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Firm innovation and capitalist dialectics: The economics of Nina Shapiro

Author

Listed:
  • Radhika Balakrishnan

    (Rutgers University, USA)

  • William Milberg

    (The New School for Social Research, USA)

Abstract

This essay is a review of and tribute to the life and contributions of Nina Shapiro, who passed away this year. Shapiro was an American Post-Keynesian economist, who was a bridge figure in radical economics, connecting Marx to Keynes, Schumpeter to Kaldor, the behavior of the firm to the dynamics of the macroeconomy, and the process of innovation to the organization of production and accumulation. She was seminal to important moments in the history of radical economics in the US, including the formation of the Hegel-inspired journal Social Concept in the 1980s and the Rutgers University’s Post-Keynesian circle in the 1980s and 1990s. Shapiro’s deeply philosophical and dialectical approach to firm behavior, innovation, and business cycles led her to theorize the “revolutionary character†of Post-Keynesian economics and to formulate a critique of the competitive neoclassical firm which, she argued, is at odds with the logic of capitalism in which firms seek to make profit and grow. JEL Codes: B24, B32, B51, B55

Suggested Citation

  • Radhika Balakrishnan & William Milberg, 2019. "Firm innovation and capitalist dialectics: The economics of Nina Shapiro," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 30(4), pages 467-477, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ecolab:v:30:y:2019:i:4:p:467-477
    DOI: 10.1177/1035304619880473
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nina Shapiro, 2012. "Josef Steindl: An Economist of His Times," PSL Quarterly Review, Economia civile, vol. 65(261), pages 167-187.
    2. Nina Shapiro, 1986. "Innovation, New Industries and New Firms," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 27-43, Jan-Mar.
    3. Nina Shapiro, 2005. "Competition and aggregate demand," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 541-549.
    4. Nina Shapiro, 1984. "Involuntary Unemployment in the Long Run: Pasinetti’s Formulation of the Keynesian Argument—A Review Article," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 7(2), pages 235-245, December.
    5. Harcourt, G C & Kenyon, Peter, 1976. "Pricing and the Investment Decision," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 449-477.
    6. Nina Shapiro & Malcolm Sawyer, 2003. "Post Keynesian price theory," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(3), pages 355-365.
    7. Nina Shapiro, 1977. "The Revolutionary Character of Post-Keynesian Economics," Journal of Economic Issues, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(3), pages 541-560, September.
    8. Nina Shapiro, 1991. "Firms, Markets, and Innovation," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(1), pages 49-60, September.
    9. Nina Shapiro, 1981. "Pricing and the Growth of the Firm," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 4(1), pages 85-100, October.
    10. G. C. Harcourt & Peter Kenyon, 1976. "Pricing And The Investment Decision," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 449-477, January.
    11. Pasinetti,Luigi L., 1983. "Structural Change and Economic Growth," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521274104.
    12. William Milberg & Nina Shapiro, 2013. "Implications of the recent financial crisis for firm innovation," Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 207-230.
    13. Nina Shapiro, 2012. "Josef Steindl: An Economist of His Times," Moneta e Credito, Economia civile, vol. 65(260), pages 293-315.
    14. Eichner, Alfred S, 1973. "A Theory of the Determination of the Mark-up Under Oligopoly," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 83(332), pages 1184-1200, December.
    15. William Milberg & Nina Shapiro, 2013. "Implications of the Recent Financial Crisis for Innovation," SCEPA working paper series. 2013-2, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Capitalist competition; dialectic; growth; heterodox economics; innovation; Kalecki; Marshall; Marx’s method; Post-Keynesian economics; pricing; Steindl; theory of the firm;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • B24 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Socialist; Marxist; Scraffian
    • B32 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought: Individuals - - - Obituaries
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian
    • B55 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Social Economics

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