Domar's growth model and Marx's reproduction scheme

Marx is often referred to as the growth theorist par excellence. This paper compares the implicit growth model that Marx uses in his expanded reproduction scheme in Capital (1956) with the well-known Domar growth model. It is shown that when terminological differences are taken into consideration, the requirement for continued growth is conceptually and mathematically the same in both models.     

The structure of Walras's mature model of capital goods markets

This essay examines the capital goods markets in the comprehensive model that Léon Walras constructed during the mature period of his theoretical work. the essay answers fundamental questions about the participants and market institutions in his model; the monetary or nonmonetary nature of the model; his assumptions about the nature of capital goods; his definitions of the rate of interest and the rate of net income and their functions in his model; and the roles in his model of the Bourse, the loan market and the rental market for capital goods.     

A capital adequacy buffer model

We develop a new capital adequacy buffer model (CABM) that is sensitive to dynamic economic circumstances. The model, which measures additional bank capital required to compensate for fluctuating credit risk, is a novel combination of the Merton structural model, which measures distance to default and the timeless capital asset pricing model (CAPM), which measures additional returns to compensate for additional share price risk. We apply the model to a portfolio of mid-cap loan assets over a 10-year period that includes pre-GFC (global financial crisis), GFC and post-GFC. An analysis of actual defaults over this period shows the model to be far more accurate in determining the capital adequacy levels needed to counter credit risk than an unresponsive ratings model such as the Basel standardized approach.     

The evolution of portfolio rules and the capital asset pricing model

The aim of this paper is to test the performance of capital asset pricing model (CAPM) in an evolutionary framework. We model an economy where a heterogeneous population of long-lived agents invest their wealth according to different portfolio rules, and prove that traders who either “believe” in CAPM and use it as a rule of thumb, or are endowed with genuine mean-variance preferences, under some very weak conditions, vanish in the long run.We show that a sufficient condition to drive CAPM or mean-variance traders’ wealth shares to zero is that an investor endowed with a logarithmic utility function enters the market.     

Liquidity-adjusted conditional capital asset pricing model

This paper derives a liquidity-adjusted conditional two-moment capital asset pricing model (CAPM) and a liquidity-adjusted conditional three-moment CAPM respectively based on theory of stochastic discount factor. The liquidity-adjusted conditional two-moment CAPM shows that a security's conditional expected excess return consists of three parts: its conditional expected liquidity cost, the systemic risk premium and the liquidity risk premium. The liquidity-adjusted conditional three-moment CAPM shows that a security's conditional expected excess return depends on its conditional expected liquidity cost, the conditional covariance between its return and the market return, the conditional covariance between its liquidity cost and the market liquidity cost, and the conditional coskewness of its return and the market return.     

The effect of higher capital requirements on bank lending: the capital surplus matters

Empirica - The existing literature has displayed mixed results in terms of the relationship between tighter bank capital regulation and lending, which may be due to poor approximation of capital...     

The modern foundations of Marx's monetary economics

The first chapters of Capital are still often ‘tlerated’, Mirowski (1986: 222) reminds us, as a ‘regrettable metaphysical residuum of [Max's] Hegelian [past]’. Such ‘tolerance’ has unfortunate consequences, howeve, not the least of which is Marx's reputation for ‘theoretical metallism’, simple and derivative. This paper builds on the recent efforts of de Brunhoff (1981), Lavoie (1983) and others to deconstruct, with support from Grundrisse and related texts, the important thrid chapter of Capital, Marx's account of the universal equivalent's four functions. As it is identified here, the chapter's core includes ‘pody-Keynesian’ elements– a reversal of the Ricardian view of the quantity equation, an effective demand principle in which capitalists’ dcisions about the recommitment of hoards assume a prominent role, and the deermination of interest rates, in the short term, on the basis of liquidity preference-– but does not include, in the conventional sense, a commodity theory of money.     

Sustained output growth under uncertainty: A simple model with human capital

In a model where agents use their labour/education choice to adjust their consumption profile over time, I show that the impact of uncertainty on growth depends, critically, on agents’ attitudes towards risk, reflected by the coefficient of relative risk aversion. In this respect, the well known result from the literature on ‘saving under uncertainty’ can be extended into a broader context, whereby the intertemporal profile of consumption is determined via human capital accumulation rather than saving and physical capital investment.     

Bank structure, capital accumulation and growth: a simple macroeconomic model

Summary. This paper analyzes the equilibrium growth paths of two economies that are identical in all respects, except for the organization of their financial systems: in particular, one has a competitive banking system and the other has a monopolistic banking system. In addition, the sources of inefficiencies, as a result of monopoly banking, and their relationship to the existence of credit rationing are explored. Monopoly in banking tends to depress the equilibrium law of motion for the capital stock for either of two reasons. When credit rationing exists, monopoly banks ration credit more heavily than competitive banks. When credit is not rationed, the existence of monopoly banking leads to excessive monitoring of credit financed investment. Both of these have adverse consequences for capital accumulation. In addition, monopoly banking is more likely to lead to credit rationing than is competitive banking. Finally, the scope for development trap phenomena to arise is considered under both a competitive and a monopolistic banking system. Received: September 20, 1999; revised version: December 3, 1999     

A portfolio model of capital flows to emerging markets

Since the crises of the late 1990's, most emerging market economies have built up substantial positive holdings of US dollar treasury bills, while at the same time experiencing a boom in FDI capital inflows. This paper develops a DSGE model of the interaction between an emerging market economy and an advanced economy which incorporates two-way capital flows between the economies. The novel aspect of the paper is to make use of new methods for analyzing portfolio choice in DSGE models. We compare a range of alternative financial market structures, in each case computing equilibrium portfolios. We find that an asymmetric configuration where the emerging economy holds nominal bonds and issues claims on capital (FDI) can achieve a considerable degree of international risk-sharing. This risk-sharing can be enhanced by a more stable monetary policy in the advanced economy.     

Portfolio efficiency of a dynamic capital asset pricing model

In the present study we show that, based on equally weighted portfolios of continuously listed Finnish and Swedish stocks, aDynamic Model of Capital Asset Pricing (DCAPM) outperforms the static Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) in the Super Criterion Test. It is demonstrated that the portfolio efficiency of the dynamic model is improved, when using a properly defined transition matrix in the Kalman Filtering Algorithm.The advice and encouragement of Professor Leif Nordberg (Department of Statistics, Åbo Akademi University) is gratefully acknowledged. I thank Jaana Aaltonen for her assistance in monitoring the computer programs. I also thank an anonymous referee for his valuable comments and suggestions for improving the quality of the paper.     

A two-sector overlapping generations model with heterogeneous capital

Summary. This paper characterizes the existence and stability properties of steady state solutions as well as the nature of transition paths of a two-sector growth model with heterogeneous capital. It compares the properties of a Cobb-Douglas–Leontief economy with heterogeneous capital with the properties of the same economy with homogeneous capital. The model with heterogeneous capital reveals a set of characteristics different to those of the model with homogeneous capital. These include the saddle-path stability of the non-trivial steady state as well as the possibility of overshooting and in contrast to the homogeneous capital case, the possibility of damped oscillations along the transition path for realistic parameter values. Received: September 21, 2001; revised version: November 21, 2002 RID="*" ID="*" We thank Costas Azariadis, and Laurie Conway for helpful comments on a previous draft. The paper has substantially benefited from the feedback of an anonymous referee. Correspondence to: R. Wendner     

Vintage capital and the dynamics of the AK model

This paper analyzes the equilibrium dynamics of an AK-type endogenous growth model with vintage capital. The inclusion of vintage capital leads to oscillatory dynamics governed by replacement echoes, which additionally influence the intercept of the balanced growth path. These features, which are in sharp contrast to those from the standard AK model, can contribute to explaining the short-run deviations observed between investment and growth rates time series. To characterize the optimal solutions of the model we develop analytical and numerical methods that should be of interest for the general resolution of endogenous growth models with vintage capital.     

The market and exploitation in Marx's economic theory: a reinterpretation

Adopting the view that Marx's notion of 'commodity' has a widerreach than is usually supposed, and that it is this notion,rather than a 'labour theory of value' that is the cornerstoneof his economic theory, this paper shows that Marx's accountof capitalist exploitation is one that accords equal priorityto the production and market domains. Central to this demonstrationis an unorthodox explanation as to why Marx posits two alternativerules of prices in Capital.     

The Counterfactual Method of Marx's Theory of Surplus

The aim of this paper is to show that Marx supports his theory of surplus value by developing a counterfactual argument, that is, by comparing the 'normal' state of a capitalist economy against a hypothetical state in which no surplus is produced. Marx then divides his analysis of value into three successive steps. The first deals with the production of new value in the sphere of production; the second with the process of creation of surplus value, both in the sphere of production and in the sphere of circulation; and the third with the process of equalisation of the rate of profit, which is accomplished via capitalist competition in the sphere of circulation. The paper proposes a formalisation of the three-step analysis and of the counterfactual argument. Marx's three-step analysis is shown to be a scientific analysis of the hidden connections between social relations (expressed in labour flows) and commodity exchange; thus it is not a useless detour.     

Aggregate returns to social capital: Estimates based on the augmented augmented-Solow model

We extend the augmented-Solow model to estimate the aggregate output elasticity and depreciation rate of social capital that characterize aggregate returns. The estimated output elasticity is approximately 0.1. While social capital positively affects economic growth, the magnitude is much smaller than that of other production inputs. The estimated depreciation rate is at least 10% per annum, which is higher than that of physical capital. The median value of the implied aggregate return of social capital is approximately 19.11% at the global level. In OECD countries, it is likely to be considerably smaller than the individual returns, suggesting the fallacy of composition. While there is no systematic relationship between GDP per capita and returns to physical or human capital, the aggregate returns to social capital seem to be negatively related to the level of development.