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Value, Price and Exploitation: The Logic of the Transformation Problem

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Listed:
  • Simon Mohun

    (Queen Mary University of London)

  • Roberto Veneziani

    (Queen Mary University of London)

Abstract

This paper tries to clarify the logical structure of the relationship between labour values and prices from an axiomatic perspective. The famous 'transformation problem' is interpreted as an impossibility result for a specific interpretation of value theory based on specific assumptions and definitions. A comprehensive review of recent literature is provided, which shows that there are various theoretically relevant and logically consistent alternative interpretations based on different assumptions and definitions.

Suggested Citation

  • Simon Mohun & Roberto Veneziani, 2017. "Value, Price and Exploitation: The Logic of the Transformation Problem," Working Papers 813, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    • Handle: RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:813
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Samuelson, Paul, 2012. "Understanding the Marxian Notion of Exploitation: A Summary of the So-CalledTransformation Problem Between Marxian Values and Competitive Prices," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, pages 182-202, August.
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    13. Cockshott, W Paul & Cottrell, Allin F, 1997. "Labour Time versus Alternative Value Bases: A Research Note," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 21(4), pages 545-549, July.
    14. Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2014. "One Million Miles to Go: Taking the Axiomatic Road to Defining Exploitation," Discussion Paper Series 615, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
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    21. Alan Freeman & Guglielmo Carchedi (ed.), 1996. "Marx and Non-equilibrium Economics," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 737.
    22. Mohun, Simon & Veneziani, Roberto, 2009. "The temporal single-system interpretation: underdetermination and inconsistency," MPRA Paper 30452, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    23. Richard D. Wolff & Bruce Roberts & Antonino Callari, 1984. "Unsnarling the Tangle: a Rejoinder," History of Political Economy, Duke University Press, vol. 16(3), pages 431-436, Fall.
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    26. Duncan K. Foley, 1982. "The Value of Money the Value of Labor Power and the Marxian Transformation Problem," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 14(2), pages 37-47, June.
    27. William Thomson, 2001. "On the axiomatic method and its recent applications to game theory and resource allocation," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 18(2), pages 327-386.
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    Cited by:

    1. Naoki Yoshihara, 2021. "On the labor theory of value as the basis for the analysis of economic inequality in the capitalist economy," Japanese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2-3), pages 190-212, July.
    2. Kuochih Huang & Junshang Liang, 2021. "Chinese Studies on the Transformation Problem: A Selective Review," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 53(4), pages 725-734, December.
    3. Jonathan F. Cogliano & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2022. "Computational methods and classical‐Marxian economics," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 310-349, April.
    4. Gabriel V. Montes‐Rojas, 2023. "A typology of Marxian transformation procedures with endogenous exploitation rate," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 74(1), pages 119-137, February.
    5. Bertram Schefold, 2019. "The transformation of values into prices on the basis of random systems revisited," Evolutionary and Institutional Economics Review, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 261-302, December.
    6. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2023. "The measurement of labour content: An axiomatic approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 392-402.
    7. Attar, M. Aykut, 2021. "Growth, distribution and dynamic inefficiency in Turkey: An analysis of the naïve neoclassical theory of capital," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 20-30.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Value; Prices; Transformation problem;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian

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