Profitability and Capital Accumulation in Canadian Manufacturing Industries

Abstract

In this paper, the relationship between profitability and rates of capital accumulation in twenty Canadian manufacturing industries is examined. Three separate analyses are performed: a short-run longitudinal study, a cross-sectional analysis, and a long-run longitudinal study. In each case, the rate of profit performs poorly as a determinant of the rate of accumulation in the manufacturing industries. If this result is real, rather than being because of inappropriate data or methods, then alternative determinants of investment behaviour must be sought, the emphasis placed by theorists on an equal rate of profit equilibrium is misplaced, and interpretations of capital flows in terms of relative profitability are misguided.