HOW THE RATE OF EXPLOITATION, SURPLUS VALUE AND TURNOVER EFFECTS THE RATE OF PROFIT.
June 21, 2016 4 Comments
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This WordPress.com site is dedicated to independent working class politics. Contact me at briangreen@theplanningmotive.com
June 21, 2016 4 Comments
THEPLANNINGMOTIVE.COM 
I think it would be very helpful if you were to take a sector of capitalist production and show the categories, the values of the categories, and the calculations for determining rates of turnover. Even more helpful would be to compare the rates for specific periods of time and link then to profit rates in different sectors– for example, petroleum upstream (production, exploration and development) 1992-1997, 1998-2002, 2003-2008; and compare that to semiconductor fabrication; or food production.
Petroleum production has an extraordinarily high rate of surplus value, and of course, oscillates between an extraordinarily low rate of profit, and a high rate of profit, as equalization takes place over time. Exactly how does rate of turnover fit into each of these phases, and in the overall tendency of the rate of profit to decline, which has definitely taken place since 1970?
Sartesian, the amount of research you propose is substantial. This is the work of many, not of one or two. I would be overjoyed if other Marxists adopted the formula and applied it in key areas of research. Until now, due to the absence of the means of capturing turnovers covering whole industries and economies, it has not been part of our analysis. We have been reduced to using the rate of exploitation as a proxy for the rate of surplus value, the composition of capital for the compounded composition of capital, the rate of return for the rate of profit. Now that we have turnovers we can refine our analysis to better approximate the reality and dynamic of the capitalist economy. It is exciting, and it is time for a collaborative effort. I can provide you with all the BEA spreadsheets going back to 1977 which is not easy to obtain now. After that period it is all on the BEA interactive site. Manufacturing GO and GC goes back to 1977, the rest of the economy back to 1987. There are discontinuities between the series as you know doubt know. Nevertheless, it is possible to obtain turnovers from 1977 onwards for select industries within manufacturing. So how about it?
OK, sure thing. Give me your forumula, the categories you use, the source for the data, and I’ll run the numbers for petroleum for a specific time frame or frames
The formula is G.O./G.V. +(G.O.-G.V.)/G.V where G.O. is gross output = value of total sales and G.V. is the value of the final sale equal to value added. Look up G.O. AND G.V. in BEA interactive tables KLEMS, Composition of Industry. My email is ucanbpolitical@aol.com. If you email me I will attach the pre-1997 Composition of Industry spreadsheets the BEA prepared and not readily accessible from their website. Also please read the article on the formula on this website THE FORMULA for converting annual wages into variable capital.