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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2019‒09‒02
eighteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Sergio Cesaratto |
| Abstract: | This paper has been long ago inspired by Jared Diamond (1997) and, in particular, by his extensive use of the concept of economic surplus as the key to the development of civilization. Unfortunately, Diamond does not even mention the origin of the concept in classical and pre-classical economics. Moreover, Diamond does not pay any consideration to the long debates in economic anthropology on the role of economic analysis in studying primitive and ancient economic formations. These debates are instead the object of a more recent book by Cedrini & Marchionatti (2017), who context the neoclassical “imperialist” attempt to occupy the territory of economic anthropology. They rely, however, upon the frail institutionalist background provided by Karl Polanyi and his school and by other anthropologists of similar inspiration. In so doing, they fail to provide a robust economic basis to institutional change, by firmly anchoring it around the changing modes of generation and distribution of the economic surplus. These notes are explorative, as also shown by a post-scriptum. Comments welcome. |
| Keywords: | Surplus approach, Economic anthropology, Marx, Sraffa, Polanyi |
| JEL: | A12 B51 B52 Z13 |
| Date: | 2019–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:807&r=all |
| By: | Jorg Bibow |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the peculiar macroeconomic policy challenges faced by emerging economies in today's monetary (non)order and globalized finance. It reviews the evolution of the international monetary and financial architecture against the background of Keynes's original Bretton Woods vision, highlighting the US dollar's hegemonic status. Keynes's liquidity preference theory informs the analysis of the loss of policy space and widespread instabilities in emerging economies that are the consequence of financial hyperglobalization. While any benefits promised by mainstream promoters remain elusive, heightened vulnerabilities have emerged in the aftermath of the global crisis. |
| Keywords: | Emerging Economies; Hyperglobalization; Liquidity; Liquidity Preference Theory; Reserve Accumulation; US Dollar Hegemony |
| JEL: | B22 E43 E44 F02 F36 G12 |
| Date: | 2019–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_935&r=all |
| By: | Michel Abramowicz; Ariane Szafarz |
| Abstract: | Equipoise is defined by Freedman (1987, p.141) as a "state of genuine uncertainty on the part of the clinical investigator regarding the comparative therapeutic merits of each arm in a trial." This principle is grounded in the ethical motivation that any ex-ante preference for a given option would undermine the interests of those who are offered another. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in development economics disregard the equipoise requirement by typically disadvantaging the control group. This paper investigates how the equipoise principle is formalized in the medical literature and discusses whether and how it should be taken into consideration by economists. It argues that equipoise is especially relevant when double (or even single) blindness is excluded and when the control group includes already vulnerable individuals. More generally, this paper advocates for developing a vibrant ethics conversation on the design and fairness of RCTs in social sciences. |
| Keywords: | Equipoise; Fairness; Ethics of RCTs; Control Group; Placebo |
| JEL: | C93 I14 B41 O16 D63 |
| Date: | 2019–08–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/292092&r=all |
| By: | Muhammad Zeshan (Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad); Muhammad Nasir (Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, Islamabad) |
| Abstract: | This paper develops Pakistan’s first Input-Output table (IOT) that follows the 2008 System of National Accounts. An IOT examines the structural changes in an economy. The present paper provides Pakistan’s IOT 2010-11 in an industry-by-industry format (42*42). The analysis of backward and forward linkages reveals that manufacturing of food products, beverages, textiles, electricity, gas, steam, air-conditioning and accommodation sectors have strong backward linkages while mining and quarrying, wood products, chemicals and chemical products, electricity, gas, steam, air-conditioning, warehousing and support activities for transportation sectors have strong forward linkages. For national economic growth to be sustainable, the government should facilitate economic activities in these sectors. |
| Keywords: | System of National Accounts, Supply and Use Tables, Input-Output Table, Backward and Forward Linkages, Pakistan |
| JEL: | C67 D57 E01 L16 R15 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pid:wpaper:2019:162&r=all |
| By: | Horn, Karen |
| Abstract: | Ever since the global financial crisis of 2008, interpreted by some observers as a foreseeable failure of "unfettered" capitalism, the German intellectual tradition of ordoliberalism has been meeting with increased interest. Its emphasis on good government, appropriate rules and institutions makes it attractive. Welcome as this may be, however, that trend may impact the reception of the works of Adam Smith in a problematic way, since the key historical figures of ordoliberalism reject his theory vigorously, even though, from today's perspective, their concerns and policy recommendations look very parallel to his. Their common hope is human flourishing. Just like the Scot, the broad scope of their vision encompasses society as a whole, not just the market; they are concerned with ethics, not just economics. But what, then, can solve the puzzle of this implausible rejection, by which the ordoliberals contribute to a deep-rooted prejudice against Smith? In this paper, Karen Horn takes stock of their concrete criticisms, which turn out to be based on a narrow understanding of Smith's work. She suggests that it is religion that stands at the root of the explanation, though situational elements may also play a role. The essential contentious point seems to be what the ordoliberals take for the Scot's naïve belief in natural harmony, the sources of which they see in his stoicism and possible deism. The deeper problem for them with Smith is the pagan flavour and the systematic normative relativism of an essentially evolutionary approach to human values. |
| Keywords: | Ordoliberalism,Adam Smith,History of economic thought,Natural harmony |
| JEL: | B12 B3 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:aluord:1903&r=all |
| By: | Christian Ewerhart; Robertas Zubrickas |
| Abstract: | We model the financial cooperative as an optimal institution sharing liquidity risks among agents with social preference and group identity. Stronger social concerns imply objectively better (worse) conditions for borrowers (depositors). Testing the model, we find that, indeed, deposit and loan rates offered by U.S. credit unions between 1995 and 2014 co-moved with (i) the number of members, and (ii) the common bond. Our theory explains how cooperatives coexist with banks, and why they have tended to be more resilient. However, the analysis also suggests that financial inclusion and advantages in resilience might quickly evaporate as membership requirements get diluted. |
| Keywords: | Social preferences, group identity, liquidity insurance, cooperative banking, credit union, common bond, bank competition, resilience |
| JEL: | G21 D91 L31 G28 |
| Date: | 2019–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zur:econwp:332&r=all |
| By: | Ngan, Sue Lin; How, Bing Shen; Teng, Sin Yong; Promentilla, Michael Angelo B.; Yatim, Puan; Er, Ah Choy; Lam, Hon Loong |
| Abstract: | The concept of the circular economy has gained well-recognition across the world for the past decades. With the heightening risk of the impact of climate change, resource scarcity to meet the increasing world population, the need to transition to a more sustainable development model is urgent. The circular economy is often cited as one of the best solutions to support sustainable development. However, the diffusion of this concept in the industrial arena is still relatively slow, particularly in the developing country, which collectively exerts high potential to be the world’s largest economies and workforce. It is crucial to make sure that the development of these nations is sustainable and not bearing on the cost of future generation. Thus, this work aims to provide a comprehensive review of the circular economy concept in developing country context. Furthermore, a novel model is proposed by adopting Fuzzy Analytics Network Process (FANP) to quantify the priority weights of the sustainability indicators to provide guidelines for the industry stakeholders at different stages of industry cycle to transition toward the circular economy. The results revealed that improvement in economic performance and public acceptance are they key triggers to encourage stakeholders for sustainable development. The outcomes serve as a reference to enhance the overall decision-making process of industry stakeholders. Local authorities can adopt the recommendations to design policy and incentive that encourage the adoption of circular economy in real industry operation to spur up economic development, without neglecting environmental well-being and jeopardizing social benefits. |
| Keywords: | Circular economy; sustainable development; Fuzzy Analytic Network Process (FANP); industry life-cycle analysis; palm oil industry |
| JEL: | A1 A10 A11 B0 C0 E0 E1 E2 E3 E6 F1 L1 L2 L6 O1 O2 O4 |
| Date: | 2019–06–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:95450&r=all |
| By: | Eva Sierminska; Daniela Piazzalunga; Markus M. Grabka |
| Abstract: | The objective of the study is to investigate the changing role of explanatory factors of wealth and the gender wealth gap in Germany over the period 2002-2012 using individual level microdata from the German Socio-Economic Panel. The authors apply distributional decomposition methods and focus on the role of changes in labor supply, permanent income, portfolio composition, and marital status in this process. Results show that real mean wealth levels for the working age population have been decreasing for both women and men since 2002 and that the wealth gap has decreased by 13.5% to 30.700€. The growing labor market participation of women and the resulting occupational structure has a positive effect on women’s wealth accumulation. In comparison to previous analyses, the authors use the panel dimension of the data and find that the role of permanent income is decreasing due to a reduction in the gender difference in permanent income and in gender differences in its returns. |
| Keywords: | wealth differences, gender, SOEP, decomposition analysis |
| JEL: | D31 D13 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp1050&r=all |
| By: | Michel Alexandre; Gilberto Tadeu Lima |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the effects of trade credit by assessing its macroeconomic impacts on several dimensions. To that end, we develop an agent-based model (ABM) with two types of firms: downstream firms, which produce a final good for consumption purposes using intermediate goods, and upstream firms, which produce and supply those intermediate goods to the downstream firms. Upstream firms can act as trade credit suppliers, by allowing delayed payment of a share of their sales to downstream firms. Our results suggest a potential trade-off between financial robustness as measured by the proportion of non-performing loans and the average output level. The intuitive reason is that greater availability of trade credit, which however does not necessarily imply proportionately greater actual use of it by downstream firms, allows more financial resources to remain in the real sector, favoring the latter’s financial robustness. Yet, given that trade credit is proportionally more beneficial to smaller downstream firms, it enhances market competition. This results in a decrease in markups and thereby in profits and dividends, which contributes negatively to aggregate demand formation |
| Keywords: | Trade credit; agent-based modeling; macroeconomic effects |
| JEL: | C63 E27 G32 |
| Date: | 2019–08–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2019wpecon31&r=all |
| By: | Giles Mohan |
| Abstract: | The pockets of effectiveness (PoEs) debates and political settlements literature are rooted in particular forms of political economy analysis. At one level, this is a positive contribution to the mainstream development policy literature, and allows us to characterise political systems and their power relations, as well as forcing us to pay close attention to the dynamics of state institutions. Yet, these literatures are disconnected from a tradition of more critical political economy analysis and state theory. This brief review is a first attempt to connect these bodies of theory, largely in an African context. We find some promising new (and old) avenues of inquiry to connect critical political economy to PoE work, largely in terms of various meso-level theories of how states function, which move us away from all-encompassing metatheories of the state. Such meso-level theories enable us to theorise the more fine-grained and developmentally positive institutions that constitute PoEs, since much of the meta-theory tends to be both broad brush as well as causally pessimistic, insofar as African states are rarely seen to engender positive developmental outcomes. These meso-level theories can also be more easily elaborated methodologically, which is vital, since most of the claims about state capacity and function require contextual empirical analysis. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-118-19&r=all |
| By: | Luisa Fernanda Tovar |
| Abstract: | A partir de una revisión general de la literatura, el documento busca reflexionar sobre la necesidad de incluir en la historia y el pensamiento económico los aportes del feminismo. Para ello, se esbozan las principales críticas que el feminismo hace a la ciencia económica y se identifican dos enfoques de economía feminista: integracionista y de ruptura. Luego, se plantean tres ejemplos de cómo el pensamiento económico ha intentado enfrentar las críticas provenientes del feminismo, para posteriormente nombrar tres pistas proporcionadas por las perspectivas feministas para el desarrollo tanto de la ciencia económica como de sus metodologías de trabajo. Finalmente, la revisión concluye con algunas posibilidades de reflexión a partir de las economías feministas, no solo en el ámbito académico, sino también político. *** From a general literature survey, the document seeks to reflect on the need to include the contributions of feminism in history and economic thought. To achieve this objective, the main criticisms that feminism target to economic science are outlined and two approaches to feminist economics are identified: integrationist and rupture. Next, three examples of how economic thinking has tried to face the criticism of feminism are raised. Then, three indications are provided from feminist perspectives for the development of both economic science and its working methodologies. Finally, the survey concludes with some possibilities for reflection from feminist economics, not only in academia but also in politics. |
| Keywords: | economía feminista, género, feminismos, producción y reproducción social |
| JEL: | A13 B5 B54 N0 |
| Date: | 2019–08–22 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000430:017391&r=all |
| By: | Montecchia, Agustín Alan |
| Abstract: | El presente trabajo analiza el cambio del modo de regulación en la economía Argentina desde diciembre de 2015 hasta el mes de julio de 2018 utilizando el marco teórico elaborado por la Teoría de la Regulación Francesa. Mediante el estudio de las formas institucionales régimen monetario y sistema financiero, relación salarial y forma del Estado, se comprueba que a partir de la asunción del gobierno de la alianza Cambiemos tuvo lugar en la Argentina un cambio en el modo de regulación con respecto al del régimen de acumulación de la post convertibilidad, y que las características que adoptó colocan a las finanzas en el lugar jerárquico de la nueva configuración institucional, subordinando a las restantes formas institucionales. Asimismo, el análisis empírico permite afirmar que el nuevo modo de regulación implementado adquiere las características propias que la literatura especializada describe para el modo de regulación de los regímenes de acumulación financiarizados, pero en el caso particular de la Argentina da lugar a una financiarización del régimen de acumulación subordinada al flujo positivo de divisas. |
| Keywords: | Modelos de Acumulación; Acumulación de Capital; Teoría de la Regulación; Argentina; |
| Date: | 2018–12–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:3147&r=all |
| By: | Ali, Safdar; Ahmad, Khalil; Ali, Amjad |
| Abstract: | This paper examines how the economic growth of different sectors affects poverty in Pakistan uses the time series data over the period 1973-2010. The ARDL co-integration approach has been applied to investigate the impact of sectoral growth on aggregate as well as disaggregated poverty in the long run and short run. The results indicate that industrial growth reduces total, rural and urban poverty significantly while the performance of services sector affects the composition of poverty insignificantly. The agricultural sector growth has a negative impact on aggregate poverty while it has an insignificant impact on disaggregated poverty. |
| Keywords: | Sectoral Growth, Rural Poverty, Urban Poverty, Co-integration |
| JEL: | O41 P46 |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:95666&r=all |
| By: | Roveretti, Daniela Natalia; Anchorena, Sergio Oscar; Labrunée, María Eugenia |
| Abstract: | En Argentina la crisis económica, política y social desatada en el 2001 derivó en el cierre de empresas y despidos masivos de trabajadores. En este contexto se desarrolló el fenómeno de "empresas recuperadas" que, a pesar de sus diferencias, se hallaron unidas bajo el lema "Ocupar, Resistir y Producir" considerado el eje conductor en la conservación de las fuentes de trabajo e ingreso. Éstas se organizaron en una gestión colectiva y democrática, bajo la forma jurídica de cooperativas. En este trabajo se presenta el estudio de caso de la "Cooperativa de Trabajo Nuevo Amanecer" para el cual se describen y analizan el proceso de recuperación y las estrategias empresariales implementadas desde sus orígenes. Se recolectó información mediante entrevistas a trabajadores de la empresa y agentes del Estado, la cual fue contrastada con un análisis de los Balances y el Estado de Situación Patrimonial. Como resultado se obtuvo una aproximación a la forma en que los trabajadores lograron adaptarse a la nueva forma de organización autogestionada y expandirse en el mercado, siendo una empresa referente a nivel local y un símbolo de lucha, trabajo y crecimiento. |
| Keywords: | Empresas Recuperadas; Cooperativas; Autogestión; |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:3137&r=all |
| By: | Ericsson, Sanna (Department of Economics, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies the effect of increased female empowerment on domestic violence. I use individual level data from high-quality Swedish administrative registers on women's relative earnings and hospital visits relating to assault. With this third-party reported violence measure, I overcome the issue of selective under-reporting of violence. I first show that the raw relationship between female empowerment and domestic violence is U-shaped, and that the sign of the association differs depending on which spouse is the main breadwinner of the household. However, the U-shape does not depict a causal effect, as it does not account for selective marriage matches or endogenous earnings. To overcome the concerns of endogeneity, I derive a measure of wives' potential earnings, caused by local changes in gender-specific labour demand. I show that the causal effect of increasing wives' potential earnings on domestic violence is positive and substantial. A positive effect is consistent with a male backlash story, which, together with the noted U-shaped association that depends on breadwinner status, indicates that traditional gender norms may play an important role in determining the relationship between female empowerment and domestic violence, even in presumably gender-equal Sweden. |
| Keywords: | domestic violence; relative earnings; household bargaining; male backlash; local labour demand |
| JEL: | D13 I12 J12 J16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2019–08–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2019_012&r=all |
| By: | Monica Calcagno (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Rachele Cavara (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice); Nunzia Coco (Dept. of Management, Università Ca' Foscari Venice) |
| Abstract: | Research on cultural industries has attracted considerable interest on cultural entrepreneurs as agents in complex interaction with multiple and evolving contexts. The study aims to capture the complexity and intensity of these relationships, exploring entrepreneurship as a journey driven by cultural and social dynamics on one side, and economic needs on the other. The investigation is an inductive inquiry carried out through an in-depth analysis of a single revelatory case in the publishing industry. Focusing on the relational process through which the entrepreneur and the context are co-created, the paper analyzes the entrepreneurial journey through the identification of three major stages: Divergence, Identity construction, and Institutionalization. |
| Keywords: | Cultural entrepreneurship, co-creation, narrative. |
| JEL: | Z11 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:vnm:wpdman:166&r=all |
| By: | Sam Hickey |
| Abstract: | The role of bureaucratic ‘pockets of effectiveness’ (PoEs) in driving development is generating renewed interest within development studies and, to an extent, development policy. Existing research on PoEs emphasises that politics plays a leading role in shaping the emergence and sustainability of high-performing public sector organisations. However, the field as yet lacks a clear sense of the conditions under which this happens. This paper sets out the conceptual and methodological underpinnings of a new project that seeks to address this problem within the context of sub-Saharan Africa. Drawing on an alignment of political settlements analysis with critical theories of state power and African politics, the paper argues that PoEs are both shaped by, and help to reproduce, particular forms of politics and institutions in sub-Saharan Africa. This means that PoEs can reveal a good deal about how the competing logics of regime survival, state-building and democratisation are playing out in Africa, and the implications for development. The paper proposes a methodological approach for identifying and exploring PoEs and summarises the results of expert surveys undertaken in Ghana, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. These surveys resulted in our project focusing mainly on the economic technocracy as the key domain within which PoEs have flourished, particularly in terms of ministries of finance, central banks and revenue authorities, along with some other interesting outliers and underlying processes of state-building. Further papers from this project will include in-depth case studies of these specific PoEs and processes in each country, synthesised country analyses and comparative overviews. |
| Date: | 2019 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bwp:bwppap:esid-117-19&r=all |
| By: | Ugo Pagano; Maria Alessandra Rossi |
| Abstract: | Negli anni recenti si è molto modificata la “curva del sorriso” che descrive la catena del valore. Si è svalorizzata l’incidenza delle parti attribuite ai processi produttivi materiali rispetto alle parti che si riferiscono ai diritti di proprietà intellettuali. Questa trasformazione del capitalismo moderno ha portato a una monopolizzazione della conoscenza, a un forte aumento della diseguaglianza e a una lunga stagnazione economica. Questo lavoro analizza l’interdipendenza fra questi fenomeni e avanza delle proposte che hanno lo scopo di diffondere il benessere consentito dalle nuove tecnologie. Finora il rapido progresso tecnologico di questi anni ha prevalentemente permesso di sorridere solo a coloro che hanno avuto accesso ai nuovi monopoli che caratterizzano il capitalismo moderno |
| Keywords: | proprietà intellettuale, diseguaglianza, stagnazione economica |
| JEL: | B52 E11 E12 F55 G01 |
| Date: | 2019–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:803&r=all |