babylon.formulas.unequal_exchange

Unequal Exchange formulas.

The mathematical basis for understanding global exploitation: - Exchange Ratio: epsilon = (Lp/Lc) * (Wc/Wp) - Exploitation Rate: percentage of value extracted - Value Transfer: production * (1 - 1/epsilon) - Prebisch-Singer Effect: terms of trade decline

Functions

calculate_exchange_ratio(...)	Calculate exchange ratio: epsilon = (Lp/Lc) * (Wc/Wp).
calculate_exploitation_rate(exchange_ratio)	Convert exchange ratio to exploitation rate percentage.
calculate_value_transfer(production_value, ...)	Calculate value transferred from periphery to core.
prebisch_singer_effect(initial_price, ...)	Calculate Prebisch-Singer effect on commodity prices.

babylon.formulas.unequal_exchange.calculate_exchange_ratio(periphery_labor_hours, core_labor_hours, core_wage, periphery_wage)

Calculate exchange ratio: epsilon = (Lp/Lc) * (Wc/Wp).

The exchange ratio quantifies unequal exchange. When epsilon > 1, the periphery gives more value than it receives.

Parameters:

• periphery_labor_hours (float) – Labor hours in periphery

• core_labor_hours (float) – Labor hours in core for same product

• core_wage (float) – Core wage rate

• periphery_wage (float) – Periphery wage rate

Return type:

float

Returns:

Exchange ratio

Raises:

ValueError – If any denominator value is zero or negative

Examples

>>> calculate_exchange_ratio(100.0, 100.0, 20.0, 5.0)  # Equal labor, 4x wage gap
4.0
>>> calculate_exchange_ratio(200.0, 100.0, 20.0, 10.0)  # 2x labor, 2x wage
4.0
>>> calculate_exchange_ratio(100.0, 100.0, 10.0, 10.0)  # Fair exchange
1.0

babylon.formulas.unequal_exchange.calculate_exploitation_rate(exchange_ratio)

Convert exchange ratio to exploitation rate percentage.

epsilon = 2 means 100% exploitation (double value extracted). epsilon = 1 means 0% exploitation (fair exchange).

Parameters:

exchange_ratio (float) – The exchange ratio epsilon

Return type:

float

Returns:

Exploitation rate as a percentage

babylon.formulas.unequal_exchange.calculate_value_transfer(production_value, exchange_ratio)

Calculate value transferred from periphery to core.

Value transfer = production * (1 - 1/epsilon)

Parameters:

• production_value (float) – Value of peripheral production

• exchange_ratio (float) – The exchange ratio epsilon

Return type:

float

Returns:

Value transferred to core

babylon.formulas.unequal_exchange.prebisch_singer_effect(initial_price, production_increase, elasticity)

Calculate Prebisch-Singer effect on commodity prices.

Terms of trade decline for commodity exporters: More production -> lower prices -> same poverty.

Parameters:

• initial_price (float) – Initial commodity price

• production_increase (float) – Fractional increase in production (0.2 = 20%)

• elasticity (float) – Price elasticity of demand (typically negative)

Return type:

float

Returns:

New price after production increase