Sraffa, Money and Distribution

Abstract

Sraffa’s early work on monetary Economics, his contributions to the theory of capital and his critique of neoclassical tenets are often seen as disjoint contributions. In contrast, we suggest that Sraffa’s contributions have to be viewed as a coherent whole and offer a classification of his scholarly contributions. We point to the unifying thread between his early and later work, which concerns the insufficiency of economic mechanisms or market forces to exclusively determine values (prices, profit rates and wage rates). Their simultaneous determination and consequently the overall indeterminacy of the system are important. We outline the motivations for incorporating money (in the form of credit and debt) inside the traditional Sraffian schemes, to expand the original system and harness its potential. We believe that there is both a need and scope for incorporating deferred means of payments, which are essential for the functioning of any evolved economic system.