[OPE-L:8110] Re: Re: re: marx and labour theory of value

From: clyder@gn.apc.org
Date: Wed Dec 04 2002 - 04:30:45 EST


Quoting Rakesh Bhandari <rakeshb@stanford.edu>:

> re 8099
> 
> Paul,
> 
> Why should we assume that a commodity's value or price of production 
> is determined at the national level? Just because market prices in 
> any one nation may seem to be strongly correlated (putting aside 
> Kliman's objections) to values and (less so) prices of production as 
> calculated on the basis of that nation's accounts does not mean that 
> either determines (in any sense) market price.
> 
> Yours, Rakesh
> 
> 

The question is how accurate a determination prices one can get from
an i/o model drawn up on the basis of national accounts. The answer is 
that it is not bad. This does not rule out the possibility that one
could derive an even better model if one had access to disaggregated
foreign trade statistics. As it stands, the i.o tables deal with this
just as another industry that consumes exports and produces imports.

As to whether the correlations obtained between labour contents and
sectoral prices indicate that labour contents determine sectoral prices,
well in one sense you are right, it could just be a matter of chance
that prices are closely correlated with labour inputs but not for instance
with electricity inputs, but this is unlikely given the strength of
the correlations and their replicability accross countries.


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