資本蓄積と労働力市場の安定性・不安定性 : 実質賃金率の決定理論,及び,その変動による調節メカニズム

書誌事項

タイトル別名
  • On the Correlation between Accumulation of Capital and the Labor Market
  • シホン チクセキ ト ロウドウリョク シジョウ ノ アンテイセイ フアンテイセイ ジッシツ チンギンリツ ノ ケッテイ リロン オヨビ ソノ ヘンドウ ニ ヨル チョウセツ メカニズム

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抄録

In Marxian economics, traditionally, it has been presumed that the fall of unemployment rate caused by an increase in accumulation of capital brings the rise of wages, the fall of the profit rate, and a consequent decrease in accumulation of capital, and vice versa. In this formula, accumulation of capital is stabilized by the labor market. It is the 'general understanding' for the majority of this school. Meanwhile, precisely, this 'general understanding' suggests that the fall of unemployment rate in the labor market leads the nominal wage rate to rise, and that the rise of the real wage rate leads the profit rate to fall. The real wage rate equals to the nominal wage rate adjusted by consumer prices which are determined in the commodity market. Thus, the rationality of the 'general understanding' is conditioned on the following assumption: the upward movement of the nominal wage rate is stronger than that of consumer prices, which implies that the real wage rate is determined in the labor market, not in the commodity market. But it is not self-evident. From the above point of view, in this particular paper, I formulate a theory about the correlation between accumulation of capital and the labor market by considering the mechanism of determining the real wage rate and that of the supply-demand adjustment in the labor market. I reach three conclusions stated below. First, Okishio's theory, in which he claimed that the labor market is eventually unrelated with determining the real wage rate, appears to be unacceptable. While it should be appreciated that he focused on the question of either of the markets, the labor market or the commodity market, works as a decisive factor when enterprises make a decision on investment plans, it must be emphasized that both markets works as important factors. In fact, for enterprises, it is the profit rate which is the most important interest and both markets have an influence on determining it through the fluctuation of the nominal wage rate or that of prices of consumption goods. In this sense, we should not ignore the roles of both markets in the process of determining the real wage rate. Second, it is confirmed that basically the real wage rate is determined in the labor market. Although it is surely the nominal wage rate that is determined directly in the labor market, it is in fact determined in order to realize the real wage rate which reflects the situation of the labor market, and then the real wage rate reaches an equilibrium price. In short, the real wage rate is determined through the nominal wage rate in the labor market. It should be noted that this theory is validated under the assumption that a propensity to consume falls according to the rise of the nominal wage rate. Third, the above assumption about a propensity to consume is generally valid in the short-term theory in which the fluctuation of prices is explained. Therefore, the labor market usually works as it has been described in the above, and which brings a stable correlation between accumulation of capital and the labor market. In this sense, the 'general understanding' in Marxian economics is justified. However, as it occasionally happens, when a propensity to consume does not fall according to the rise of the nominal wage rate because of the change of the workers' attitudes of consumption by some factors, the labor market can not work to reach an equilibrium price. In this case, the correlation between them becomes unstable.

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