Analise empirica do padrão do progresso técnico em uma perspectiva clássica-marxiana

Abstract

The growth-distributive schedule for an economy, a line having for its vertical intercept labor productivity and for horizontal intercept capital productivity, is a method of visualizing patterns of economic growth and technical change over time. We analyze if technical change follows the labor-saving, capital-using Marxbiased pattern. This form oftechnical change underlies Marx's explanation ofthe falling rate ofprofit. Longterm data for the USA, the UK, Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, and France reveal a pattern oflabor-saving, capital-using technical change punctuated by a phase in which both inputs present an increase in productivity. Regional data reveals that most ofthe regions followed the Marx-biased technical change over the period 1964-1990. The non Marx-biased pattern appears in some world regions in the 1980s. However, there is a predominance ofthe Marx-biased technical change in the historical and regional data. Moreover, the profit rate for a panel data sample in the period 1963-1990 showed a declining tendency as labor productivity increased.