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Income Distribution And The Rate Of Profit In Marx And The Classics: A Comparative Study

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  • Giovanni Scarano

Abstract

This paper argues that the concern to determine the rate of profit, attributed by the modern surplus approach to the classics, was not the main focus in most classical authors before Ricardo and certainly did not have a central place in Marx’s analysis. According to Marx, a uniform rate of profit was only one way to determine the distribution of surplus value among the owners of capital, while the distribution of income among capitalists and workers was strictly determined by the rate of surplus value. Marx did not use his own version of the labour theory of value to determine the rate of profit and production prices, but to analyse the dynamics of economic aggregates and bring to light the inner social nature of production and distribution processes. In this context, Marx’s rate of profit was only an aggregate measure of the maximum potential growth rate.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Scarano, 2024. "Income Distribution And The Rate Of Profit In Marx And The Classics: A Comparative Study," Departmental Working Papers of Economics - University 'Roma Tre' 0284, Department of Economics - University Roma Tre.
    • Handle: RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0284
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    surplus approach; classical economists; rate of profit; rate of interest; prices of production;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B14 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought through 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist
    • B24 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist; Scraffian
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • C67 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Input-Output Models

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