Marxian Theory of Competition and the Concept of Regulating Capital: Evidence from Greek Manufacturing

This article discusses the notion of competition as a process of rivalry between firms. This approach was developed initially by the classical economists and continued in the writings of Marx and Schumpeter. More specifically, this article sets out to show that on the one hand, this alternative notion of competition forms a theoretical framework for the understanding of many crucial aspects of modern economies; and on the other hand, on empirical grounds, one of the fundamental tenets of this theory, that is, the long-run tendential equalization of interindustry profit rates, holds true in the case of Greek manufacturing industries. The last objective is achieved with the introduction of the concept of regulating capital and with it the associated notion of the incremental rate of returns.