The Cambridge–Cambridge controversy on the theory of capital: 50 years after

Artikel

The paper points out that capital theory has always been a hotly debated subject, partly because the theoretical issues involved are very complex, and partly because rival ideologies and value systems directly affect the issues discussed. The focus is on the history, the main protagonists, and the relevant problems examined and argued about during the two Cambridges controversy on the theory of capital which was at its peak 50 years ago. Whereas one clear result of these debates is that neither Samuelson's surrogate production function nor Solow's rate-of-return concept could resurrect aggregate neoclassical theory, many other questions, such as the treatment of capital in temporary or intertemporal general equilibrium models or the empirical relevance of the reswitching phenomenon, are still discussed controversially.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Journal: European Journal of Economics and Economic Policies: Intervention (EJEEP) ; ISSN: 2052-7772 ; Volume: 17 ; Year: 2020 ; Issue: 2 ; Pages: 196-207

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; History of Economic Thought since 1925: Historical; Institutional; Evolutionary; Austrian; Stockholm School ; Current Heterodox Approaches: Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian ; Input-Output Models ; General Equilibrium and Disequilibrium: Input-Output Tables and Analysis ; Investment; Capital; Intangible Capital; Capacity ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes
• Subject: Austrian theory of capital ; capital theory ; Cambridge controversy ; reswitching ; Sraffa ; wage-profit curve ; Wicksell effects

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Hagemann, Harald
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Edward Elgar Publishing
• (where): Cheltenham
• (when): 2020

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.4337/ejeep.2020.02.09
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/277478
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:44 AM CET