Theory of production

by Heinz-Dieter Kurz

This book contains a systematic and comprehensive analytical treatment of the theory of production in a long-period framework. Given the scope of investigation, the methods employed, and the results derived, this study is of interest to all economic theorists. Professors Kurz and Salvadori explore economic systems in which commodities are produced by means of labor, natural resources, and commodified-means of production. They investigate the relationship between production, income distribution, and relative prices for stationary or growing economies characterized by free competition. Specific chapters deal with joint production, fixed capital (including the joint utilization of machines), scarce natural resources (both renewable and exhaustible), heterogeneous labor, the problem of capital, and alternative theories of distribution. The historical origins of the concepts used from the time of the classical economists onward are also discussed in considerable detail.