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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2025–01–13
fourteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Yicheng Wang (The University of Hong Kong - Department of Mathematics; Southern University of Science and Technology.); Didier Sornette (Risks-X, Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech); Swiss Finance Institute); Ke Wu (Southern University of Science and Technology); Sandro Claudio Lera (Southern University of Science and Technology; MIT Connection Science) |
| Abstract: | Instabilities in socio-economic complex systems have long been modeled using Ising-like network interaction models that require fine-tuning to a critical threshold. Recent findings indicate that instabilities can emerge even in sub-critical regimes, provided the network topology is sufficiently non-normal. However, the process by which non-normal networks form is less well understood and has been considered largely decoupled from the dynamics of agents interacting on the network. We show that feedback mechanisms between individual agents and macroscopic quantities such as prices induce feedback loops that cause the network topology to self-organize towards non-normal configurations. The interactions between traders on their dynamically evolving influence network make non-normal networks and financial bubbles intrinsic properties of the financial market dynamics, acting as attractors in the sense of a dynamical system. Through agent-based simulations, we demonstrate that noise traders form a complex network of mutual influences driven by traders’ visibility and success. These dynamics self-organize towards non-normal network topologies that enhance return autocorrelation, increase volatility, and contribute to the formation of financial bubbles, which in turn make the topology more non-normal. We analyze the social trading platform eToro to demonstrate that such feedback mechanisms are active on social trading platforms. Our model thus highlights the increased vulnerability of social systems to instabilities in the presence of global-scale communications. |
| Keywords: | Financial bubbles, Agent-based model, Socio-economic networks, Self-organization, Sub-criticality, Non-normality |
| JEL: | C63 C46 C53 G17 G41 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2477 |
| By: | Rémy Herrera (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This article intends to return to Marx's theory of the State to show that this author left us numerous and fruitful elements, the analyzes of which deserve to be meditated on today. From the conception of the State as an alienated expression of civil society to that of the organization of the dominant class, then from that of the apparatus or machine to that of the lever of the revolution, Marx's interpretation has evolved to become more complex, and enriched. We should also know how to situate this State at the heart of the dynamic of capital accumulation, in particular through its role relative to money, itself located between value and profit, but also in its interventions in colonial and commercial policies. Finally, the article insists on the fact that capitalism is today in an impasse and doomed, its State being experiencing more and more difficulties in the face of the deep contradictions of this system. This is the reason why Marxism still remains an essential theoretical reference. |
| Keywords: | Marxian theory, State, capitalism, crisis, revolution |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-04796811 |
| By: | Rémy Herrera (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes the evolutions of Marx's positions on colonization. It first emphasizes the invariant of his reflections: the denunciation of colonial violence. We initially find an interpretation of colonization as a process of modernization, then as a dynamic of "destruction-regeneration, " linked to the "unification of the world." The author identifies above all the successive inflections of Marx's – resolutely critical – thought about colonial and national issues, the non-linear character of history, and the differentiation of social formations. |
| Abstract: | Cet article analyse les évolutions des positions de Marx à propos de la colonisation. Il souligne tout d'abord l'invariant de ces réflexions : la dénonciation de la violence coloniale. Au départ, on trouve une interprétation de la colonisation comme processus de modernisation, puis comme dynamique de destruction-régénération, liée à l'« unification du monde ». L'auteur identifie spécialement les inflexions successives de la pensée de Marx résolument critique -, au sujet des questions coloniale et nationale, du caractère non linéaire de l'histoire, mais aussi de la différenciation des formations sociales. |
| Keywords: | Marxism, capitalism, colonization, destruction-regeneration, non linearity, social formations, Marxisme capitalisme colonisation violence destruction-régénération nonlinéarité formations sociales Marxism capitalism colonization violence destruction-regeneration non linearity social formations Classification JEL : B14 B51 N10, Marxisme, capitalisme, colonisation, violence, destruction-régénération, nonlinéarité, Formations sociales |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-04796804 |
| By: | Henrekson, Magnus (Research Institute of Industrial Economics); Johansson, Dan (Örebro University) |
| Abstract: | The neo-Schumpeterian growth models, which appeared in the early 1990s, have ostensibly reintroduced the entrepreneur into mainstream growth theory. However, we show that by ignoring genuine uncertainty and by assuming that profits follow an objectively true and ex ante known probability distribution, the entrepreneur is made redundant. Thus, the theory fails to exhaustively explain innovation, the role of ownership competence, profits, the function of financial markets, wealth and income distribution, and, ultimately, economic growth. These shortcomings risk leading to erroneous or overly narrow policy conclusions by overestimating the importance of supporting R&D investments. Rather, the presence of genuine uncertainty forms a fundamental theoretical basis for the importance of new venture creation as a source of innovation-driven growth; entrepreneurs must establish and expand firms to capture the subjectively perceived profit opportunities. Therefore, tax policy is decisive for the commercialization and dissemination of innovations by providing incentives to uncertainty-bearing, not only for entrepreneurs, but also for intrapreneurs and financiers taking an active part in the governance and development of firms based on innovations characterized by genuine uncertainty. Furthermore, taxation can distort the evolutionary selection of innovations and firms, for instance, by taxing owners and firms differently. |
| Keywords: | creative destruction, economic growth, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship policy, innovation, judgment, Knightian uncertainty |
| JEL: | B40 O10 O30 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17577 |
| By: | Rémy Herrera (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This new volume of Research in Political Economy is devoted to themes related to various "trajectories of declining and destructive capitalism, " within the framework of contemporary Marxism. To discuss these themes, we brought together 15 texts, written by 20 social scientists from 10 countries. These authors are, for some, internationally renowned and experienced personalities, and for others, young researchers starting their careers, but all working in their own way to strengthen Marxism in order to apply its powerful methods to the interpretation and, above all, the transformation of the world. Their contributions deal with 12 economies, covering five continents: Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Senegal, South Africa, Lebanon, Iran, India, Papua New Guinea and Chile in the current period or very near pastplus two other countries, China and Cuba, in their more distant past preceding their respective socialist revolutions. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-04796827 |
| By: | Kalaskar, Ritaj (Indian Institute for Human Settlements); Haldar, Stuti (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | Over the last decade energy justice has rapidly emerged as an important research and policy agenda across disciplines. It seeks to address dilemmas between accelerated decarbonisation and democratisation of energy systems. However, different articulations and interpretations of energy justice have been co-opted into the dominant framework of the three tenets approach which risks (re)producing top-down and western centric knowledge on what counts as just (energy) transitions. Through this systematic literature review we address this gap by examining scholarship at the intersection of energy transitions and energy justice. From a total of 158 articles, we identified sixteen themes categorised into four groups – approaches to development, power and agency, policy and governance, and science, society and technology. Through these, we illustrate how nuanced articulations of justice emerge based on theoretical underpinnings, conceptual framings, geographical landscapes and historical contexts. Our findings suggest a need for mainstreaming feminist and postcolonial perspectives, and place-based community driven governance of energy systems- which reveal alternative traditions of ethics and philosophy for more equitable and just transitions. Our review concludes that plural conceptualizations of energy justice must be respected by scholars, renewable energy developers and policymakers to ensure that transitions are context sensitive and contribute to a larger societal, technological, political, environmental, and economic transformation that is just, equitable, and sustainable for people, communities and the planet. |
| Keywords: | energy justice; equity; just transitions; socio-technical transitions; capability approach; energy democracy |
| JEL: | O13 O33 P18 Q40 |
| Date: | 2024–12–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2024_022 |
| By: | Meitner, Leonhard |
| Abstract: | The looming climate crisis calls for the development of novel forms of response, but so far, climate change action does not meet its ambitions to tackle the issue. Voluntary Carbon Markets (VCMs) are one proposed solution to bridge the gap. However, VCMs are criticized for not providing real climate benefits and exacerbating inequality. This paper critically assesses VCMs, focusing on their regulatory, ecological, and social dysfunctions through an ecological economics lens. It identifies key issues such as inadequate transparency, compromised environmental integrity due to issues of additionality, permanence, double counting, carbon leakage, rebound effects, and adverse social impacts. By analyzing these dysfunctions and the underlying theoretical assumptions, the paper highlights how power relations, fundamental uncertainties, information asymmetries, and the commodification of nature contribute to the observed problems in VCMs. Through a qualitative literature analysis, this research provides a comprehensive evaluation of VCMs' role in global climate policy, emphasizing the need for robust regulatory frameworks, transparency, and inclusive decision-making processes to enhance their efficacy. The findings suggest that while VCMs have potential, addressing their inherent limitations is crucial for their legitimacy and effectiveness in combating climate change. |
| Keywords: | Voluntary carbon markets, carbon offsetting, regulatory frameworks, ecological economics, environmental integrity |
| JEL: | F64 Q50 Q54 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:308040 |
| By: | Ederer, Stefan; Rehm, Miriam |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a stock-flow consistent Post-Keynesian model in the Kalecki-Steindl tradition with endogenous wealth accumulation and distribution, which captures the key aspects of the Cambridge debate on (anti-)dual and Pasinetti equilibria. We find that a stable interior solution - that is, a Pasinetti equilibrium - is the most likely outcome, while the corner solutions of dual and anti-dual equilibria - both the euthanasia and the triumph of the rentier - are special cases of a standard Bhaduri-Marglin model. Endogenizing the profit share yields a two-dimensional dynamic system of the wealth concentration and the profit share, which is stable for a wide range of parameter values, as long as the concentration of wealth is not unrealistically low. An interior Pasinetti equilibrium thus remains the most likely outcome. However, for certain parameter combinations, the system may move onto an explosive trajectory with an ever-rising concentration of wealth and income in the hands of capitalists. Numerically illustrating the results of the analytical model shows that endogenizing the profit share leads to a more unequal wealth distribution, and a negative feedback effect between high wealth inequality, a high profit share, and growth. |
| Keywords: | wealth distribution, Post-Keynesian model, aggregate demand, Pasinetti, profit rate |
| JEL: | B22 D31 D33 E12 E21 E64 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:308036 |
| By: | Rémy Herrera (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | The texts collected here and made available to Spanish-speaking readers constitute a body of work of immense theoretical and practical value. Although they are not the complete works of Isabel Monal - her writings would not fit into a single volume, far from it - what they do offer a glimpse of is an invaluable body of work. I shall endeavour to explain, briefly, how the availability of these works on Marx and Marxism represents an opportunity and a considerable contribution for us all, but also to relate them to and put them in dialogue with other major writings by the author, in particular those she devoted to José Martí and Cuba, in order to show their general organisation and their profound coherence. |
| Date: | 2024–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-04796790 |
| By: | Giovanazzi, Carmen |
| Abstract: | We analyze the dynamics of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the United States (US) and Germany in the 2000s, drawing on the Varieties of Capitalism (VoC) framework and the concept of internal capitalist diversity. Using SDC Platinum transaction data from 2000 to 2023 and qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews with 28 M&A professionals, we investigate how firm characteristics and institutional frameworks drive M&A activity in both countries. We confirm VoC-based expectations regarding transaction volumes and industry patterns but also highlight the professionalization of M&A functions across large, listed firms, alongside an increasing role of financial acquirers in both markets. While the rise of private equity aligns with the exit-driven strategies of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the US, it raises questions regarding family-owned SMEs in Germany, which prioritize continuity and legacy but increasingly face succession challenges. Our findings suggest a continued hybridization of Germany's stakeholder-oriented corporate governance, integrating shareholder-oriented practices beyond large, listed firms. |
| Keywords: | M&A, Varieties of Capitalism, Financialization, Germany, US |
| JEL: | G34 L2 P52 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:308062 |
| By: | Jaylson Jair da Silveira; Gilberto Tadeu Lima; Leonardo Barros Torres |
| Abstract: | There is considerable empirical evidence that heterogeneity in tax compliance behavior is persistent and pervasive. This paper develops an evolutionary analytical framework in which taxpayers periodically choose between to comply or not to comply with their tax obligations. Aggregate demand formation arising from private and public expenditures depends on the frequency distribution of tax compliance behavior across taxpayers, so that the macrodynamic of the rates of capacity utilization and output growth is coevolutionarily coupled to the microdynamic of tax compliance across individuals. The analytical framework set forth here replicates several pieces of evidence on tax evasion. First, the proportion of non-complying taxpayers (and hence the volume of tax evasion) depends on the tax rate and the expected cost of tax evasion. Second, heterogeneity in tax compliance behavior is evolutionarily persistent instead of temporary. Third, the immediate impact of a change in the proportion of tax evading individuals on the rates of capacity utilization and output growth is non-linear. Fourth, the proportion of non-complying taxpayers and the rates of capacity utilization and output growth vary positively with the tax rate in the evolutionary equilibrium. |
| Keywords: | Tax evasion; evolutionary dynamics; heterogeneous behavior; capacity utilization; economic growth |
| JEL: | B52 C73 E12 E70 H26 |
| Date: | 2025–01–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2025wpecon1 |
| By: | Mehta, Yashree |
| Abstract: | An exploratory visit to the rural-urban interface of Bengaluru city revealed that dairy producers with larger herd size and potentially stable income preferred to sell to the cooperative whereas those producers with minuscule herd size (upto two cattle) stated a preference to sell to urban customers in the private market. Sales in the private market were uncertain due to volatile demand but they fetched a higher price than the cooperative per transaction. Given that producers in the latter category were highly cash strapped and needed cash for fulfilling their transaction demand, the stated preferences can be attributed to liquidity concerns on part of the producers. This sets a hypothesis for quantitative research on income stability as a determinant of market choice by dairy producers. This paper provides the linkages between such observed market preferences and the understanding of the producers' and consumers' resilience in terms of food security as well as an understanding of the ethical principles of social embeddedness and moral economy in the context of the production system. |
| Keywords: | Dairy farming, Direct sales, Agricultural cooperative, Revealed preferences, India |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:daredp:308054 |
| By: | Singhal, Karan (University of Luxembourg, LISER); Sierminska, Eva (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER)) |
| Abstract: | This chapter presents evidence of the challenges faced by women and underrepresented minorities in Economics. It, first, examines the demographics of the economics profession, highlighting significant disparities in representation. Despite some progress, under representation remains prevalent at different educational levels and at higher academic positions, for the most part. Subsequently, the chapter reviews research on existing barriers and biases contributing to this under representation. Recent work has emphasized the crucial role of attitudes and institutional practices throughout the career pipeline. The chapter highlights evidence of these barriers across different stages of the academic journey, including research endeavors, publication processes, employment opportunities, and promotion and tenure considerations, as well as recent developments related to COVID-19 and the #MeToo movement, which have further influenced discussions on inclusivity and diversity in the field. This chapter underscores the continued need for collective efforts from the economics community to confront these barriers through targeted research and innovative interventions. By enhancing the experiences and opportunities for underrepresented academics, the field of economics could be enriched through fostering a broader range of perspectives, which could also facilitate a deeper understanding of complex societal issues. In line with this objective, the chapter also provides valuable data sources that researchers can utilize to investigate disparities and offer information about collectives and programs dedicated to promoting inclusivity and diversity through mentoring initiatives, research grants, and other forms of support. |
| Keywords: | promotion, tenure, economics, minorities, gender, COVID-19 |
| JEL: | A11 A20 J15 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17584 |
| By: | Kapeller, Jakob; Klann, Niklas; van Treeck, Till |
| Abstract: | Dieser Beitrag untersucht die strukturellen Schwächen ökonomischer Wissenstests hinsichtlich ihrer oft implizit normativen und politisch einseitigen Grundannahmen. Es wird die Frage nach der Objektivität ökonomischen Wissens gestellt und hinterfragt, inwiefern Wissenstests ideologisch geprägt sind. Durch die Analyse von Beispielen wird aufgezeigt, dass dominante ökonomische Lehrbuchannahmen unkritisch übernommen werden und potenziell zu politischen Verzerrungen und normativen Biases führen. Abschließend plädiert der Beitrag für eine "Pluralisierung" der ökonomischen Fragen, indem unterschiedliche theoretische Perspektiven integriert werden, um ein differenzierteres Bild ökonomischer Zusammenhänge und Bewertungsfragen zu ermöglichen und anhand von drei pluralen Beispielfragen zu erproben. |
| Keywords: | Sozioökonomische Bildung, ökonomisches Wissen, Wissenstests, Socioeconomic Education, Economic Knowledge, Knowledge Tests |
| JEL: | A11 A12 A13 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:308063 |