Fausta Pellizzari

Political Economy of Resources, Technologies, and Rent

This chapter presents a political economy analysis of the relationship between scarce resources on the one hand, and technical and technological progress on the other hand. It draws implications for rents and income distribution more broadly, as well as for structural change and economic growth along uneven paths, which are close to historical dynamics in the long run. The analytical core of the chapter is a new approach to scarcities, which involves both resources and technologies. The different types of rents, associated with those scarcities play a crucial role for production and especially the choice of techniques and technologies, with wide-ranging implications for accumulation, growth, and income distribution. Finally, the types of rents and their evolution in time also influence the roles and interests of the different actors (institutions, entrepreneurs, labour unions, rent earners) who take ‘macro decisions’, i.e. decisions affecting the economic system as a whole.

Historical and theoretical introduction to rent, resources and technologies

It is useful to introduce this theoretical study with some propositions from the history of economic thought. The review will focus on some general categories later recalled in the analytical part of the book. In so doing, we avoid a superficial survey of issues that would by themselves require monographic studies. Since a selection has to be made, it will be based upon the analytical and intellectual framework followed over several years by the authors in their research on this topic.

On the Evolution of the Concept of Development and the Way to Measure it

Development is a complex concept requiring ethical thoughts and assessments on growth, progress, wellbeing, human values, income and wellbeing distribution. This paper offers a survey of the economic contributions to defining and improving the concept of development and of the methods to measure progress and failure that accompanied the evolution of the way of thinking about development. Having the right indicators to measure progress and wellbeing is essential to promote them.

Esternalità ed efficienza. Un’analisi multisettoriale

The paper aims to analyse the interaction between economic system and environmental system through multi-sectoral models of production and price distribution and to examine in this theoretical context the effects of environmental regulations. Two devices are introduced in the matrix in order to examine the interaction between economic system and environmental system: new technology in the production process to abate pollution and pollution generated by productive processes. The analysis emphasises the importance to examine the physical efficiency not only in relation to different technologies but also to the deterioration of the environment. Accordingly, the evaluation of profitability requires a re-formulation of price system through the introduction of the estimation of the environmental damage.

Environmental Resources, Prices and Distribution

The aim of this work is to include the environmental resources in a multisectoral linear scheme of production and price-distribution. I examine several ways of accomplishing the reintegration process: adding a new process in the standard technical matrix; increasing the technical coefficients, addressing to this aim a part of the net product. The result is a change in the quantity and price systems. Such a change is insufficient to determine the price of the environmental resource, which must be determined apart. I discuss the significance of setting the price of the environmental resource as equal to its cost of reintegration and the significance of a price that would also include a pure environmental rent. I finally analyse how the price of the environmental resource affects the distribution of income and the degree of conservation of the resources.

Production and distribution: data, hypothesis and problems

We represent a disaggregate and interdependent economic system characterized by sectors producing primary commodities and sectors producing non-primary commodities.

Order of efficiency

We have already noticed (Chapter II, § 12) that the determination of the OE is of primary concern. It rises from the fact that there are more processes that employ the Npmp to produce the same basic primary commodity. The choice of the order to activate these processes has fundamental effects on both the price-distribution system and the physical system.

Conclusions and further lines of research

This volume attempted to achieve several objectives and we believe it did. Its starting point was historical-theoretical. We were convinced that the issues on natural resources, technologies and rent did not receive the attention in the economic thought that they deserve. Indeed, we showed how economic theory swung back and forth around them through time. Recently these themes were considered far less relevant than those —certainly central but not exhaustive—that explained economic growth exclusively in terms of produced means of production.

Technical and technological progress, rent, and income distribution

This Chapter aims to analyze how technological change modifies prices and income distribution, and it also points out further categories of rent related to different types of technical and technological progress.

Rent, distribution, prices

The analysis carried out until now started with the choice of an exogenous distributive variable and determined the order of efficiency (Chapter III), and the level of activity of the economy (Chapter IV).