A contribution to the economic and historical debate on social classes: an empirical investigation of the productive and unproductive labour categories in Greece from 1987 to 2020

SCAD No 34
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Published: Sep 1, 2022
Keywords:
Social classes, productive labour, unproductive labour, mode of production
Costas Passas
Panteion University
Abstract

The distinction between productive and unproductive
labour, tracing its origins to classical
and Marxian political economy, has been
a source of a long-standing debate in the literature.
In this essay we argue that the proper
definition of productive and unproductive labour
is critical for the empirical estimation of
social classes from a Marxian perspective. In
addition, using the methodological framework
of the classical Marxian tradition we estimate
the categories of productive and unproductive
labour for the Greek economy during the period
spanning the years 1987 to 2020 using
micro-data from the Labour Force Survey and
discuss our results in comparison with other
recent similar studies for Greece

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Author Biography
Costas Passas, Panteion University

Costas Passas is a fellow in the Centre of Planning and Economic Research and teaches economics in the Department of Social Policy of Panteion University. His research interests are on the field of Political Economy, of Labour Economics, and of Social Policy. Contact address: k.passas@panteion.gr

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