Traverse Analysis and Methods of Economic Dynamics

The paper investigates dynamic methods used to assess transitional paths (traverses). In particular, section II examines what may be called short-run traverses, in which the initial and the final positions are both characterized by the same technology in use (even if the proportions between commodity outputs may be different from one position to another). Section III considers long-run traverses, in which technology in use is different between the original and the final state of the economy. This section calls attention to the richness of long-run traverse analysis in classical economic theory. In particular, this section examines the existence in classical theory of a dual approach to technical interrelatedness, which may lead both to vertical and horizontal bottlenecks along any given transitional path. Section IV discusses modern contributions to traverse analysis in the light of classical theory. This section argues that the theoretical prototypes to be found in classical literature (short- and long-run analysis; vertical and horizontal interrelatedness) are also at work in modern contributions to the analysis of transitional paths. Section V brings the paper to close by emphasizing the central role of the analytical representation of production processes in the investigation of transitional dynamics. In particular, this section highlights that the discussion of classical methods may be useful in identifying central characteristics of modern traverse analysis, such as the role of alternative representations of production, or the explicit introduction of apparently unrealistic assumptions. Recent attempts at the integration of the different classical methods are also discussed.