Doug, I am not sure how representative those goods are, but I think that
class would include most of the so-called new economy as well as the strong
brands.
I do not believe that Nike's strength nearly transfers surplus value from
Reebok. In fact, I go back to the old economics of the '50s and '60s that
paid some attention to the role of markups in the distribution of income.
When Nike mark up its shoes and people feel compelled to buy them, that
markups represents a subtraction from the real income of the purchasers.
Doug Henwood wrote:
> Michael Perelman wrote:
>
> >Jim also mentioned that wages are falling relative to labor
> >productivity. I associate this trend with intellectual property as
> >well. Labor productivity increases with the ability to mark goods up --
> >Nike shoes are an excellent example, but the same holds for Microsoft
> >software.
>
> Any sense of how representative these sorts of goods are? I'd guess
> that gains from IP are merely redistributions of SV - it can't
> explain an increase in the profit rate in the macroecomy. Nike's gain
> is some other capitalist's loss, no?
>
> Doug
--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929
Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail [EMAIL PROTECTED]
