Economic essays

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1753623200

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-136107

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Economic essays

Place of publication:: New York

Publisher:: Macmillan

Year of publication:: 1927

Scope:: viii, 368 S.; Ill., graph. Darst.

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Clark's reformulation of the capital concept / Frank A. Fetter

Collection:: Economics Books

CLARK'S REFORMULATION OF THE CAPITAL CONCEPT 145 capitalization concept, or made a clear distinction between, on the one hand, technical production as the source -and origin of what he called “capital goods,” and, on the other hand, financial valuation of rights, incomes, claims (to land and also to personal services, good will, privileges, etc., as well as to “artificial” con- crete goods) as a source of his “pure capital.” Nevertheless, his great achievements in this matter were that he brought out into the open the old ambiguity between “capital value” and certain concrete things called capital, and that he presented “capital” as essentially an investment concept; and that he gave a broader reading to the-idea of rent. These notions have been apples of discord, and even yet professional opinions have not attained to unity upon them. It is of interest to observe the position taken toward the value concept of capital by some representative economists. 5. The More Conservative Views Bohm-Bawerk’s conclusions on the capital concept were sur- prisingly old-fashioned. Beginning with a new conception of the so-called “interest problem” as that of differences of the value of goods because of time, he wrecked his attempt at the very first by his conception of capital (goods) as limited to produced means of production. For if, as he believed, “capital” and interest are coextensive facts, he cannot explain with such a capital concept the manifold time differences that appear every- where, in land uses, legal rights, financial incomes, human services, etc. On no other point did Bohm-Bawerk differ with Clark so categorically as on this; he would have none of the valuation con- cept of capital." Not even the most conservative of his con- temporary neo-Ricardians were so uncompromising on this point. Yet not for a single page does he succeed in avoiding the valu- ation concept of capital when once he begins to use one. His capital is always an investment sum, expressed as so many kronen, pounds sterling, or dollars. Professor Taussig devoted large space in his text to the dis- cussion of the capital concept, returning to it again and again, ! See the discussion, Quarterly Journal Economics (1895-1896), Vol. 9 (Clark), p. 238; (Bohm-Bawerk), pp. 113, 235, 380; Vol. 10 (Clark), p. 98, (Bohm-Bawerk), p. 121.

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Economic essays

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation