A Sraffian critique of the classical notion of centre of gravitation

Michel-Stéphane Dupertuis and Ajit Sinha

Cambridge Journal of Economics, 2009, vol. 33, issue 6, 1065-1087

Abstract: In this paper we use insights from Sraffa's classic, Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, to argue that the classical notion of 'centre of gravitation' is not a sound concept. The market mechanics of labour allocation through price signals and quantity adjustments, given effectual demands, do not lead to a 'centre of gravitation'. We work out all such possible market mechanisms, including the specific classical case, and show that the 'centre of gravitation' is a non-attractive point in all cases. Copyright The Author 2009. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.

Date: 2009
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/cje/ben050 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:cambje:v:33:y:2009:i:6:p:1065-1087

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Cambridge Journal of Economics is currently edited by Jacqui Lagrue

More articles in Cambridge Journal of Economics from Cambridge Political Economy Society Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().