Tendency of the rate of profit to fall

The tendency of the rate of profit to fall (TRPF) is a hypothesis in economics and political economy, most famously expounded by Karl Marx in chapter 13 of Das Kapital, Volume 3. Although no longer accepted in mainstream economics, the existence of such a tendency was more widely accepted in the 19th century. Economists as diverse as Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, David Ricardo and Stanley Jevons referred explicitly to the TRPF. They differed in their explanation about why the TRPF might occur.