Turnover Time and Marx’s Decomposition of Profit Adjustment in the Process of Equalization

Abstract

The welcomed introduction of Fred Moseley to a 27-page excerpt from Marx's Economic Manuscript of 1867–1868 draws attention to the influence of turnover times on the formation of prices of production. This chapter discusses the profit-adjustment decomposition outlined by Marx in these pages where he tries to distinguish the influences of turnover time and capital composition on the formation of the prices of production. It provides an alternative decomposition based on Marx's analysis in the second volume of Capital and argues that these pages do not support Moseley's claim that prices of production are intended only to describe a long-run equilibrium condition. It therefore suggests considering the profit adjustment in relation to the dynamic formation of the general rate of profit throughout the equalization process.

Citation

De Marco, G. (2023), "Turnover Time and Marx’s Decomposition of Profit Adjustment in the Process of Equalization", Herrera, R. (Ed.) Value, Money, Profit, and Capital Today (Research in Political Economy, Vol. 39), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 145-165. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0161-723020230000039009