Marx’s Theory of Price and its Modern Rivals

Review '...a precious work' - Dr. Vickramabahu Karunaratne, Sri Lanka Guardian About the Author HOWARD NICHOLAS teaches Economics at the International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He has been an advisor to the Ministry of Policy Planning, Sri Lanka, and headed the UNDP's study of the Macroeconomics of Poverty Alleviation in Sri Lanka from 2002-3. He has published in the areas of inflation, development theory, financial markets, the global economy, and the macro dynamics of a number of countries. Marx's Theory of Price and its Modern Rivals provides the reader with an original, in-depth and non-dogmatic look at Marx's explanation of price. It brings out the importance that Marx places on the historical emergence, purpose and nature of price, and shows how this emphasis informs his explanation of its magnitude, especially the pivotal role accorded to the concept of value. It also shows how Marx's theory can be extended to explain the actual movement of prices over the course of the business cycle. Howard Nicholas also provides a detailed appraisal of other Marxist interpretations, including the New and Temporal Single Systems, and critically assesses various Classical (Smith and Ricardo) and modern (Neoclassical, Post Keynesian and Sraffian) theories of price with a view to bringing out the distinctiveness and pre-eminence of Marx's theory. A fundamental contention of the book is that Marx's theory of price warrants more serious attention than it is presently accorded from those interested in rebuilding the foundations of economic thinking, whether or not they are sympathetic to Marx's purpose in the study of capitalism - its overthrow Front Matter....Pages i-x Introduction....Pages 1-6 Marx’s Theory of Price in the Simple Circulation of Commodities....Pages 7-28 Marx’s Theory of Price — Capitalist Commodity Production....Pages 29-60 Marx on Smith and Ricardo....Pages 61-69 Marxist Interpretations of Marx’s Theory of Price....Pages 70-87 The Neoclassical Theory of Price....Pages 88-118 The Post Keynesian Theory of Price....Pages 119-141 Sraffa’s Theory of Price....Pages 142-177 Concluding Remarks....Pages 178-185 Back Matter....Pages 186-217

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 analyzed; Neoclassical, Post Keynesian and Sraffian theories are contrasted with Marxian thought.

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.