Brief von Alessandro Roncaglia an Josef Steindl

Roncaglia, Alessandro

Bibliographic data

Correspondence

Document type:: Correspondence

Collection:: Josef Steindl Collection

Title:: Brief von Alessandro Roncaglia an Josef Steindl

Author:: Roncaglia, Alessandro

Recipient:: Steindl, Josef

Scope:: Typoskript mit Unterschrift, 1 Blatt, 2 Seiten

Place of publication:: Rom

Year of publication:: 1984-12-13

Source material date:: December 13, 1984

Language:: English

Note:: Mit handschriftlichen Skizzen und Ergänzungen.

Shelfmark:: S/B.127

Correspondence partner:: Steindl, Josef Roncaglia, Alessandro

Access:: Free access

BANC A NAZIONALE DEL LAVORO QUARTERLY REVIEW EDITORIAL BOARD Francesco Bignardi Guido Carli Cesare Cosciani Antigono Donati Lucio Izzo Alberto Mucci Nerio Nesi, Chairman Francesco Parrillo Romano Prodi Pasquale Saraceno Luigi Ceriani, Editor A. Roncaglia, Asst. Ed. VIA V. VENETO, 119 I - 00187 ROMA December 13, 1984 Dear Josef, I found your paper on Sraffa very interesting and very provoca tive - as usual. I feel largely, but not completely, in agreement with you. Namely, I strongly agree with the idea that Sraffa's analysis must be considered a "reference system", while his analytical tools - R, the basic-non basic dichotomy - can be of use in "applied" analysis. On the other hand, as you can imagine from my paper on Sraffa in the BNL Quarterly, I feel at unease with some aspects of your presentation of the aims and scope of Sraffa's analysis (e.g. the first 6 and last 3 lines of the paper), which in any case do not seem in a necessary connection with the rest of the paper. I have some other comments on a few points of detail: 1) Page 1, first few lines: For Sraffa (I960, Preface) the standard commodity is only "a particular point", not the main aim of his research. Thus the duality between "standard proportions" (vector d^) and prices (in Section 2) is a derived aspect of Sraffa's analysis; 2) Page 2, last few lines: it would be more precise to write "This applies only to commodities which directly or indirectly enter as input into the production of all other commodities... Other goods are called non-basics". (As you note later, some non-basic might be used as input in its own production or in the production of other non-basics); Page 3, line 7, more precise: "...produc ing one unit of a particular commodity"; 4) Page 3: System (3) is dual to system (2). In (1), s^ f s^ ;.while in (3) = R. ; 5) Page 6, last 7 lines. I do not understand thh underlying reasoning. At first sight, (8) = (9) = 1 implies overdetermination of the system. On lines 1-2 of page 7 : any unit of measure is, in itself, independent of distribution; but the relative price of any other commodity in terms of any given unit of measure will change, in general, when distribution changes. If we choose the standard commodity as unit of measure, the standard net product will not change in value, when distribution changes, because it is simply a given quantity of the standard commodity; but UeriwQ T ackward cases the actual net product will; 6) Page 7, last line: one might add: "(unless a change in their price, due to changes in their conditions of production, affects the wage rate)"; 7) Page 9, line 6: it is unclear why matrix A should become decomposable; 8) Page 9, line 9 from the bottom: I would object to the statement that the system analysed has neither past nor 4 Urn*. 10 turr v t gr- y ,7 r Au i t f, ™ / At -fi* 0 ft )" * fA/ 4

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