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The theory of exploitation as the unequal exchange of labour

Author

Listed:
  • Roberto Veneziani

    (Queen Mary University of London)

  • Naoki Yoshihara

    (University of Massachusetts Amherst, Hitotsubashi University, and Kochi University of Technology)

Abstract
This paper analyses the normative and positive foundations of the theory of exploitation as the unequal exchange of labour (UEL). The key intuitions behind all of the main approaches to UEL exploitation are explicitly analysed as a series of formal claims in a general economic environment. It is then argued that these intuitions can be captured by one fundamental axiom - called Labour Exploitation - which defines the basic domain of all UEL exploitation forms and identifies the formal and theoretical framework for the analysis of the appropriate definition of exploitation.

Suggested Citation

  • Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2017. "The theory of exploitation as the unequal exchange of labour," Working Papers 824, Queen Mary University of London, School of Economics and Finance.
    • Handle: RePEc:qmw:qmwecw:824
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. Jonathan F Cogliano & Roberto Veneziani & Naoki Yoshihara, 2024. "The dynamics of international exploitation," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 56(5), pages 1420-1446, August.
    3. Yoshihara, Naoki & Veneziani, Roberto, 2013. "The Measurement of Labour Content: A General Approach," Discussion Paper Series 587, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    4. 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.
    5. Ivan Rubinic & Maks Tajnikar, 2019. "The Influence of the Economic Cycle on Eurozone Cross-Country Inequality Dynamics," South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economics, Association of Economic Universities of South and Eastern Europe and the Black Sea Region, vol. 17(2), pages 267-290.
    6. 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.
    7. Yoshihara, Naoki, 2022. "Correspondence between Exploitation and Profits in General Neoclassical Production Economies," Discussion Paper Series 739, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    8. 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.
    9. 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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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Exploitation; Unequal Exchange of Labour; axiomatic analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D63 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - Equity, Justice, Inequality, and Other Normative Criteria and Measurement
    • B51 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - Current Heterodox Approaches - - - Socialist; Marxian; Sraffian

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