著者

金 仁子

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.1, pp.61, 2017 (Released:2019-04-08)

著者

橋本 健二

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.2, pp.106-108, 2014

著者

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.45, no.2, pp.5-14, 2008-07-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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The thought of independence of central banking was generally accepted during 1990s. And then the relationship between money and state has hardly occupied the interest of monetary economists. Some of them emphasised that the central banking does not have any administrative power. Therefore, the query why the government must ultimately take the responsibility for the stability of financial system and why the central bank must contribute to it through the prudential policy, have not been drked theoretically. In the meantime the Free Banking School has insisted the abolition of the central bank because the central bank-money is state fiat money. And the Cartalists like L. R. Wray, S. Bell, and C. A. E. Goodhart have attached the importance of ties between money and state, and therefore they have been worried about the future of Euro money due to breaking its bond with governments. We understand the ties between money and government are essential; otherwise the capitalistic credit monies could not have been developed. Since private credit monies circulated among merchants and traders in modern times, state monies like coins became just small changes for private credit monies. In consequence governments lost the ability of raising fund to a great extent. There were no way other than accepting private credit monies as means of tax-payment to raise fund. Such an intervention by government assisted private credit monies to circulate all over their country. The central bank currency contributed to reduce the costs of commercial transactions and of tax-collection too. From the above point of view we inquire the relationship between money and state, and why a central bank has "the ambiguous presence as a semi-governmental corporation".

著者

鶴田 満彦

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.51, no.3, pp.90-92, 2014-10-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

著者

橋本 健二

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.4, pp.29-40, 2008-01-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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This article aims to clarify the structure and dynamics of contemporary Japan as so-called "gap-widening society" from the viewpoint of class studies. For this purpose, 4-class scheme, which consists of capitalist, new middle, working and old middle classes on the basis of jobs, employment status, size of business and gender, is introduced and operationalized for quantitative analysis. Thereafter, economic disparity among classes are measured, income determination processes and income functions are estimated, and structure and trend of inter-generational class mobility is examined. Findings are as follows. (1) Class locations are very important determinant of income, independent of factors such as education, years of work experience and size of business. Income functions vary depending on class locations, which means different income determination processes exist corresponding to class locations. (2)Economic disparity among classes is expanding and its importance as component of total economic disparity is becoming large. Poverty rates vary greatly depending on class locations and these variations are becoming large. (3)Concerning about intergenerational class mobility, all classes show some exclusiveness, nevertheless capitalist class is extremely exclusive, and its exclusiveness has been strengthened in this 30 years. These findings imply that class theory and 4-class scheme have much power of explanation for social structure and processes of the "gap-widening society" in contemporary Japan. Speaking generally, contemporary Japan can be called class society.

著者

江原 慶

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.55, 2018 (Released:2020-01-06)

著者

成瀬 龍夫

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.2, pp.22-31, 2012-07-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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In Japan, although the situation of income differential and poverty has spread among people, the Government has not fully done the correspondence. As a cause of the governmental insufficient action, the weakness of the function of income redistribution by a taxation system and a social security system is pointed out. The Government is pressed to put a serious reform of social security system into action and is tackling "an integrated reform of tax and social security". However the Government is charging at a big hike in consumption tax, not showing a clear vision of a social security reform. The social security system of Japan, in addition to the problem of a chronic fund shortage, has a grave concern over the sustainability to the future. The system has set social insurance institutions as a financial core, so that it may be called social-insurance center principle. However, the number of recipients of an annual pension and medical treatments is increasing quickly under the increase of the aged population, while the working population which pays a social security payment is continuing to decrease. Moreover, in the market for labor in Japan, nonregular workers of short-time labor are continuing to increase in number, and the rate occupies 1/3 of all the employed workers. The worker of less than 30 hours per week has not a qualification to join a social insurance. Under such a background, most of social insurances in Japan has fallen into the situation of a financial emergency and is losing the view to future. The social security system of Japan does not match with the low birthrate and aging of population and the bipolarization of a market for labor. Such conventional reforms as an increase of social insurance premiums, a cut of a benefit payout and a tax increase have already reached the limit. The social security of Japan should free itself from the social-insurance center principle. I think that we are coming to the time to grope for the system reorganization by a new view. The important method is changing the income grant in the present social security payment to a new system for paying a basic income. However, it is difficult to change the present income grant to a basic income system fully at once. As a process of the change, introducing partially and expanding gradually will be viewed. I think that the priority should be given to the old people and the child generation who cannot work for money probably. While granting at a small amount for the adult who can earn, it is required to secure the opportunity of a decent employment for them. Introduction of a basic income security is useful for the creation of a better society. Securing a basic income has the "basic effect" which gets rid of people's absolute poverty. Moreover, it forms the domain of subsistence economy distinguished from a market economy. Furthermore, a basic income system brings a social environment which people can enjoy a free and more fitting lifestyle for them. It is also expected to raise a consciousness of a social solidarity and to develop a mutual cooperation among people. There is a strong objection against the introduction of it from the point of view of a moral hazard, so-called "a fall of the will to work". But I do not side with this objection. I consider that the introduction will change the quality of people's will to work and will produce a new opportunity which raises people's will to work further.

著者

松尾 匡

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.4, pp.42-59, 2014-01-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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Okishio's way to deal with labour value concept was to separate it from price concept. It is consistent with Marx's fundamental dual view of the reification theory that the nature of the human society in general, which is the mutual labour interdependence among persons, does not appear directly but appears taking the form of the exchange relationship among commodities. The latter, where the price categories hold, alienates from the former, where the bestowed labour(the substance of the value)hold as a key category to grasp the reproduction. It is the existence of gap between price and labour value that this view emphasizes to criticize this structure, rather than the price reflection of labour value. First in the present paper, the alleged compatibility of two "total identity propositions" proposed by the Single System Approach is criticized. It is shown that their value of the labour power is the labour to produce the similar contraction of the net production bundle, which contains commodities workers never buy. And the compatibility of the two total identity propositions holds between any two evaluation vectors, besides labour value and production price. And Marx-Okishio's dual structure of the theory is confirmed. The Hawkins-Simon condition of I-A, where A is the input coefficient matrix, means net production is possible as well as labour value is definable(labour is alocatable). Whereas the Hawkins-Simon condition of I-A_+, where A_+ is the extended input coefficient matrix adding labour force sector to A, means surplus production is possible as well as positive profit exists. The former condition indicates the productiveness of personal interdependence nature of society. The latter condition indicates the productiveness of capitalistic reification form of society. Okishio's Fundamental Marxian Theorem, which states equivalence between positive profit and exploitation of labour, observes profit phenomenon holding at reification world as a fare equivalence of trades, from the stand point of the human interdependence world and then there finds exploitation relationship between humans. So called Generalized Commodity Exploitation Theorem uses bestowed commodity concept other than bestowed labour and finds that exploitation of any commodity is equivalent with positive profit. But we realize that the existence of a positive bestowed commodity vector is identical with some kind of Hawkins-Simon condition. And it is shown that the condition means productiveness for a special "net production" concept, which includes inputs to produce the commodity but does not include workers' consumption. We can interpret a commodity exploitation concept as an interpretation of profit from a stand point on a special understanding of essence of society that grasp society as interdependence relation between the commodity. Labour value concept has been developed from the primitive definition by simultaneous equations to Morishima's labour minimization definition and then to my Minimum Labour with Equal Utility definition. The present paper traces this direction of development, which goes further leaving price concept, and shows my study plan that describe non-profit=non-exploitation state as a normative state for workers' class, which functions as a criterion for the criticism free from the reification. In this state, the bestowed labour concept works as a standard to organize he balanced allocation in the personal inter-dependence world. Then, the relation between this criterion and Roemer's criterion, which considers equal distribution of means of production as normative, is examined. In the short run, under the constraint of endowment of means of production, the means of production claim net products even by the social planning without reification. Thus the equal distribution of the means of production is regarded as normative. In(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

著者

柴垣 和夫

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.32-43, 2014-10-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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A new feature of economic policy in advanced capitalist countries since Lehman Shock in 2008 is both of Keynesian and neo-liberalist policies have been carried out simultaneously. We can find a typical example in so called Abenomics in Japan, which are consisted of "three arrows", aggressive monetary easing, massive fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms. The second is a typical Keynesian policy and the third is almost neo-liberalist one related to economic deregulations. The first arrow looks like neo-liberalist policy following to the quantity theory of money apparently, but we can estimate it as a modified Keynesian policy because it was explained by the Governor of the Bank of Japan that monetary easing was introduced to change expectation of market participants from deflation to inflation. The aim of this paper is to examine the historical background and meaning of such a phenomenon of nowadays' economic policy especially about the cyclical adjustment policy. As for the historical background, the first phase was appeared in the 1930s after the great depression. Keynesian fiscal policy such as Takahashi-Zaisei in Japan or New Deal in the US was in operation. Although these policies made a certain success in economic recovery, the precedence of the domestic equilibrium over the international one brought about severe economic and political frictions among imperial powers. The second phase was shown in the 1950〜60s. Being added monetary policy to fiscal policy, Keynesian cyclical adjustment had improved greatly. The policy-mix of fiscal and monetary policies enabled to avoid the economic crisis from business cycle. However, under the collapse of the original IMF system by the suspension of exchange between US dollar and gold in 1971, inflation rate had increased rapidly. With two events, the transition to the floating exchange rate system from the fixed one and the first Oil Crisis in 1973, advanced capitalist countries were attacked violent stagflation with double figures inflation and minus growth rate. This was the signal of the end of Keynesian's period. Failing to find any new policy to overcome stagflation, capitalist recalled the old-fashioned means of economic power based on market. It was called neo-liberalist policy, which is carried out first in UK(Thatcherism) and US (Reaganomics). Under neo-liberalist regime, the structure of the world economy has been changed dramatically accompanied with the end of the cold war, Chinese economic reform and the innovation of information & communication technologies. Passing through the transition period of the 1980s, financial and industrial globalizations have progressed under the initiative of the US in the 1990〜2000s. Financial globalization brought about crises in both of exchange and financial markets frequently. Industrial globalization promoted rapid industrialization of rising countries such as BRICs on one hand, on the other hand promoted deindustrialization of advanced capitalist countries. As a result, working conditions of laborers in advanced countries became worse and the capitalist power to control laborers was strengthened. The third phase under neo-liberalist policy was characterized by coexistence of uneasiness of financial market and stabilized capital-labor relations in industrial sectors. The conclusion of this phase, however, was the Lehman Shock as I noticed at the beginning. According to the examination above, we may conclude that there is no policy to adjust business cycle completely. Coexistence of Keynesian & neo-liberalist policy might be the confession of this fact by capitalism itself.

著者

西部 忠

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.1, pp.22-35, 2015-04-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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The present paper shows, by using different models of scientific research and methodology, that economics and economy coevolve because there exists a bidirectional causal relation between them, and that Keynes, Hayek and Marx all knew its unique implications for economic policy of the government and economic thought of the public even in different views. We focus on Marx's historical materialism (HM) and his model for coevolution of economics and economy that comprises HM as pre-theory, and advocate the necessity of transforming HM into historical knowledgism (HK) in the 21st century of post-industrial society. Finally we present the framework of evolutionary economics in view of HK and explain its implication for theory and policy.

著者

山川 俊和

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.43, no.4, pp.75-85, 2007-01-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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The purpose of this paper is to clarify the basic character and structure of that the international negotiation and trade rules on "Food Safety issue". In this paper, we focus on "safety of US-beef" in eminent agricultural exporting country United Sates of America in the world. Chapter 1 shows that define of "Political Economy approach", and that problem establishment of this paper. Section 2 shows that reviewing about the relation between "Food Safety issue" and globalization. In terms of trade and "Food Safety issues", The SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary) measures are so important that its have an influence on risk related to food safety and ecological safety. Section 3, we consider the characteristic of international negotiation and trade rules on "Food Safety issue". In this section, we examine about "the Japan-U.S.BSE negotiation". Section 4 shows that structure and character of the WTO trade rule (especially SPS agreement). And, as the case study of trade rule of WTO, we examine "the U.S.-EU growth hormone beef case". Lastly, in section 5 shows that opinion of Jagdish Bhagwati as Neo-Classical international economist, his policy recommendation for trade and food safety issues is labeling. We describe that some critique against this policy recommendation. And we conclude this paper and point out some additional study subject. The main conclusions in this paper about international trade negotiation/rule and "Food safety issue" are the following four points. 1. To set an analysis framework from "Political Economy approach". 2. Explicit understanding of structure that interaction between "Food Safety issue" and the WTO regime. 3. Having confirmed a position of the U.S. Government, which gave priority to trade promotion over food safety security from "the Japan-U.S.BSE negotiation" and "the U.S.-EU growth hormone beef case". 4. To point out that "Non- neutrality" of the decision of the international rule about the trade and "Food Safety issue", and that the "fluctuation" of WTO.

著者

山本 孝則

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.4, pp.99, 2017 (Released:2019-01-07)

著者

永田 瞬

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.2, pp.58-69, 2009-07-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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In contemporary Japan, an increase in the number of atypical employment, such as part-time, fixed-term, and temporary agency workers, is a serious social problem. This paper discusses the connection between atypical employment and labor policy in Japan. The first section examines the deterioration of Japanese workers' living conditions. Their living conditions are characterized by: i) the growing poverty rate (as revealed by OECD report), ii) a rapid increase in the number of the working poor, and iii) the poor working conditions of atypical employment. The second section considers characteristics of Japanese current labor policies. It argues that because of insufficient protection of working conditions, atypical employment is in disadvantageous positions in labor market. Therefore, we need to consider policy options to improve working conditions of atypical employment. The third section considers equal treatment policies in the EU countries. Under the EU legal directives, the EU countries have promoted such policies by providing equality treatments to atypical employment. These EU directives include the directive on part-time work of 1997, that on fixed term work of 1999, and that on temporary agency work of 2008. These directives brought about improvements in employment status of atypical employment by narrowing the wage gap between typical employment and atypical employment. The analysis suggests that policies to improve working conditions of atypical employment are effective in reducing the number of the working poor.

著者

吉田 文和

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.4, 2017

著者

岡部 洋實

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.19, 2016 (Released:2018-07-09)

著者

中谷 武

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.4, pp.5-15, 2014-01-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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置塩信雄『蓄積論』(初版)は1967年に出版された。その後,世界や日本の経済が成長率の低下やさまざまな危機を経験する中で,経済理論自体も大きく変貌してきたが,現在の近代経済学(主流派経済学)の基本的な枠組みは変わっていない。これに対するマルクス経済学やポストケインズ派経済学などの批判的経済学にも新しい動きが出てきている。本稿は,置塩『蓄積論』の基本的メッセージを,(1)資本制の歴史性,(2)不均衡とその累積性,(3)利潤と投資の主導性,(4)資本制の長期法則の4点から整理し,現時点でその重要性を評価する。次に,批判的経済理論の一つとして最近多くの研究が行われているカレツキ等のポストケインズ派を対象に,その貢献と問題点を論じる。

著者

黒瀬 一弘

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.1, pp.6, 2016 (Released:2018-04-09)

被引用文献数

1

著者

米田 貢

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.43, no.3, pp.27-39, 2006

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The ratio of the Japanese government long-term debt to GDP in 2006 is 117%. It is the worst in OECD countries. Japan is in the extraordinary situation where the Japanese government has to spend over 40% of its tax revenue to national debt service. A moment of great crisis of national bankruptcy is coming. However the Japanese government continues to issue the ten-year Japanese Government bonds with a very low coupon rate, while every year it must get huge money by government bond from a financial market already suffering its oversupply. At first this paper focuses on the historical accumulation of the Japanese government bonds. One of the major factors that allowed the Japanese government to expand public finance depending on government bond is article 4 of the Public Finance Law. Issuing construction bonds to finance public work has no limit except approval by Parliament according to this article. Secondly this paper discusses the credibility of the state or the government as a borrower. The economic power of the state to levy tax is originally based on the political power of the state as a political subject. Therefore the economic power of the state dually influences a relationship between creditor and debtor as market mechanism. Although it usually strengthens the credibility of the state as a borrower, it might ruin its creditors facing a crucial fiscal crisis.

著者

伊藤 誠

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.7-19, 2014-10-20 (Released:2017-04-25)

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The world economy is in a continuous deep crisis originating from the US subprime financial crisis. The neo-classical micro economics cannot serve to clarify the causes of such a disaster so long as it lacks a crisis theory. It is natural to see a global revival of intellectual interest in crises theories in Marx's Capital, as well as in Keynesian or post-Keynesian theories. In this paper, let us reexamine multiplicity of Marx's crises theories, Uno's attempt to purify them at a level of basic principles of cyclical crises, and how to apply them to the contemporary world crisis. 1. Multiplicity of Crisis Theories in Marx's Capital Marx's crisis theory was not fully completed. There remained several different crisis theories in Capital. As basic causes, the difficulties to realization of value and surplus value due to either under-consumption or disequilibrium were emphasized in the excess commodity theories of crisis. However, we find other types of crisis theory which underline over-accumulation of capital in relation either to the limited supply of laboring population or to falling rate of profit due to rising composition of capital also in Capital. The fundamental instability in monetary and financial system was also extensively explored there. 2. The Significance of Uno's Theory of Crisis K. Uno's Theory of Crisis(1953) presented a powerful attempt to complete Marx's crisis theory upon the historical ground of typical business cycles in the mid-19 th century, relying on the labour shortage type of over-accumulation theory in combination with credit theory. In my view Uno's crisis theory can easily expanded to include the roles of speculative overtrading and credit expansion toward the end of prosperity, promoting disequilibrium among industries, and causing a destructive acute crisis. The fundamental contradiction of capitalism to treat human labour power as a commodity is stressed as a basic cause of crisis together with contradictory functions of financial system in its efficient elasticity eventually to cause cyclical destructive collapses. In the process of depression, the capitalist mechanism to reproduce industrial reserve army through technological innovation, also demonstrates the difficulty to treat labour-power as a commodity in another context with a resultant difficulty of under-consumption for capitalism. 3. How to Utilize Marx's Crisis Theories in the Contemporary World Uno used to be cautious about too direct application of Marx's basic theory of crisis in the contemporary world, as he was impressed by the great crisis since 1929 which was caused by strong impact of World War I and the consequent agricultural depression, being resolved by World War II. However, in my view capitalism since 1970s became to show again its intrinsic working together with its basic contradictions. Neo-liberalism reflects and reinforces such a basic trend since 1980s. Among others, the inflationary crisis of 1973-05 occurred after over-accumulation of capital in relation to laboring population in the advanced economies, as well as in relation to the flexibility of supply of primary products in the world market, causing a sharp profit-squeeze. Thus, Uno's crisis theory based upon Marx clearly showed its rather direct applicability in our age. D. Harvey in The Enigma of Capital(2010) agrees on this. However, he recommends a multi-causal approach to keep all the crisis theories in Capital to be applied to historically different occasions. He suggests the under-consumption model of crisis is more applicable to the subprime crisis, as real wages was continuously oppressed in the boom before the crisis. In such a multi-causal approach, the basic theory of crisis must be a bundle of possibilities and cannot demonstrate logical inevitability of cyclical crisis as a fundamental law of motion of capitalist economy, as Marx(View PDF for the rest of the abstract.)

著者

斉藤 美彦

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.43, no.3, pp.15-26, 2006

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In fiscal 1965, the Japanese Government could not continue to balance the budget and started to issue government bonds. Gross debt of the national government grew rapidly following the first oil crisis. Consequently, Japanese banks and the Bank of Japan have greatly increased their holdings of government bonds. The Bank of Japan, in particular, has had to increase the amount of outright purchases of long-term government bonds since the introduction of the quantitative easing policy in March 2001. Recently, many market participants and economists argue that a largely treasury-only portfolio of central banks would be appropriate as the markets for government bonds are large and liquid. This paper first examines the course of this large increase in the outright purchase of government bonds by the Bank of Japan, and then looks at a popular belief that the issuance of central bank notes should be supported by long-term government bonds. In addition, the paper shows that this popular belief is premised on the specific historical condition of the fiscal deficit. The paper also looks at the relationship between orthodox monetary policies and the accumulation of government bonds. The paper does not follow the old argument that central banks should hold only gold, foreign exchange and real bills, rather, it contends that the main issue is the way contemporary capitalism, financial systems and monetary policies are analyzed. Japan's future fiscal condition will be severely affected by its ageing society and the apparently ever increasing strength of the Yen. Under such circumstances, the Bank of Japan is likely to be under pressure to maintain the price of long-term government bonds and thereby keep long term interest rates low. Such a policy is likely to affect central bank independence, a very dangerous prospect. Finally, this paper emphasizes that central bank notes are not supplied exogenously. Private sector banks supply money (deposits) endogenously and people obtain central bank notes by withdrawing deposits. The demand for central bank notes is a part of the total demand for monetary aggregates supplied by private sector banks. The relationship, therefore, between the accumulation of government bonds and the structure of balance sheets of central banks concerns the overall contemporary financial systems.