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The effect of technical progress upon distribution along Kaldor-Kennedy line

The effect of technical progress upon distribution along Kaldor-Kennedy lineUp Sira NukulkitEmail: sira.nukulkit@economics.utah.eduPh.D. student, University of Utah M.A. in economics, University of DenverB.S. in civil engineering, Chulalongkorn University, BangkokI am Thai, a Bangkokian."Up" is my "given" name.

The effect of technical progress upon distribution along Kaldor-Kennedy lineThe classic question of "the effect of progress upon distribution"Hicks, Harrod, Robinson, Kaldor, Samuelson and Kennedy. A post-Keynesian history of thought behind the analysisFocuses on Kennedy's writings and his suggestion along Kaldor-Kennedy line. inquiries on elasticity of substitution between capital and laborthe equivalency of Hicks and Harrod neutral technical change concerns over value and stylized facts. A synthesis model constructed from intuitions behind the debate.

JEL Classification: B22, O31, E12

Introduction: effect of progress upon distributionCharles Kennedy's paper "Induced Biased in Innovation and the Theory of Distribution" (1964)Paul Samuelson (1965) adopted the theory to comply with economic stylized factsNeoclassical methodKennedy disapproved Samuelson's approach.He had "hoped that the innovation-possibility frontier might be able, so to speak, to swallow up the traditional production function and replace it altogether" (1966, p.442)There were histories behind this concept more profound than Samuelson's adaptation.

Introduction: effect of progress upon distributionJ. R. Hicks introduced "the effect of progress upon distribution" to modern economics. The Theory of Wage (1932, p.112) New terminologies on invention and distributionlabor-saving, capital-saving, neutral inventionsElasticity of substitution!!! Most importantlyPrice substitution between capital and laborThe price of capital is its value or interest rate?Hicks seemed to suggest it is interest rate.Tendency of elasticity of substitution less than unity!!Falling profit (interest) rate

Introduction: effect of progress upon distributionJoan Robinson followed through Essays on the Theory of Employment (1937)Harrod did not like her analysis on long run equilibrium Robinson used Hicks' neoclassical terminologiesHarrod proposed an alternative definitionTo categorize invention Bypass difficulties on theory of valueDevelopment of the concept of "neutral technical progress"

Introduction: effect of progress upon distributionAfter twenty years Kaldor introduced stylized facts (1957)constancy on capital/output ratio, rate of profit, and distributive share. Neoclassical production function failed to produce these results.Kennedy's "innovation possibility frontier" (1964) follow by Samuelson's adaptation (1965)We have two concerns!!Value...Harrod neutral == Hicks neutral Stylized factsconstant interest rate?

Technical progress and the value of factors of production Hicks coined the term "elasticity of substitution" An increase one factor of production (i.e capital accumulation, surplus labor )increase the overall outputincrease the absolute share of the factor and all other factors.However, there was no criterion to look at relative share "Elasticity of substitution" addressed the change in relative share.Neutral distribution Elasticity of substitution is unity (equal to 1)"the increase in one factor will raise the marginal product of all other factors taken together in the same proportion as the total product is raised" (p. 117). But, marginal product is capital value or interest rate.

Technical progress and the value of factors of production Invention changes relative distribution share too.More confusing because a labor, capital, or neutral saving inventionsaves the amount of input factor used in production.increases in unequal amount of factors marginal productSaving factor input increase in marginal productIn contrast to each other Furthermore, Hicks mentioned labor-saving invention as dominance in the system. Robinson and Harrod would argue on the same issue.

Technical progress and the value of factors of production Joan Robinson debate dwith Harrod on the definition of neutral invention.Hicks' neutral technical change"thus if a neutral invention occurs in conjunction with an elasticity of substitution equal to unity, the relative share of labour is unchanged" (1937, p.133)Harrod criticized her on the measurement of capital.He suggested instead an alternative definition to characterize invention that was more general. "divide inventions into those at a given interest rate, and an infinitely elastic supply of capital at that rate, increase, leave unchanged or diminish the length of productive process" (p.329). Bypassed difficulties on value, and used length of productive process as measurement for capital.

Technical progress and the value of factors of production Joan Robinson defended her position in a famous paper "Classification of Invention"(1938). She insisted on using Hicks' conceptual frameworkindicated the compatibility of Hicks and Harrod's frameworksKennedy came into the same conclusion as Robinson's 13 years laterHarrod neutral technical change was equivalent to Hicks neutral technical change.

Technical progress and the value of factors of production Kennedy (1961) asked a question whether an investment was needed for technical progress.His first paper on technical progressIf investment was not needed, the volume of capital can be exactly determined a priori before the effect of invention. Adopted Robinson's classification and her concept of "real capital"A neutral invention implied a constant capital/output ratio. Wage will increase, if relative share of distribution was unchanged. Furthermore, higher wage will increase the value of real capital when multiply to wage unit. We have a rise in the value of capital with a rise in wage that leave interest rate constant, which was a definition of neutral technical change

Technical progress and the value of factors of production Kennedy's multi sectors model(1962).clarified the dichotomy on Hicks' characteristic of specific kind of inventionthe contrast between saving efficiency and an increase in marginal productspecified invention to the investment sector.An invention in capital producing sector will lower the cost of machine leading to an increase on the number of machine per man.more volume of capital will be used in the production, but aggregate real capital was unchanged. This will affect production in the economy as a whole triggering technical progress that raised wage from labor productivity. It went back to an increase in value of aggregate real capital when multiply to wage. Neutral technical progressAn increase in value applied to the whole economic system, while it was specific in investment sector that had capital saving invention bias

Technical progress and the value of factors of production Kennedy proposed in his rejoinder (1962) to Harrod's extended paper on neutral technical progress (1962)Hicks neutral technical change and Harrod neutral technical change were actually equivalent.The issue is really complex on value and the characters of invention. Harrod denied to use labor as measure for capital "to have labour measure. It implies that the average of money rewards paid to workers never risesIs it not a little sadistic to seek to deprive men of this increment of pleasure, for the sake of what?a mere academic preference. (Harrod 1948, p.29)"

Technical progress and stylized factsHarrod did not consider that neutral technical progress explained a rise of labor productivity and wage.the empirical outcomes of this mechanism were implicit in the analysis of Hicks, Harrod, and Robinson.Kaldor (1957, 1961 Corfu) was explicitattracted a bigger audienceconstancies in distributive share, capital/output ratio, and the rate of profit. "technical progress function"

Technical progress and stylized factsKaldor (1957, 1961 Corfu)'s "technical progress function"neoclassical production function "assumed to be a unique relationship between capital and output, which conforms to the general hypothesis of diminishing productivity, but this relationship is constantly shifting with the passage of time" (1961, p. 204). the tangent of the production function to be maintained on the same slope for every upward shift on production function by technical progressa circular determination of profit rate from the shift and the move along production function. "any sharp or clear-cut distinction between the movement along a "production function" with a given state of knowledge, and a shift in the "production function" caused by a change in the state of knowledge is arbitrary and artificial" (1957, p. 959).

Technical progress and stylized factsKaldor (1957, 1961 Corfu)'s "technical progress function"'technical progress function' which postulates a relationship between the rate of increase of capital and the rate of increase in output and which embodies the effect of constantly improving knowledge and know-how, as well as the effect of increasing capital per man, without any attempt to isolate the one from the other." (1961, p. 207)cut through the 45 degree line pinpointed the stable long run equilibrium of the system, where the rate of accumulation equal to rate of increase in output.Integrated both a shift in the production function and a movement along the production function into one postulate.Kennedy criticized Kaldor's formulation

Technical progress and stylized factsKennedy criticized Kaldor's formulationthe capital/output ratio was assumed constant a prior.Kaldor relied on adjustment assumptions of entrepreneur investment behaviorCapital/output ratio adjusts through prospective on profit rateKennedy pointed out to many weaknessesshould not use profit rate which supposed to be a long run solution of the model.an expectation behavior scheme was insufficientbehavior did not guarantee that invention will be labor-saving."Mr. Kaldor had already assumed what he was trying to prove" (1962, p.910) constant capital/output ratio

Technical progress and stylized factsKennedy was hoping to retain some of Hicks' neoclassical assumptions.Kennedy chose not to use neoclassical factor price. "changes in relative factor price are not essential for a theory of induced biased in innovation" (1964, p. 542).consider both factor price and volume of input factor as one component of share on cost of production.Economic system will choose bias in innovation that affected the share specific to capital cost and labor cost separately.However, "innovation possibility" frontier between labor-saving innovation and capital-saving innovation was concave. Tradeoff Adjustment to equilibrium depended on the choice between labor and capital saving inventions that sustained the optimization on unit cost."in the long run the equilibrium values of the distributive shares will be determined by the characteristics of the purely technological innovation possibility function" (1964, p.545).With Hicks neutral technical change

Technical progress and stylized factsKennedy expanded his model to a multi-sectors model of invention.implicitly addressed complications on accumulation of capital and factor price of capital.If invention occurred in capital sector, there was an exogenous shock that disturbed innovation possibility frontier of the consumption sector on the increased volume of capital. The system will adjust to optimize the reduction in unit cost on labor and capital by focusing on endogenous labor-saving inventionadjusted to Harrod neutral technical change with labor-saving invention bias.Kennedy made use of the equivalency of Hicks and Harrod neutral technical change.

Technical progress and stylized factsSamuelson (1965, 1966) adopted Kennedy's innovation possibility frontier.Samuelson insisted on using factor price derived from production function.neglected the complex structure of value from capital to labor and did not consider the equivalency of Hicks and Harrod neutralSamuelson's factor share was determined in competitive market outside of the model.sharp contrast to Kennedy's endogenous determination of factor share on innovation possibility frontier.Factor price VS factor share

Technical progress and stylized factsSamuelson still reached similar results to Kennedy.If innovation possibility frontier was symmetric and factor input ratio did not change (no accumulation)Hicks neutral technical change and a strange equal dividend of factor share (Kindleberger).Samuelson would dropped this assumption on fixed factor ratio and "replacing it by the more realistic recognition that capital is 'deepening relative to labor'" (1965, p. 348).

Technical progress and stylized factsCapital deepeningIf elasticity of substitution was less than unity, there was a tendency for labor relative share to rise more than capital. There had to be a bias on invention that offset diminishing marginal productivity from accumulated capital. only under Harrod neutral technical change with labor-saving invention. impossible to retain Hicks neutral technical change.Interest rate had to rise to counter balance a fall in price of capital to attain constant relative factor share.interest rate became an endogenous variable."fail to account for one of the stylized facts of modern development, namely that the interest or profit rates show no clear trend upward or downward" (Samuelson 1965, p. 348)

Technical progress and stylized factsKennedy (1966) objected to Samuelson's used of production function.inter-correlations that would alter innovation possibility frontierSamuelson's capital accumulation was not superior to his contingent to constant interest rate.reconcile Samuelson's capital accumulation Kenndy previous results same mechanism of his two sectors one product modelthe equality of capital deepening and labor augmentationCapital deepening was already an endogenous result of Kennedy multi sectors one product model.Harrod neutral technical change was an endogenous result of his model. "in Kennedy's case, the Harrod-neutral result is not "supposed to come about," it does come about" (1966, p.442).

A synthesis model along Kaldor-KennedyConcerns over value and stylized factsThis paper describes a theoretical puzzle of value and stylized facts engaged by our Keynesian predecessor. There were clues in those writings.There are gaps in growth and distribution theory on technical progress and stylized facts??I would like to build a model based on this puzzle and theoretical debatesHow to get a 45 degree constant capital/output ratio?What a synthesis model should be like?Kennedy's optimization of concave invention possibility frontier Kaldor's prospective profit behavior on technical progress function

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A synthesis model along Kaldor-KennedyHow to get a 45 degree constant capital/output ratio?Kennedy's optimization of concave invention possibility frontier Kaldor's prospective profit behavior on technical progress functionWhat a synthesis model should be like?My very loose idea is onAdjustment through valueMaintain full employment in parody of Jean Baptist KaldorElasticity of substitution between capital and laborPrice of capital is interest(profit) rateInvention this time did not save factor input. Invention can be assumed implicit as increasing returns function?Increasing returnsSum up the movement and the shift of production function in one postulate

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A synthesis model along Kaldor-KennedyHow to get a 45 degree constant capital/output ratio?Elasticity of substitution between capital and laborInvention can be assumed implicit as increasing returns function?

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A synthesis model along Kaldor-KennedyHow to get a 45 degree constant capital/output ratio?I still have to come up with a story

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