Produktie, kapitaal en interest

Summary

As recent discussions show the theory of capital is still an important issue. Surveys by among others Harcourt and Dobb have brought the main themes of this theory before a larger audience. This paper aims at the same purpose. Apart from being written in Dutch the difference with the other surveys lies in the rigourous application of a two-sector model with heterogeneous capital with respect to all the questions raised.

Section two of the paper is devoted to the critique of neo-classical theory by J. Robinson and D. G. ChampernowneIs answer in the form of the chain index method to measure capital. P. A. Samuelson's surrogate production function and P. Garegnani's refutation of it are discussed in the next section. The final section on technical matters deals with the relation between capital intensity and the rate of interest. In this setting attention is paid to the famous “reswitching debate” in the late sixties.

In a concluding section the meaning of the central controversy is emphasized. For, as P. Sraffa has shown, it is not only the theory of income distribution which is highly vulnerable but also the whole foundation of micro-economics by the neo-classical authors that goes with it. This is what makes the whole dispute so fascinating.