In [6145] Fred wrote (in part): > That means that the decline in the profit rate since 1997 must have been > due mainly to continuing increases in the composition of capital and in > the ratio of unproductive labor to productive labor. I have not updated > my estimates of these variables after 1994, but this discussion makes me > want to do that asap (hopefully in January). Which led Antonio to ask in [6146]: > This seems too simple to ask, so perhaps i'm missing something, but > wouldn't a third possibility be a problem of realization? Which leads me to ask another 'simple' question: what would be an accepted method for empirically determining the cause for the decline in the rate of profit where there are a number of variables at work each of which _can_ cause a change in the rate of profit? A simple (perhaps overly-simple) answer might be to ask: 'what came first?' E.g. did the realization problem occur before or after the decline in the rate of profit? However, if there isn't that kind of a simple 'time line' and the two or more events happen at the same time, how can we empirically determine causation and/or association? In solidarity, Jerry
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