Rotta, Tomas N. ORCID: 0000-0002-5304-9890 (2015) Productive stagnation and unproductive accumulation: an econometric analysis of the United States. [Working Paper]

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Abstract

In this paper I evaluate the dynamic interactions between productive and unproductive forms of capital accumulation in the United States economy from 1947 to 2011. I employ time series econometrics to formally assess two questions that other scholars have hitherto considered mostly through verbal or descriptive approaches. First, I check whether unproductive accumulation hinders or fosters productive accumulation. Second, I check whether or not productive stagnation leads to faster unproductive accumulation. I introduce different measures of productive and unproductive forms of capital accumulation using a new methodology to estimate Marxist categories from conventional input-output matrices, national income and product accounts, and fixed assets accounts. A core feature of my methodology is the notion that the production of knowledge and information is also a form of unproductive activity. Results indicate two-way positive effects between productive and unproductive activities in the short run but no self-correcting mechanism that would bring productive and unproductive forms of accumulation back to a stable equilibrium path over the long run.

Item Type:	Working Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords:	unproductive activity; capital accumulation; stagnation; time series econometrics; United States;
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Business Faculty of Business > Department of International Business & Economics Faculty of Business > Institute of Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (IPEGFA) Faculty of Business > Institute of Political Economy, Governance, Finance and Accountability (IPEGFA) > Greenwich Political Economy Research Centre (GPERC)
Related URLs:	Publisher
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2021 16:32
URI:	http://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/14060

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