A History of the Relationship Between Interest Rate and Profit Rate in Heterodox Approaches

Abstract

Abstract This article seeks to understand, compare, discuss and systematize the theories on the causal relationship between the rate of interest and the rate of profit, as proposed by various authors, while highlighting their similarities and differences. One group of authors asserts that the rate of interest determines the rate of profit, and thus the distribution of income, while a second argues that once the distribution is determined, it is the rate of profit that governs the rate of interest. This attempt to analyze and systematize the main approaches forms a significant first step in understanding contemporary finance.