Innovations and Profits Schumpeter and the Classical Heritage

Abstract

The paper discusses the problem of innovations and profits from a Schumpeterian perspective using the analytical tools of modern classical economics. The concept of “circular flow” is formalised and Schumpeter's zero-profits assumption investigated. Next a typology of process innovations is discussed using a simple two-sector framework. In Schumpeter profits are transitional phenomena. In the conditions contemplated, increases in labor productivity will lead to rising real wages. The argument is generalized to product-cum-process innovations in systems with joint production where a bad that is costly to dispose of is transformed into a good that can be marketed profitably.