Inflation as restructuring. A theoretical and empirical account of the U.S. experience

Jonathan Nitzan

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This work is a PhD dissertation, written at the Department of Economics, McGill University. The thesis offers a new framework for inflation as a process of restructuring. Contrary to existing theories of inflation, which tend to take structure and institutions as given for the purpose of analysis, we argue that inflation could be understood only in terms of ongoing structural and institutional change. In the modern context of large-scale business enterprise, inflationary restructuring arises as an integral part of capital accumulation. On the aggregate level, inflation appears as stagflation, with the expansion of pecuniary values in the 'business' sphere depending on the strategic limitation of productive activity in the 'industrial' realm. This stagflationary interaction between 'business' and 'industry' is, in turn, linked (on the disaggregate level) to the dynamic formation and reformation of 'distributional coalitions' and the process of aggregate concentration. An empirical analysis of the U.S. experience between the early 1950s and the late 1980s reveals two regimes of inflationary restructuring: the first, which lasted until 1970, involved rapid increases in aggregate concentration with relatively modest stagflation, whereas the second, post-1970 regime consisted of stable (or even declining) concentration amidst severe stagflation.

Keywords: accumulation; aggregate concentration; breadth; business enterprise; capital; capitalism; centralization; competition; conflict; corporation; credit; crisis; debt; depth; disequilibrium; distribution; distributional coalitions; dual economy; employment; equilibrium; equity; expectations; finance; growth; hedonic indices; inflation; institutionalism; marginalism; methodology; monopoly; neoclassical economics; oligopoly; ownership; politics; power; price; profit; quality change; risk; ruling class; sabotage; stagflation; stagnation; state; stock market; technology; unemployment; United States; US; Veblen; violence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: B15 B41 B52 D21 D43 E31 E32 G34 L11 L16 L21 L25 O51 P12 P16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1992-10
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

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