Page 25 - Azerbaijan State University of Economics

THE JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SCIENCES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, V.70, # 2, 2013, pp. 4-31

Thus in post-industrialism the length of the working period is an effect with the negative sign.

The structure of total time expenditures is virtualizing, the measurement of the efficiency of the
time became more problematic… economic time became number one factor for economic

dynamics. The significant changes in labor, capital, money and other economic categories bring
about transfer of variables to new qualitative realm (both from measurement and valuation point

of view). Mutual effect between the realms and existence of alternative variants for meeting of
total demand eliminate the classic understanding like expenses → effects, or minimum expenses

→ maximum effect. The increasing degree of the variety and impossibility of normative

approach are the reasons for formation of totally different macro-economic condition: the same
time expenditures affect the activity of the economic system in different ways…the dualism of

economic time turns into the pluralism… the model for measurement of the economic process by

the means of time is out of date, the future is replacing it. The “current moment” accepts each
moment which is favorable and acceptable from benefits point of view: the economic system

defends the “present condition” and starts its existence within the borders of the “moment”.
One of the most important methodological problems is absence of adequate qualitative and

quantitative reflection of utilization of time as economic resource. Consideration of the specifics
of economic time shows that the traditional approaches to the problem are not sufficient. The

most problematic point is inability to quantify the flow of the economic time. Therefore:

1) There is no measurement unit for identification economic time spent both for production
and consumption realms… Marx’ abstraction economic time = social-necessary time => money

is more misleading. There is no difference between the ignorance of the problem and application
the proverb “time is money”.

2) There is no conceptual approach to the “production” of the economic time itself. The
qualitative analysis cannot be carried based in length of interval only… There is not only

absence of quantitative measurement of economic time and its “production”, but also the

application of inter-process time factor does not resolve the problem.
3) The process of transfer of economic time into the economic factor is sufficiently

uncertain. It is impossible to define the “expense-intensiveness” of the process in form of

definite figure. The evaluation can be conducted only upon completion of the process … only in
case when “accumulated” quality changes are “irrevocable”.

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