Routledge Dictionary of Economics, Second Edition
The value produced by labour in excess of the amount needed to maintain it. This concept is used as a measure of the extent of EXPLOITATION of workers in MARXIAN ECONOMICS.
Absolute surplus value arises from the lengthening of the working day or the increased speed of the production process so that a worker works more hours than required to provide SUBSISTENCE.
Relative surplus value is the result of decreasing the amount of labour needed to produce subsistence for the worker, i.e. increasing labour productivity. In early stages of capitalist development, surplus value is absolute in nature but it is largely relative in later stages. The rate of surplus value, also known as the rate of EXPLOITATION, is measured by the ratio of surplus value to VARIABLE CAPITAL.
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