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Exploitation in Economies with Heterogeneous Preferences, Skills and Assets: An Axiomatic Approach

Author

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  • Veneziani, Roberto
  • Yoshihara, Naoki
  • 吉原, 直毅

Abstract

This paper provides a novel axiomatic analysis of the notion of exploitation as the unequal exchange of labour in economies with heterogeneous optimising agents endowed with unequal amounts of physical and human capital. A new definition of exploitation is proposed, which emphasises the relational nature of exploitation and the resulting inequalities in the allocation of labour and income. It is shown that, among all of the major approaches, this definition is the only one satisfying two weak axioms that incorporate some key normative intuitions, and it allows one to generalise a number of core insights of exploitation theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki & 吉原, 直毅, 2012. "Exploitation in Economies with Heterogeneous Preferences, Skills and Assets: An Axiomatic Approach," Discussion Paper Series 579, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    • Handle: RePEc:hit:hituec:579
    Note: 41136
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Peter Flaschel, 2010. "Topics in Classical Micro- and Macroeconomics," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-3-642-00324-0, March.
    2. Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2011. "Strong Subjectivism In The Marxian Theory Of Exploitation: A Critique," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 53-68, February.
    3. Gérard Duménil & Duncan Foley & Dominique Lévy, 2009. "A Note On The Formal Treatment Of Exploitation In A Model With Heterogenous Labor," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(3), pages 560-567, July.
    4. Foley, Duncan K., 1982. "Realization and accumulation in a Marxian model of the circuit of capital," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 300-319, December.
    5. Marc Fleurbaey, 2014. "The facets of exploitation," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 26(4), pages 653-676, October.
    6. Morishima, Michio, 1974. "Marx in the Light of Modern Economic Theory," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 42(4), pages 611-632, July.
    7. Yoshihara, Naoki, 2010. "Class and exploitation in general convex cone economies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 281-296, August.
    8. Yoshihara, Naoki & 吉原, 直毅 & ヨシハラ, ナオキ & Veneziani, Roberto, 2009. "Exploitation as the Unequal Exchange of Labour : An Axiomatic Approach," Discussion Paper Series a524, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    9. John E. Roemer, 2015. "On the problem of socialist economic design," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 27(1), pages 34-42, January.
    10. Sen, Amartya K, 1978. "On the Labour Theory of Value: Some Methodological Issues," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 2(2), pages 175-190, June.
    11. Takao Fujimoto & Yukihiko Fujita, 2008. "A Refutation Of The Commodity Exploitation Theorem," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(3), pages 530-540, July.
    12. Roberto Veneziani, 2013. "Exploitation, inequality and power," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 25(4), pages 526-545, October.
    13. Roemer John E. & Silvestre Joaquim, 1993. "The Proportional Solution for Economies with Both Private and Public Ownership," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 59(2), pages 426-444, April.
    14. Hervé Moulin, 1990. "Joint Ownership of a Convex Technology: Comparison of Three Solutions," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 57(3), pages 439-452.
    15. Flaschel, Peter, 1983. "Actual Labor Values in a General Model of Production," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 51(2), pages 435-454, March.
    16. Veneziani, Roberto, 2007. "Exploitation and time," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 132(1), pages 189-207, January.
    17. Naoki Yoshihara & Roberto Veneziani, 2009. "Exploitation as the Unequal Exchange of Labour: An Axiomatic Approach," Working Papers 655, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    18. Roemer, John E, 1980. "A General Equilibrium Approach to Marxian Economics," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 48(2), pages 505-530, March.
    19. John E. Roemer & Roberto Veneziani, 2004. "What We Owe Our Children, They Their Children, …," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 6(5), pages 637-654, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roberto Veneziani & Luca Zamparelli & Simon Mohun & Roberto Veneziani, 2017. "Value, Price, And Exploitation: The Logic Of The Transformation Problem," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1387-1420, December.
    2. Jonathan F Cogliano, 2023. "Marx’s equalised rate of exploitation," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 47(1), pages 133-169.
    3. Jonathan F. Cogliano & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2016. "The Dynamics of Exploitation and Class in Accumulation Economies," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 242-290, May.
    4. Soh Kaneko & Naoki Yoshihara, 2018. "On the General Impossibility of Persistent Unequal Exchange Free Trade Equilibria in the Pre-industrial World Economy," Working Papers SDES-2018-19, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised Dec 2018.
    5. Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2014. "One Million Miles to Go: Taking the Axiomatic Road to Defining Exploitation," Discussion Paper Series 615, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    6. Jonathan F Cogliano & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2024. "The dynamics of international exploitation," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(5), pages 1420-1446, August.
    7. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2023. "The measurement of labour content: An axiomatic approach," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 392-402.
    8. Naoki Yoshihara & Soh Kaneko, 2016. "On the Existence and Characterization of Unequal Exchange in the Free Trade Equilibrium," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 210-241, May.
    9. Cogliano, Jonathan F. & Kaneko, Soh & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2020. "International Exploitation, Capital Export, and Unequal Exchange," Discussion Paper Series 718, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    10. Jonathan F. Cogliano & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2019. "Exploitation, skills, and inequality," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 77(2), pages 208-249, April.
    11. Galanis, Giorgos & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2019. "The dynamics of inequalities and unequal exchange of labor in intertemporal linear economies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 29-46.
    12. Rylan Chinnock & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2024. "Axiomatic Marxian Exploitation Theory: a Survey of the Recent Literature," Working Papers 972, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    13. GIRARDI, Daniele & GRAU, Nicolas & VENEZIANI, Roberto & YOSHIHARA, Naoki, 2025. "Exploitation : Theory and Empirics," Discussion Paper Series 765, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    14. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2013. "The Measurement of Labour Content: A General Approach," Discussion Paper Series 587, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    15. Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2017. "Globalisation and inequality in a dynamic economy: an axiomatic analysis of unequal exchange," Social Choice and Welfare, Springer;The Society for Social Choice and Welfare, vol. 49(3), pages 445-468, December.
    16. Galanis, Giorgos & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2016. "Growth, Exploitation and Class Inequalities," Discussion Paper Series 636, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    17. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2018. "The Theory Of Exploitation As The Unequal Exchange Of Labour," Economics and Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, vol. 34(3), pages 381-409, November.
    18. Naoki Yoshihara, 2021. "On the labor theory of value as the basis for the analysis of economic inequality in the capitalist economy," Japanese Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2-3), pages 190-212, July.
    19. Weikai Chen & Naoki Yoshihara, 2019. "Persistent Exploitation with Intertemporal Reproducible Solution in Pre-industrial Economies," UMASS Amherst Economics Working Papers 2019-10, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Department of Economics.
    20. Galanis, Giorgos & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2018. "The Dynamics of Exploitation and Inequality in Economies with Heterogeneous Agents," Discussion Paper Series 679, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    21. Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2015. "Unequal Exchange, Assets, and Power: Recent Developments in Exploitation Theory," Studies in Choice and Welfare, in: Constanze Binder & Giulio Codognato & Miriam Teschl & Yongsheng Xu (ed.), Individual and Collective Choice and Social Welfare, edition 127, pages 253-287, Springer.
    22. Jonathan F. Cogliano, 2017. "Surplus Value Production and Realization in Marxian Theory - Applications to the U.S., 1987-2015," Working Paper Series 2017-01, Dickinson College, Department of Economics.
    23. Yoshihara, Naoki, 2022. "Correspondence between Exploitation and Profits in General Neoclassical Production Economies," Discussion Paper Series 739, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.

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    14. Galanis, Giorgos & Veneziani, Roberto & Yoshihara, Naoki, 2019. "The dynamics of inequalities and unequal exchange of labor in intertemporal linear economies," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 29-46.
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    17. Jonathan F. Cogliano & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2016. "The Dynamics of Exploitation and Class in Accumulation Economies," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 242-290, May.
    18. Roberto Veneziani & Luca Zamparelli & Simon Mohun & Roberto Veneziani, 2017. "Value, Price, And Exploitation: The Logic Of The Transformation Problem," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 1387-1420, December.
    19. Marc Fleurbaey, 2014. "The facets of exploitation," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 26(4), pages 653-676, October.
    20. Yoshihara, Naoki, 2010. "Class and exploitation in general convex cone economies," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 281-296, August.
    21. Naoki Yoshihara & Soh Kaneko, 2016. "On the Existence and Characterization of Unequal Exchange in the Free Trade Equilibrium," Metroeconomica, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 67(2), pages 210-241, May.

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    Keywords

    Exploitation; unequal exchange of labour; Profit Exploitation Correspondence Principle;
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