>Also on the SNA see
>
>Measuring the Wealth of Nations: The Political Economy of National
>Accounts (1994) co-authored with E. Ahmet Tonak, Cambridge
>University Press.
As much as I like & admire Shaikh & Tonak, I couldn't see the point of this book. I see the LTV as a theory of the ultimate origins of the phenomenal categories of capitalist economies (e.g., the SNAs, the NIPAs, the flows of funds, etc.). But the exercise of translating national income accounts into Marxian terms, and dividing productive from unproductive labor - what's the point? What do you gain? If you were trying to prove that a rising share of unproductive labor would ultimately bring down the rate of profit which would ultimately bring down capitalism, well, that's an understandable, if futile, goal. Shaikh & Tonak exhibit hints of that (as I recall the conclusion), but they shy away from full-blown catastrophism. So please explain - what's the point?
Doug