A NOTE ON THE SHORT‐RUN “PRODUCTIVENESS” OF LABOR SERVICES
Since the time of Adam Smith, classical and Marxist economists have made a distinction between productive and unproductive labor. According to Smith, productive is that “labour which adds to the value of the subject upon which it is bestowed” (Smith, 1937, 314).
Unproductive Labor and the Contradictory Movement of the Rate of Profit: A Comment on Moseley
This paper criticizes Moseley's claim that the cause in the fall in the conventional rate of profit in the postwar U.S. is due to the rise in unproductive labor over this period. I argue that Moseley employs a one-sided and static conception of unproductive labor. Unproductive labor is seen by Moseley to be simply a drag on surplus value production. In contrast, I argue that unproductive labor should be understood as both a drag and as an enhancement for the dynamic production of surplus value. I show in a model of the distribution of surplus value how the redistribution of unproductive labor can have contradictory effects on the value rate of profit.
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.