La empiria del trabajo de Brenner

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A key empirical thesis advanced by Brenner
regards the connection between the
international competitiveness and the
profitability of the U.S. manufacturing sector.
The behavior of the two indices of international
competitiveness that he uses-world market
share and trade balance.
 Dos explicaciones diferentes
●
Antes de 1965 “profit squeeze” por aumento de
los salarios hasta 1958 y su estancamiento
posterior.
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Brenner recognizes (see, Fig. 3) that there was
a remarkable recovery in U.S. Profitability in the
1980s and the 1990s, particularly since the mid-
1980s (Brenner, 1998: 156, 188,203).
●
What was responsible for the recovery?
Brenner cites "historically unprecedented
repression of wage growth" and the ability of
U.S. manufacturers to "achieve major gains in
international competitiveness" via dollar-
devaluation.
 Dos explicaciones diferentes
●
Antes de 1965 “profit squeeze” por aumento de
los salarios hasta 1958 y su estancamiento
posterior.
●
The most striking feature of the series is that
until 1983 there was only a single year (1972)in
which the U.S. manufacturing sector had a
trade deficit trend in the behavior of the series
until the early-1980s. The net profit rate in
manufacturing, represented in Fig. 3, shows, on
the other hand, a marked downward trend.6
Even during 195~ when the trade balance
fluctuated around a healthy >4 percent, the net
profit rate had a declining tendency.
●
Since 1983, there has not been a single year in
which the U.S. manufacturing sector did not
have a trade deficit. If anything, the
international competitiveness of the u.S.
Manufacturing sector appeared to have
deteriorated remarkably in the period 1983-97.
At the same time, Fig. 3 shows that the
manufacturing net profit rate increased rather
steadily during the same period.
●
The dramatic decline in the wage share since
the mid-1980s in U.S. manufacturing is well-
known, and I would not take issue with Brenner
in this respect. However, as we saw (Fig. 2), the
idea of positive net foreign demand driving
manufacturing profitability has little foundation
in fact. So effectively the only valid reason that
Brenner has for the recent recovery is once
again a wage-squeeze theory in the revers :
squeeze on wages and workers driving up
profitability.