From: Gerald A. Levy (Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM)
Date: Fri Jun 11 2004 - 11:02:04 EDT
Hi again Paul C. > It is possible that there still subsist some systematic differences > in intensity between sectors. If one had some independent means of > determining these then one could test to see if the intensities of > labour, when added as an additional explanatory variable, increased > the correlation between prices and values that one got without > the correction for intensity. This would be an interesting question > since it would provide a means of empirically testing Marx's hypothesis > that more intense labour adds more value. > In principle one could do the test if one had the opportunity to get > good work-study records of the working day in different industries. > I think there is a good PhD thesis in such an investigation. The data exists but is proprietary and diffuse. In the US, corporations will not even share this data with unions so I think it is unlikely that they would be willing to share it with graduate students. I agree, though, that it would be a worthwhile thesis if there were some way of getting around this data dissemination problem. Perhaps there is some cross-industry and cross-regional data published in professional 'scientific management' journals? In solidarity, Jerry
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