Capital accumulation is the dynamic that motivates the pursuit of profit, involving the investment of money or any financial asset with the goal of increasing the initial monetary value of said asset as a financial return whether in the form of profit, rent, interest, royalties or capital gains. The aim of capital accumulation is to create new fixed and working capitals, broaden and modernize the existing ones, grow the material basis of social-cultural activities, as well as constituting the necessary resource for reserve and insurance. The process of capital accumulation forms the basis of capitalism, and is one of the defining characteristics of a capitalist economic system.
The definition of capital accumulation is subject to controversy and ambiguities, because it could refer to:
a net addition to existing wealth
a redistribution of wealth.
Most often, capital accumulation involves both a net addition and a redistribution of wealth, which may raise the question of who really benefits from it most. If more wealth is produced than there was before, a society becomes richer; the total stock of wealth increases. But if some accumulate capital only at the expense of others, wealth is merely shifted from A to B. It is also possible that some accumulate capital much faster than others. When one person is enriched at the expense of another in circumstances that the law sees as unjust it is called unjust enrichment. In principle, it is possible that a few people or organisations accumulate capital and grow richer, although the total stock of wealth of society decreases.
In economics and accounting, capital accumulation is often equated with investment of profit income or savings, especially in real capital goods. The concentration and centralisation of capital are two of the results of such accumulation (see below).
Capital accumulation refers ordinarily to:
real investment in tangible means of production, such as acquisitions, research and development, etc. that can increase the capital flow.
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The course is part of a three-year trajectory dedicated to a comprehensive history of domestic space and its relationship with urban form from its prehistoric origins to Neoliberal times.
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Marxian economics, or the Marxian school of economics, is a heterodox school of political economic thought. Its foundations can be traced back to Karl Marx's critique of political economy. However, unlike critics of political economy, Marxian economists tend to accept the concept of the economy prima facie. Marxian economics comprises several different theories and includes multiple schools of thought, which are sometimes opposed to each other; in many cases Marxian analysis is used to complement, or to supplement, other economic approaches.
In economics, capital goods or capital are "those durable produced goods that are in turn used as productive inputs for further production" of goods and services. At the macroeconomic level, "the nation's capital stock includes buildings, equipment, software, and inventories during a given year." A typical example is the machinery used in factories. Capital can be increased by the use of the factors of production, which however excludes certain durable goods like homes and personal automobiles that are not used in the production of saleable goods and services.
The organic composition of capital (OCC) is a concept created by Karl Marx in his theory of capitalism, which was simultaneously his critique of the political economy of his time. It is derived from his more basic concepts of 'value composition of capital' and 'technical composition of capital'. Marx defines the organic composition of capital as "the value-composition of capital, in so far as it is determined by its technical composition and mirrors the changes of the latter".
Learn how to describe, model and control urban traffic congestion in simple ways and gain insight into advanced traffic management schemes that improve mobility in cities and highways.
Learn how to describe, model and control urban traffic congestion in simple ways and gain insight into advanced traffic management schemes that improve mobility in cities and highways.
Le contenu de ce cours correspond à celui du cours d'Analyse I, comme il est enseigné pour les étudiantes et les étudiants de l'EPFL pendant leur premier semestre. Chaque chapitre du cours correspond
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