" or "under-determination". So the "territorial logic of power" in states can hinder the demands of capitalist power. 4. Structural dilemma in social movement's organization - Occupy Wall Street tried to become a hallmark of participatory and democratic decision-making. This "horizontalism" could get Marxists consent. However, Harvey is cautious about a "fetishism of organizational form". Because we need "general rules" to resolve problems at wider scale, progressive anti-capitalist movements must accept hierarchical structures. 5. Position of intellectuals - Contemporary social movements include self-education processes. This poses the question about the position of intellectuals. Anarchists and autonomists condemn the leadership of intellectuals as a justification of hierarchical(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

著者

大西 広

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.54, no.4, pp.6, 2018 (Released:2020-01-06)

著者

海 大汎

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.55, no.4, pp.68, 2019 (Released:2021-01-15)

著者

吉村 信之

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.55, no.4, pp.28, 2019 (Released:2021-01-15)

著者

大槻 奈巳

出版者

経済理論学会

雑誌

季刊経済理論 (ISSN:18825184)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.56, no.2, pp.7, 2019 (Released:2021-07-16)