From: Jurriaan Bendien (adsl675281@TISCALI.NL)
Date: Thu Feb 16 2006 - 09:46:00 EST
I'm quite aware of the TCC/VCC distinction, and you are correct that the TCC is difficult to measure because it refers to the physical quantity of means of production per employee -as a proxy we can calculate fixed capital (and intermediate goods) per worker; by dividing the intermediate consumption flow - insofar as it is composed of goods, not services - by the average inventory level, we can have some indication of the average stock of intermediate goods worked with at any time. But unfortunately, intermediate consumption data is not normally classified by type in social accounts. It's possible as you say that a smaller but more expensive physical quantity of means of production is used. Another problem is that V should really be measured as a stock, not a flow, i.e. the capital used to pay salaries may, in manufacturing and certain services be only 1/10th of the annual flow since the capital funds needed to pay salaries are recouped through revenues from ongoing output sales. Presumably computerisation has a strong effect on the turnover-time of capital, which would tend to lower the VCC. But I have no good empirical evidence for that. Jurriaan
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