Marx S Theory Of Price And Its Modern Rivals

Marx's Theory of Price and its Modern Rivals provides an original look at how Marx understood the role of money, extending his theory to consider how prices move over the course of business cycles. Key modern theories of price are also analysed; Neoclassical, Post Keynesian and Sraffian theories are contrasted with Marxian thought.

This book is the first volume in a three-volume series that takes an in-depth look at the relevance of Marx's economics for understanding the modern economy. The focus of this volume is the money prices of commodities. In light of the failure of central banks to stimulate inflation through printing of money, it is now accepted that there are problems with the mainstream approach to the explanation of prices. Howard Nicholas underlines the shortcomings of this and other approaches to the explanation of prices, particularly their concepts of the value of the commodity and money. He argues the problems with all other approaches are manifest in their inability to explain the changes in the relative prices of commodities, taking place in the context of changes in the aggregate money price level as well as independently. He contends that of paramount importance in Marx’s explanation is that prices are set by producers prior to putting their commodities into the process of circulation, undermining the notion they are determined by the supply of and demand for the commodities in the process of exchange. Marx’s approach to the explanation of prices is also contrasted with those of Neoclassicals, Post-Keynesians and Sraffa, with a view to highlighting the shortcomings in these approaches as bases for their understanding and explanations of money and prices. This book will be of interest to academics and students of price theory, money and finance, political economy, and the history of economic thought.

This book is the first volume in a three-volume series that takes an in-depth look at the relevance of Marx's economics for understanding the modern economy. The focus of this volume is the money prices of commodities. In light of the failure of central banks to stimulate inflation through printing of money, it is now accepted that there are problems with the mainstream approach to the explanation of prices. Howard Nicholas underlines the shortcomings of this and other approaches to the explanation of prices, particularly their concepts of the value of the commodity and money. He argues the problems with all other approaches are manifest in their inability to explain the changes in the relative prices of commodities, taking place in the context of changes in the aggregate money price level as well as independently. He contends that of paramount importance in Marx's explanation is that prices are set by producers prior to putting their commodities into the process of circulation, undermining the notion they are determined by the supply of and demand for the commodities in the process of exchange. Marx's approach to the explanation of prices is also contrasted with those of Neoclassicals, Post-Keynesians and Sraffa, with a view to highlighting the shortcomings in these approaches as bases for their understanding and explanations of money and prices. This book will be of interest to academics and students of price theory, money and finance, political economy, and the history of economic thought. Howard Nicholas retired in 2020 as associate professor in economics at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He has published in the areas of inflation, development theory, financial markets, the global economy, and the macro dynamics of a number of countries. He is the author of Marx's Theory of Price and its Modern Rivals (Palgrave Macmillan).

This book is the first volume in a three-volume series that takes an in-depth look at the relevance of Marx's economics for understanding the modern economy. The focus of this volume is the money prices of commodities. In light of the failure of central banks to stimulate inflation through printing of money, it is now accepted that there are problems with the mainstream approach to the explanation of prices. Howard Nicholas underlines the shortcomings of this and other approaches to the explanation of prices, particularly their concepts of the value of the commodity and money. He argues the problems with all other approaches are manifest in their inability to explain the changes in the relative prices of commodities, taking place in the context of changes in the aggregate money price level as well as independently. He contends that of paramount importance in Marx's explanation is that prices are set by producers prior to putting their commodities into the process of circulation, undermining the notion they are determined by the supply of and demand for the commodities in the process of exchange. Marx's approach to the explanation of prices is also contrasted with those of Neoclassicals, Post-Keynesians and Sraffa, with a view to highlighting the shortcomings in these approaches as bases for their understanding and explanations of money and prices. This book will be of interest to academics and students of price theory, money and finance, political economy, and the history of economic thought. Howard Nicholas retired in 2020 as associate professor in economics at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He has published in the areas of inflation, development theory, financial markets, the global economy, and the macro dynamics of a number of countries. He is the author of Marx's Theory of Price and its Modern Rivals (Palgrave Macmillan).

This book provides a contemporary assessment of Marx's theory of money. This theory is often praised as one of Marx's greatest achievements, especially when compared with either classical or neoclassical economics. On the other hand, Marx's theory of money has also been severely criticized, especially that it seems to require that money be a produced commodity. The contributors to the volume provide a wide-ranging and in-depth appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of Marx's theory of money, compared to other theories of money.

Eugen Von Böhm-Bawerk, economist of the Austrian school, wrote this incisive critique of Marxist economics amid rising public support for socialism, communism and state-controlled markets in Europe. Published in 1896, this work criticizes Marxist theory from two angles: firstly, that the notion of value which Marx puts forward contradict his own ideas. The author asserts that the link between the price of producing goods and the value produced by labor are not consistently dealt with in Marx's works. This inconsistency in assigning value to economic production leads onto the second critique: Supply and demand is a theory whereby an equilibrium between goods supplied to a market and goods demanded by consumers in said market is established, with changes in the quantity or price of a good being in reaction to demand. Böhm-Bawerk discusses how Marx underestimates this law, and how his lack of appreciation for an economy which flexibly meets the shifting demands of consumers undermines his notions of price and value. From the perspective of a free market capitalist, Marxist theory is inadequate and insufficient as a system of economics.

This book constitutes an overview of recent developments in political economy in general, and Marxist value theory in particular. The implications of value theory for bank credit, inflation and deflation are fully explored.