Le profit sans l'accumulation: la recette du capitalisme gouverné par la finance
In a capitalist economy where profits are fully saved and wages fully spent in consumption goods, Kalecki’s law asserts that the rate of profit is equal to the rate of capital accumulation. The divorce between these two variables, as observed during the last twenty years in the US as well as in France, raises in this framework a puzzle. We show that the spectacular augmentation of profit distribution partly provides an account of this, at a theoretical level. We give further indications as to how new corporate governance and the institution of stockholders renewed power have taken part in this phenomena.
Working Paper 09 / 2008 Conflicting claims and equilibrium adjustment processes in a stock-flow consistent macro model
We revisit the old but still vibrant Post-Keynesian debate over “fully-adjusted positions”, defined by the long-run equality of actual and standard utilisation rates. The central proposition of this paper is that in a world where different groups inside and outside firms have different objectives, the equality of actual and standard utilisation should not be treated as the (only possible) long-run equilibrium condition. The argument is illustrated in a model of target return pricing with conflict inflation, building on Lavoie (2002, 2003). A “common language” for the conflicting claims by shareholders, managers, workers and banks is developed in terms of target profit rates, and it is shown that these contradictory claims can be partly reconciled through variations in the utilisation rate. The analysis unifies history and equilibrium in the sense that the nature of and the adjustment to the final equilibrium position depends on the objectives of the dominant social groups. We distinguish a “Fordist regime” and a “financialisation regime” and produce simulation results within a simple stock-flow consistent model that are broadly consistent with the stylised facts of these distinct historical phases of capitalism.
Did the metamorphosis from Export Processing Zones to Special Economic Zones improve the efficiency of trade enclaves in India?
In this paper, the efficiency of seven conventional Special Economic Zones in India is analyzed, by adopting a stochastic production frontier technique, for the period between 1986–1987 and 2007–2008.Results indicate that although the efficiency scores of these enclaves have improved over the years, specifically with the introduction of the SEZ policy (2000–2001), it is far below the threshold level as identified in the literature. Besides, one can also observe a discrepancy emerging between better export earning zones and efficient zones. On the determinants side, policy intervention and large geographical area, accompanied by clustering of units, are found to have impacted the efficiency scores of these enclaves positively.