2011/12/01 by Frederic S. Lee, Tae-Hee Jo, Tae‐Hee Jo
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Economic Theory and Institutions #Economic Theory and Policy #Political Economy and Marxism
paper · doi:10.2753/jei0021-3624450406
crossref issued 2011/12/01 · crossref published 2011/12/01 · crossref published-print 2011/12/01 · openalex publication_date 2011/12/01 · crossref created 2011/12/30 · crossref published-online 2014/12/08 · crossref deposited 2023/06/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Given the emphasis on social provisioning in heterodox economics, two of its central theoretical organizing principles are the concepts of the total social product and the social surplus. This appears to link heterodox economics to the social surplus approach associated with the classical economists and currently with Sraffian economists. However, heterodox economics connects agency with the social surplus and the social product, which the Sraffians reject as they take the level and composition of the social product as given. Therefore the different theoretical approach regarding the social surplus taken in heterodox economics may generate a different but similar way of theorizing about a capitalist economy. To explore this difference is the aim of the article.