"There are two things in Sraffa. One of them is very close to Keynes and that's the part that the Sraffians ignore and that is, Sraffa wrote a criticism of Hayek's capital theory book in 1932, and it's in that criticism that Sraffa developed this theory of spot and forward markets, and it's that theory which Keynes latched onto in his spot-forward market analysis. So there's a very good connection between Sraffa and the spot-forward markets. The other thing which they've latched onto, what was really anti-Keynesian, is The Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities. It has nothing to do with real world or with economics - it's an attack to show that the neoclassical system doesn't work. There are lots of ways of showing that it doesn't work, but basically the way Sraffa shows it doesn't work is by assuming that there's no substitutability between labour and capital. It's a fixed-coefficient system. So what? You know, the old neoclassicists would have said that wages were inflexible. It's the same thing. Real wages are inflexible in the Sraffian system. What does it prove? I don't think it proves anything."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Paul Davidson, quoted in Conversations with Post Keynesians (1995) by J. E. King
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Piero_Sraffa
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Piero Sraffa
Piero Sraffa (5 August 1898 – 3 September 1983) was an influential Italian economist, who served as lecturer of economics at the University of Cambridge.
3 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Piero Sraffa →
Related Quotes
"In economic theory the conclusions are sometimes less interesting than the route by which they are reached."
"Perhaps the most influential theorist in England today is Nicholas Kaldor (Hungary), and undoubtedly the most origina…"
"I never cared a bit for philology; my chief aim has been throughout to illustrate the social condition of the English…"
"The monopoly of the United States and Europe in the selection process condemns the World Bank and the International M…"
"The blog is perhaps not the most appropriate tool for performing the true function of politics, which is to mediate b…"
"The fact is that a reduction in contributions increases the current deficit, but will automatically reduce future def…"
"(About ius soli and ius culturae) Does it make sense to make them feel stateless in our own country? Does it make sen…"
"The international system of exhibitions, fairs, biennials and scientific events is now extremely dense and pervasive.…"
"Thanks to the large cultivated areas that still surround it, Milan could truly become the first metropolis where agri…"
"We need a project that makes Milan a “world city” in terms of food production and marketing; a project that helps mig…"