Università Roma Tre

The course aims to go to the foundations of the theories of value and distribution in order to provide students who already have a first knowledge of micro and macroeconomics with the means to orient themselves, on the one hand, in the comparison between the main theories of value and distribution (or 'micro' theory) and, on the other hand, in the understanding of the implications that these theories have with regard to the determination of the general level of production (or 'macro' theory).

The course is divided into two parts. The first part is devoted to a comparison between the classical theory and the neoclassical (marginalist) theory of value and distribution. Particular attention is given to the reconstruction of the structure of the latter theory, presented in the general equilibrium version of Wicksell and Walras, and to the difficulties that this theory faces in treating capital as a productive factor.

The second part is devoted to the determination of the general level of production in the two theoretical approaches. Particular attention is given to the reconstruction of the Keynesian Revolution, through a direct reading of some parts of Keynes’ General Theory, and the discussion of the elements that have favoured its reabsorption in the Neoclassical Synthesis.