Abstract
Even three decades after the publication of Piero Sraffa’s Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities (1960) and in spite of extended discussions on the matter there does not yet exist a commonly accepted view as to the meaning of the ‘Standard commodity’ and the rôle it plays in Sraffa’s analysis. Moreover, it seems to be still unclear what is the relationship between this concept and Ricardo’s search for an ‘invariable measure of value’.1
‘Who seeks to find eternal treasure must use no guile in weight or measure’
(epigram in the Manchester Cotton Exchange)
We thank without implicating Christian Bidard, Antonio D’Agata, Pierangelo Garegnani, Peter Flaschel, Geoff Harcourt, Bruno Jossa, Carlo Panico, Alessandro Roncaglia, Bertram Schefold, and Ian Steedman for helpful comments and discussions. Neri Salvadori thanks the MPI (the Italian Ministry for Public Education) for financial support.
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© 1993 Mauro Baranzini and G. C. Harcourt
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Kurz, H.D., Salvadori, N. (1993). The ‘Standard commodity’ and Ricardo’s Search for an ‘Invariable Measure of Value’. In: Baranzini, M., Harcourt, G.C. (eds) The Dynamics of the Wealth of Nations. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22728-0_4
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