Technology and economic fluctuations in the US food sector (1958-2006): An empirical approach from a political economy perspective

Papageorgiou, T; Michaelides, PG; Milios, JG

dc.contributor.author	Papageorgiou, T	en
dc.contributor.author	Michaelides, PG	en
dc.contributor.author	Milios, JG	en
dc.date.accessioned	2014-03-01T02:04:11Z
dc.date.available	2014-03-01T02:04:11Z
dc.date.issued	2011	en
dc.identifier.issn	03068293	en
dc.identifier.uri	https://dspace.lib.ntua.gr/xmlui/handle/123456789/29402
dc.subject	Economic conditions	en
dc.subject	Economic theory	en
dc.subject	Food industry	en
dc.subject	Marxist economics	en
dc.subject	Profit	en
dc.subject	United States of America	en
dc.subject.other	economic conditions	en
dc.subject.other	economic theory	en
dc.subject.other	food industry	en
dc.subject.other	Granger causality test	en
dc.subject.other	manufacturing	en
dc.subject.other	Marxism	en
dc.subject.other	political economy	en
dc.subject.other	profitability	en
dc.subject.other	United States	en
dc.title	Technology and economic fluctuations in the US food sector (1958-2006): An empirical approach from a political economy perspective	en
heal.type	journalArticle	en
heal.identifier.primary	10.1108/03068291111092016	en
heal.identifier.secondary	http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/03068291111092016	en
heal.publicationDate	2011	en
heal.abstract	Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to deal with questions of instability and economic crises, deriving theoretical arguments from Marx's and Schumpeter's works and presenting relevant empirical evidence for the case of the US food manufacturing sector. Design/methodology/approach: The paper attempts to interpret the economic fluctuations in the US food sector and find causal relationships between the crucial variables dictated by Schumpeterian and Marxian theory, such as technological change, output and profitability. In this context, a number of relevant techniques have been used, such as de-trending, cointegration analysis, white noise tests, periodograms, cross-correlations and Granger causality tests. Findings: Most economic variables in the food manufacturing sector exhibit a similar pattern characterized by periodicities exhibiting a short-term cycle, a mid-term cycle and a long-term cycle. Also, the economic variables investigated follow patterns which are consistent with the total economy. Furthermore, a relatively rapid transmission of technology in the economy takes place along with bidirectional causality between technology and output/profitability, which can be interpreted as indicating an ambivalent relationship in the flow of cause and effect. These findings give credit to certain aspects of the Schumpeterian and Marxist theories of economic crises, respectively. Originality/value: This paper contributes to the literature in the following ways: first, it introduces a relevant methodological framework building on Schumpeterian and Marxist insights. Second, it uses several variables to study the economic fluctuations instead of delimiting its analysis, for instance, to industrial output. Third, the results are discussed in a broader political economy context, related to the US economy, as a whole. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited.	en
heal.journalName	International Journal of Social Economics	en
dc.identifier.doi	10.1108/03068291111092016	en
dc.identifier.volume	38	en
dc.identifier.issue	2	en
dc.identifier.spage	140	en
dc.identifier.epage	164	en