Miyazawa-Sraffa-Leontief Income Distribution Models

This chapter extends several of the contributions in Hewings et al., (1999) that attempted to explore intersections between the work of Miyazawa and several other familiar theoretical and modeling paradigms. In the present case, the extensions link the work of Sraffa, Leontief and Miyazawa to explore the ways in which a more extensive framework can yield new insights into economic structure. The contributions of Sraffa (1960) to the understanding of economic structure have been significantly advanced in recent years by the interpretative assessments of Steenge (1995, 1997). In section 20.2, the standard Sraffian model is presented and some of the initial modifications are outlined. Following this exposition, section 20.3 provides a complement with some additional modifications that attempt to simplify the presentation of the new Sraffa-Leontief system (Sonis and Hewings, 2000), focusing on two alternative matrix decompositions. The conditions of solvability of this model are elaborated in detail in section 20.4. Section 20.5 revisits the Miyazawa income distribution model and establishes the foundation for the presentation of the Miyazawa-Sraffa-Leontief income distribution model in section 20.6. Attention is also directed here to solvability. The penultimate section addresses the role of profits, wages and consumption in this integrated system. The chapter concludes with some brief summary remarks and suggestions for further extensions.