1 The Structural Crisis of Capital Accumulation in the USA and Its Causa Prima

Abstract. This paper re-defines three hypothetical laws of capital accumulation including endoge-nous rate of accumulation and capital-output ratio as state variables. An original non-linear relation-ship relates their growth rates. Other main state variables are output per worker, employment ratio and relative labour compensation. A comprehensive Phillips equation, governing real labour compen-sation, is an element of the initial hypothetical law (HL-1). HL-2 substitutes the former equation by a new one that reflects a long-term tendency of relative labour compensation to fall. A capital strive to maximal profit alters HL-2 in 2008. An alternative control law (HL-3) determines a growth rate of sur-plus value by a gap between target and current employment ratios while an integral absolute diver-gence of relative labour compensation from the average one for 1979–2008 is minimised. Based on the US macroeconomic data mainly for 1969–2008, computer simulation runs for a later period (through 2062) exhibit how an application of HL-3 in 2008 and afterwards could alleviate se-verity of the current crisis in the restructured US economy compared to evolution based on altered HL-2. The recovery from the present structural crisis of capital accumulation, worst after the World War II, will last until 2011–2013 when the pre-crisis maximum of net output is restored and until 2014– 2017 when the pre-crisis maximum of employment is reached again