4,461 research outputs found
Sraffa and his arguments against 'marginism'
No full textThe subtitle of Sraffa's most celebrated work, Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, is prelude to a critique of economic theory. Given that no later work was ever published by Sraffa, we are left to wonder what would have come after the prelude. This paper suggests that the core of the critique might have been the marginal method itself. By carefully distinguishing between published and unpublished work, we shows that Sraffa's opposition to the marginal method follows several threads, some of which were developed over a period of nearly 35 years, such as the belief that economic theory should use only measurable and observable magnitudes, the critique of the 'fundamental' symmetry between production and consumption, and the disagreement with the Marshallian concept of equilibrium. Although none of the arguments reached a stage that Sraffa considered satisfactory enough to be worth publishing, our reconstruction sheds light on his research programme and on otherwise rather obscure passages in his works. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.
Introduction to the volume: "The Economics of Joan Robinson"
No full textAn introductory note to the book honouring Joan Robinson's contributions to economics
Introduction
No full textIn this paper we present the main results of an investigation into the correspondence exchanged among the group of economists active and influential at Cambridge in the first half of the 20th century. Our purpose is to analyse them as a group rather than as individuals, by studying the relations between authors pair-wise. Our main interest lies in tracing the links between various theoretical developments, reconstructing the “referential context” from which certain concepts and ideas emerged. By referential context we mean the common language evolving from the professional and personal relationships established within a group, and self-validated when exposed to external influences. Since language and style germinate and grow in a network of intellectual and personal relations, the material to draw upon to this end consists of published and unpublished material but mainly of the correspondence.
Our main point is that these Cambridge authors should be seen as a group rather than a school. The former term does not necessarily imply –as does the latter - adherence to a common body of doctrine, but it does convey the ideas of cohesion and sharing among its components. Rather than constructing a common denominator of the various positions, in this paper we look at the issues they disagreed about in the course of their interchange, which was carried out orally, in published writings and in correspondence. At the same time we look at what they shared, which in the main were values, lifestyles and approach to work.
We suggest a metaphor to capture the gestalt of this group – a set of intertwining circles, each intersecting at least one of the others, none intersecting all the others
The natural quantity of money
No full textRicardo’s views on the working of a monetary system and his prescriptions for the conduct of monetary affairs can be summarised as follows: a) the monetary authorities are accountable only for those changes in money prices which can be imputed to a monetary disturbance; b) a desirable monetary regime is one in which such an occurrence is least likely to occur; c) targeting the quantity of money, in order to prevent a monetary disturbance, is both undesirable and ineffectual. In this paper I try to show how Ricardo derived these propositions from his monetary and value theory and what is the role played by the concept of the “natural” level of the quantity of money.
Ricardo firmly believed that it was possible to distinguish variations in money prices having a monetary origin from those originating in real causes. Changes in money prices that have a monetary cause could and (should) be prevented, while those due to a change in the conditions of production of commodities could (and should) not be avoided. Ricardo’s belief that it was possible to separate “monetary” from “real” causes of variations in money prices rests on two presuppositions: (i) there is a market mechanism which ensures that the value of money, once the price of the standard is fixed in terms of the currency at home and abroad, remains constant; (2) there is an actual commodity which is “invariable” in value.
The mechanism, which ensures that the level of the quantity of money is self-adjusting –and therefore that the value of money is kept constant- relies on individuals’ responses to profitability conditions for arbitraging in gold in the domestic and in the foreign markets. While the mechanism which ensures that the quantity of money adjusts to its “natural” level, rests on two conditions: a) the currency is freely convertible into the standard at a fixed price (and at a small cost) at home; b) the standard can be freely exported and imported into the country. The profitability conditions for shipping gold which can bring about the stability of the purchasing power of the currency in terms of gold at home and abroad are then derived.
It is then argued that since there is no solution to the problem of finding a standard of money which is “invariable” in absolute value, which would make it possible to distinguish between variations in money prices due to a change in the value of commodities or in the standard, there can be no ground for Ricardo’s belief in the possibilities of distinguishing between “monetary” and “real” causes of rising money prices. However, the level of the quantity of money, at which its value is constant need not be calculated either by relating the cost of production of gold to the cost of production of commodities, nor is it determined as the equilibrium condition given by the equality of supply and demand of money. On the contrary, if the “natural” level of money is interpreted as an equilibrium level, (as in most Gold Standard models) then a gratuitous inference is drawn from Ricardo’s monetary theory: the attainment of the purchasing power parity of gold in terms of commodities. The “natural” level associates the quantity of money not to an equilibrium quantity of gold and a constant relative value of gold in terms of commodities, but to the equality of the purchasing power of gold relative to the currency at home and abroad. This means that relative value of gold in terms of commodities may differ across countries. Furthermore the enforcement of the law of one (international) price is required only for gold, not for all tradable commodities as is implied by the purchasing power parity condition which can be found in most Gold Standard models.
By comparison, Ricardo’s theory appears more reasonable as a description of the working of actual markets , and perhaps more in accordance with facts
Speculation and buffer stocks: the legacy of Keynes and Kahn
No full textWe review Keynes’s constant concern with commodity prices, both as
speculator and as theorist, arguing that it was never divorced from his view
on market instability. We also look at Kahn’s contribution on buffer stocks,
which brought to fruition the original intuition by Keynes, refining it with
his usual attention to the finest details. Finally, we will draw some general
considerations on the relevance of the proposals of stabilization of
commodity prices, based on buffer stocks, in the present sentiment of ‘a
return to Keynes’ in the attempt to cope with possibly the worst global
economic crisis since the 1930s
Elevated white blood cell count is associated with prevalence and development of the metabolic syndrome and its components in the general population.
No full textThe metabolic syndrome (MS) is characterized by chronic inflammation. We aimed to determine the association of white blood cell (WBC) count with prevalence and development of the MS and its components in the general population. A cohort of 1,329 subjects from the local working population aged 41.3 ± 7.5 years and recruited since 2000-2008 was followed up for 4.0 ± 1.2 years. WBC count and MS components were determined at baseline and follow-up. To determine whether WBC predicted incident MS, we used a logistic regression analysis adjusted for demographics, baseline variables that define MS components, smoke, medications, and follow-up duration. Cross-sectionally in the whole population, WBC count increased in parallel with the number of MS components in the same individual, and the presence of each component was associated with higher WBC count. Baseline WBC count was significantly higher in subjects with prevalent MS. Among subjects without MS at baseline, those who developed MS had significantly higher WBC than those who did not develop MS at follow-up. Development of each MS component was associated with increased WBC count. WBC count remained significantly associated with MS development after correction for several potential confounders (OR for 1 SD increase in WBC 1.26; 95 % CI 1.01-1.58). In conclusion, elevated WBC is intimately linked to the prevalence and future development of the MS in a young population of working subject
Interactively using Semantic Web knowledge: Creating scalable abstractions with FacetOntology
No full textThe amount of knowledge accessible on the Semantic Web is growing, and there is a need for a scalable solution to facilitate exploring that data. Currently approaches to exploring Semantic Web data either focus on exploring resources individually, following links during exploration, and making little use of collated data, or take the approach of collating and aligning multiple sources into one store for one purpose, and hand-crafting a specific browsing interface onto it. We present an approach that provides a scalable browsing interface, which can browse knowledge from the Semantic Web at will. Our approach creates abstractions of knowledge, collated into facets, which are described using FacetOntology. FacetOntology facilitates describing facets from RDF data, suitable for use in creating datasets for faceted browsing
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