On Sraffa's Standard commodity: is its price invariant with respect to changes in income distribution?

In his 1960 book, Sraffa suggested using a composite commodity,which he called the ‘Standard commodity’, to solveRicardo's search for an invariable measure of value, i.e., astandard capable of isolating the price movements of any othercommodity induced by changes in income distribution. The absencein Sraffa's book of an explicit proof of the invariance propertyof this standard gave rise to many misunderstandings about itsmeaning and its role as an invariable measure of value. In orderto clear up these questions, Bellino (On Sraffa's Standard commodity,Cambridge Journal of Economics, vol. 28, 121–32, 2004)has proposed a ‘proper’ definition of an ‘invariablemeasure of value’, showing that Sraffa's Standard commoditydoes fulfil the requirements of this definition. He claims thatthe fulfilment of this property (but not the constancy of its‘nominal’ price) qualifies the Standard commodityas an invariable measure of value. In this paper, a proof ofthe invariance of the price of the Standard commodity with respectto changes in income distribution is given, and the equivalenceof this property with Bellino's definition of invariance isshown.     

马克思剩余价值理论视角下信息商品增值研究

信息劳动创造价值,如何在马克思剩余价值理论视角下研究信息商品增值是一个新的研究课题。信息劳动是复杂劳动,创建期投入巨大,一些信息商品具有独特形式。将信息生产的不同时期的区分引入复杂的劳动过程和价值增殖的研究：信息商品创建期和扩大生产期都属于生产过程,在生产中获得价值增殖的潜力,而通过流通过程,创造出巨大数量的消费受众,从而实现了剩余价值的获得。巨大的规模投资、极高的技术门槛和政府政策保护使信息企业获得超额剩余价值。     

河北省出口商品结构的实证分析

近年来,河北省的出口商品结构在一定程度上有所调整,但却存在许多不合理的现象,致使出口商品结构仍然处在较低层次上。根据河北省的实际数据资料,对其出口商品结构的现状和存在的问题进行实证分析,并给出结论,以期为该省的外贸战略选择提供理论依据。     

入世后我国进口商品贸易特征与战略调整

2001年加入世贸组织后,我国商品进口贸易迅速增长,成为全球贸易中的进口大国.当前,我国进口商品的主要特征是:进口以短缺能源、原材料以及关键设备、高新技术产品为主,进口市场较为集中、进口与出口不对称,一般贸易进口和外资企业进口占主导.因此,应该通过转变轻视进口观念,进口技术产品与自主创新结合,促进进口市场多元化,完善进口税收,建立进口服务体系等措施,积极扩大进口.     

世界体系理论及其运作机制研究

世界体系理论兴起于关国,是针对全球化发展历程中资本主义世界变动的现实,吸收众多理论营养形成的一种多学科一体化的理论体系。世界体系有其特定的内涵和特征,有其自身运行的机制,是在结构变动和周期发展中,通过商品链和其中的国家发挥作用而把世界联系成一个有机整体。世界体系理论为当前现实政治、历史、社会问题提供了较新颖的分析工具。     

劳动者主人翁与劳动力商品问题新探

在社会主义市场经济条件下，劳动力不仅具有商品的形式，也具有商品的本质；劳动力商品与劳动者主人翁并不矛盾。     

社会主义经济的本质关系究竟是什么?——评胡钧教授的社会主义“等量劳动互换”本质论

胡钧教授多年来一直坚持和宣传的按劳分配中的"等量劳动互换"是社会主义经济的本质关系,与等价交换相对立,从而排斥商品交换关系的观点,不能成立。他的这一理论观点,与马克思的观点相对立。马克思将按劳分配中的等量劳动交换称之为与商品等价交换是同一原则的"资产阶级权利",是与"旧社会痕迹"相联系的"弊病"。这一观点也与邓小平的社会主义本质论相悖离。胡教授用社会主义"等量劳动互换"本质论,否定我国实质的商品价值关系的存在,断言马、恩关于社会主义制度下商品关系会消亡的科学真理在我国已成为现实。这不符合我国的实际情况。胡教授宣称他的这一理论观点得到党和学界的"极大重视"和认同,是"最突出的创新性见解"和"重要学术贡献",并为邓小平的社会主义市场经济理论和我国的改革目标"提供了理论铺垫"、"做了理论上的准备",也不符合事实。     

Common dynamics of nonenergy commodity prices and their relation to uncertainty

The purpose of this article is to improve the empirical evidence on commodity prices in various dimensions. First, we attempt to identify the extent of comovements in 44 monthly nonenergy commodity price series in order to ascertain whether the increase in comovement is a recent term phenomenon. Second, we attempt to determine the role of uncertainty in determining comovements among nonenergy prices in the short run. We diagnose the overall comovement using a dynamic factor model estimated by principal components. A factor-augmented vector autoregressive approach is used to assess the relationship of fundamentals, financial and uncertainty variables with the comovement in commodity prices. We find a greater synchronization among raw materials since December 2003. Since that date, uncertainty has played an important role in determining short-run fluctuations in nonenergy raw material prices.     

Marx 200: The Abiding Relevance of the Labour Theory of Value

ABSTRACT

Marxist political economy is alive and well, and not just because of the habitual turn to Marx in response to any crisis of capitalism. Both through Capital and through the continuing evolution of Marxism, Marxist political economy offers valuable insights that can illuminate the modalities of social and economic reproduction and the relationships between (different aspects of) the economic and the non-economic. Marxism’s presence has been felt through its own internal debates and debates with other approaches to political economy, and even through its influence on those reacting against Marxism. The key to the continuing relevance and analytical strengths of Marxist political economy lies in its capacity to provide a framework of analysis for unifying disparate insights into and critiques of the contradictions of capitalism across the social sciences. The instrument for forging that unity is Marx’s theory of value, the potential of which is examined and illustrated with reference to the Sraffian critique and two key concepts in Marxian political economy: the value of labour power and financialisation. They are explored in the light of the processes of commodification, commodity form and commodity calculation.