ABSTRACT
According to the modern theory of subjective value, the determination of prices is basically explained by individual valuation. A satisfactory solution of the imputation problem is thus a precondition for a distribution theory based on the theory of subjective value. As subjective value, to be explained by this theory, is itself the cause of exchange and the determinant of price, the solution must proceed without recourse to exchange. The imputation problem has often been formulated not quite correctly as asking which share of the utility attained by a product is attributable to specific producer goods used in its production. The imputation problem becomes identical with the question of how available producer goods should be used in different lines of production, given the quantity of producer goods and the prevailing scales of needs. Whenever an economic good yields utility directly and in isolation, the theory of marginal utility enables us to establish a well-defined correspondence between its utility and its subjective value.
