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on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Clive L. Spash; Tone Smith |
| Abstract: | The values of Nature are today ever more contested in attempts to reduce them to a narrow economics calculus and financial metrics. The crisis of modernity is evident is that the concept of Nature itself has been subject to post-modern deconstruction as archaic Romanticism while simultaneously being made into a modernist capital form by economists, bankers and financiers. In this paper we start by defining the meaning of Nature before moving to its values, the two being inseparable. Nature is seen as combining three aspect: (i) being ‘other’ than human, (ii) a biophysical structure and (iii) a quality which humans commonly and intuitively reference but struggle to specify. When turning to the values of Nature we describe the three major meta-ethical systems of Western philosophy—utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics. The contestation especially between utilitarian and rights-based approaches is explored. The role of intrinsic value in these systems is outlined. Modern mainstream economic valuation is then placed in context of the forgoing discussion and critically reviewed as a misguided but hegemonic approach to valuing Nature. The terrain of debate is laid out, briefly covering recent developments of rights to Nature and Nature’s contribution to people. That Nature cannot be dismissed as a concept (something attempted by some post-modernists and strong constructionists), but remains importantly contested in terms of its values, is central to understanding the on-going social-ecological conflicts created by modern economies. |
| Keywords: | environmental values, Nature, ethics, utilitarianism, rights, virtue, incommensurability, intrinsic value, economic valuation, moral considerability/standing, plural values |
| JEL: | A13 B55 D46 D63 Q5 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2021_03&r= |
| By: | Yvon Pesqueux (ESD R3C - Équipe Sécurité & Défense - Renseignement, Criminologie, Crises, Cybermenaces - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]) |
| Abstract: | Ce texte est organisé de la manière suivante. Après une introduction consacrée aux précautions à prendre quant à l'usage de la philosophie, ce texte abordera successivement : Considérations générales ; La Théorie de la justice (1. Un objectif : le Juste au-delà du Bien ; 2. Conditions de la constitution procédurale de la justice ; 3. Résultat de l'analyse et de la méthode procédurales : les deux principes de la justice) ; Critiques et intérêts actuels (1. Avantages et intérêts ; 2. Réserves et critiques ; 3. Smith et Rawls ; Ouvertures sur les sciences de gestion). |
| Date: | 2021–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03241815&r= |
| By: | Benest, Serge |
| Abstract: | Following World War II, the director of the Social Sciences Division at the Rockefeller Foundation, the industrial economist Joseph H. Willits, thought it important to extend its activities to Europe, especially France. His agenda was to strengthen institutional economics and to create modern research centers with a view to stabilizing the political situation. In the postwar decade, almost all economic research centers in France were funded by the Foundation, which helped provide greater autonomy to French economists within academia, but failed to reshape French economic training and research. |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:3gmf5&r= |
| By: | Laurent Le Maux (University of Western Brittany) |
| Abstract: | Walter Bagehot (1873) published his famous book, Lombard Street, almost 150 years ago. The adage 'lending freely against good collateral at a penalty rate' is associated with his name and his book has always been set on a pedestal and is still considered as the leading reference on the role of lender of last resort. Nonetheless, without a clear understanding of the theoretical grounds and the institutional features of the British banking system, any interpretation of Bagehot's writings remains vague if not misleading, which is worrisome if they are supposed to provide a guideline for policy makers. The purpose of the present paper is to determine whether Bagehot's recommendation remains relevant for modern central bankers or whether it was indigenous to the monetary and banking architecture of Victorian times. |
| Keywords: | Central Banking, Lender of Last Resort |
| JEL: | B1 E5 |
| Date: | 2021–02–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp147&r= |
| By: | Neil R. Ericsson |
| Abstract: | David Hendry has made–and continues to make–pivotal contributions to the econometrics of empirical economic modeling, economic forecasting, econometrics software, substantive empirical economic model design, and economic policy. This paper reviews his contributions by topic, emphasizing the overlaps between different strands in his research and the importance of real-world problems in motivating that research. |
| Keywords: | Cointegration; Consumers' expenditure; Dynamic specification; Equilibrium correction; Forecasting; Machine learning; Model evaluation; Money demand; PcGive; Structural breaks |
| JEL: | C52 C53 |
| Date: | 2021–03–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgif:1311&r= |
| By: | Eric Monnet; Francois R. Velde |
| Abstract: | We review developments in the history of money, banking, and financial intermediation over the last twenty years. We focus on studies of financial development, including the role of regulation and the history of central banking. We also review the literature of banking and financial crises. This area has been largely unaffected by the so-called new econometric methods that seek to prove causality in reduced form settings. We discuss why historical macroeconomics is less amenable to such methods, discuss the underlying concepts of causality, and emphasize that models remain the backbone of our historical narratives. |
| Keywords: | historical macroeconomics; money; banking; financial intermediation |
| JEL: | N01 N10 N20 |
| Date: | 2020–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedhwp:92646&r= |
| By: | Clive L. Spash |
| Abstract: | Ecological economics has developed as a modern movement with its roots in environmentalism and radical environmental economics. Divisions and conflicts within the field are explored to show why material claiming to fall under the title of ecological economics fails to be representative of progress or the vision which drove socio-economic specialists to interact with ecologists in the first place. The argument is then put forward that ecological economics, as a social science engaging with the natural sciences, is a heterodox school of modern political economy. This is a paper from the Socio-Economics and Environment in Discussion working paper series edited by Clive L. Spash which ran from 2007 to 2009. This particular paper appeared in June 2009 and a revised version was published as a journal article: Spash, C. L. 2011. ‘Social ecological economics: Understanding the past to see the future’. American Journal of Economics and Sociology 70 (2): 340-375. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1536-7150.2011 .00777.x. |
| Keywords: | ecological economics, methodology, ideology, politics, history |
| JEL: | B55 B4 B29 Q5 Q57 P48 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwsre:sre-disc-2021_06&r= |
| By: | Yvon Pesqueux (ESD R3C - Équipe Sécurité & Défense - Renseignement, Criminologie, Crises, Cybermenaces - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]) |
| Abstract: | Ce texte est organisé de la manière suivante. Après une introduction consacrée aux précautions à prendre quant à l'usage de la philosophie, ce texte abordera successivement : Considérations générales ; Une entreprise originale de fondation de la morale dans Les Fondements de la métaphysique des moeurs (La volonté bonne ; Le devoir et l'obligation ; L'impératif catégorique ; De la moralité à la liberté) ; Remarques critiques (Enjeux ; Actualité). |
| Date: | 2021–05–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03230276&r= |
| By: | Kersting, Felix; Wohnsiedler, Iris; Wolf, Nikolaus |
| Abstract: | We revisit Max Weber's hypothesis on the role of Protestantism for economic development. We show that nationalism is crucial to both, the interpretation of Weber's Protestant Ethic and empirical tests thereof. For late nineteenth-century Prussia we reject Weber's suggestion that Protestantism mattered due to an "ascetic compulsion to save". Moreover, we find that income levels, savings, and literacy rates differed between Germans and Poles, not between Protestants and Catholics, using pooled OLS and IV regressions. We suggest that this result is due to anti-Polish discrimination. |
| Keywords: | Max Weber; Nationalism; Protestantism |
| JEL: | N13 N33 O16 Z12 |
| Date: | 2020–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:14963&r= |
| By: | Iandolo, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | Review of “Economic Knowledge in Socialism, 1945-89.” Annual Supplement to Volume 51 of History of Political Economy, edited by Till Düppe and Ivan Boldyrev |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:pkr49&r= |
| By: | Yvon Pesqueux (ESD R3C - Équipe Sécurité & Défense - Renseignement, Criminologie, Crises, Cybermenaces - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]) |
| Abstract: | Ce texte est organisé de la manière suivante. Après une introduction consacrée aux précautions à prendre quant à l'usage de la philosophie, ce texte abordera successivement : Considérations générales ; L'analyse des mécanismes d'enfermement. Un éclairage nouveau sur le savoir, le pouvoir et leurs liens ; L'histoire de la folie ; Surveiller et punir-Une nouvelle conception des rapports « pouvoirsavoir » ; Le souci de soi : une problématique éthique (Le « retour » aux Grecs : une conception esthétique de la morale ; L'éthique comme culture de soi) Critiques et intérêts actuels ; Ouverture sur les sciences de gestion. |
| Date: | 2021–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03241811&r= |
| By: | Yvon Pesqueux (ESD R3C - Équipe Sécurité & Défense - Renseignement, Criminologie, Crises, Cybermenaces - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]) |
| Abstract: | Ce texte est organisé de la manière suivante. Après une introduction consacrée aux précautions à prendre quant à l'usage de la philosophie, ce texte abordera successivement : Considérations générales ; L'Éthique : de la servitude à la liberté-une description anthropologique des passions (La première direction éthique, le choix des « bonnes » passions : l'expérience de la joie, La deuxième direction éthique : la « vraie » philosophie, la saisie de la béatitude) ; Ethique et politique : l'Homme est un Dieu pour l'Homme ; Remarques critiques. |
| Date: | 2021–05–18 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03229204&r= |
| By: | Greenwood, John (The Johns Hopkins Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise) |
| Abstract: | Milton Friedman is widely known as a brilliant teacher and theoretical economist, but he was also intensely interested in the practical application of his theoretical analysis. In this eulogy, given at the Institute of Economic Affairs (I.E.A.) in London soon after Friedman’s death, I recall two striking examples of these aptitudes. First, anticipating the breakdown of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates, he advocated the introduction of currency futures by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. These instruments have subsequently become indispensable for portfolio managers and currency traders around the world. Second, although Friedman was renowned for his advocacy of floating exchange rates, he was also at the same time an advocate of fixed exchange rate systems, or currency boards, for small open economies. This idea led to his direct involvement with the stabilization of the Hong Kong dollar after its collapse in 1983. Friedman’s mastery of academic economic analysis no doubt reinforced his confidence in the implementation of those ideas. |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:jhisae:0182&r= |
| By: | Philippy, David |
| Abstract: | In 1899, MIT chemist Ellen H. Richards (1842–1911) instigated a series of annual “Lake Placid Conferences” (1899–1908) that became known as the foundation of the home economics movement. Richards’s first interest was in improving the household’s well-being by using sanitary and nutrition sciences, an objective that was passed on to the movement. However, by the 1920s, home economists rather identified their field of expertise as the “science of consumption,” emphasizing the idea of “rational consumption.” My aim in this article is to give an account of how this shift in focus came about, by telling the story of the home economics movement founded by Richards. I examine how the movement problematized consumption by highlighting its relationship and perception of itself regarding economics. I argue that the concept of consumption was central to the structuring of the movement from its beginning and allowed home economists to claim it as their field of expertise because, as they believed, economists were not addressing the issue. |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:v8yfk&r= |
| By: | Yvon Pesqueux (ESD R3C - Équipe Sécurité & Défense - Renseignement, Criminologie, Crises, Cybermenaces - CNAM - Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers [CNAM]) |
| Abstract: | Ce texte est organisé de la manière suivante. Après une introduction consacrée aux précautions à prendre quant à l'usage de la philosophie, ce texte abordera successivement : Considérations générales ; Un double constat : la transformation des rapports « Homme-Nature » à travers l'action de la science et la nécessité d'une nouvelle éthique ; Critiques et intérêts actuels. |
| Date: | 2021–05–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03241819&r= |
| By: | Jochen Hartwig (Professur für Wirtschaftspolitik, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Chemnitz University of Technology, CESifo Munich, Germany) |
| Abstract: | "'Keynes' Chapter 3 on 'The Principle of Effective Demand'", schreibt Patinkin (1979a, S. 155), "is at one and the same time the most important and the most obscure chapter in the General Theory: most important, because it contains the major innovation of the book…". Und obskur ist es in der Tat ebenfalls, was durch die nicht enden wollende Debatte um die "korrekte" Interpretation des Modells der effektiven Nachfrage bewiesen wird, welches Keynes in diesem Kapitel präsentiert: das D/Z-Modell. Ich selbst habe über die letzten 20 Jahre in rund einem Dutzend Publikationen zu dieser Debatte beigetragen. Dass sie immer noch geführt wird, belegt, wie wichtig es ist, das von Patinkin als Hauptinnovation der General Theory bezeichnete Prinzip der effektiven Nachfrage zu verstehen. |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tch:wpaper:cep046&r= |
| By: | Mata, Tiago |
| Abstract: | Review of “Recharting the History of Economic Thought” edited by Kevin Deane and Elisa Van Waeyenberge |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:xmg5j&r= |
| By: | Khodaiji, Sharmin |
| Abstract: | Review of “Pluralistic Economics and Its History” edited by Ajit Sinha and Alex M. Thomas |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:qthmk&r= |
| By: | Miguel D. Ramirez (Department of Economics, Trinity College) |
| Keywords: | Absolute value; constant capital; fetishism; invariable standard;prices of production; profit; relative value; surplus-value; standard commodity; value; variable capital. |
| JEL: | B10 B14 B24 |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tri:wpaper:2101&r= |
| By: | Vanberg, Viktor J. |
| Abstract: | Review of “F.A.Hayek and the Epistemology of Politics – The Curious Task of Economics” by Scott Scheall |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:gjv7r&r= |
| By: | Baruchello, Giorgio |
| Abstract: | Review of “Vilfredo Pareto: An Intellectual Biography III. From Liberty to Science (1898-1923)” by Fiorenzo Mornati |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:zak42&r= |
| By: | Swanepoel, Christie; Fliers, Philip |
| Abstract: | The newly established South African Reserve Bank (SARB) was tasked to protect the currency by navigating the interwar gold standard, and, from March 1933, maintaining parity with the Pound Sterling. We find that South Africa's exit from gold secured an unparalleled and rapid recovery from the Great Depression. South Africa's exit was accompanied by an inextricable link of the SARB's policy rate to the interest rate set by the Bank of England (BoE). This sacrifice of independent monetary policy allowed the SARB to fix the country's exchange rate without impeding the flow of gold to London. The SARB fuelled the economy by reducing its policy rates and accumulating gold. Had South Africa not devalued, the country would have suffered a severe depression and persistent deflation. An alternative to the devaluation, was for the SARB to pursue a cheap money strategy. By setting interest rates historically low, we find that South Africa could have achieved higher levels of economic growth, at the cost of higher inflation. Ultimately, South Africa's unparalleled recovery can be ascribed to the devaluation, however the change in the SARB monetary policy and the bank's control over the gold markets were of paramount importance. |
| Keywords: | monetary policy management,interwar gold standard,South Africa |
| JEL: | N14 N20 E42 E52 E58 F33 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:qucehw:201205&r= |
| By: | Kuehn, Daniel |
| Abstract: | James Buchanan and Gordon Tullock took a keen interest in the United States Supreme Court’s reapportionment decisions of the 1960s, which established a “one person, one vote” standard for state legislative apportionment. This paper traces the long arc of Buchanan and Tullock’s opposition to the “one person, one vote” standard. The Calculus of Consent offers a highly qualified efficiency argument against “one person, one vote,” but over time Buchanan and Tullock grew even more vocally critical of the decisions. Buchanan ultimately advocated a constitutional amendment overturning “one person, one vote” in a private set of recommendations to Congressional Republicans. This paper additionally assesses Tullock’s 1987 complaint that scholars and judges neglected The Calculus of Consent’s analysis of reapportionment. A review of the reapportionment literature between 1962 and 1987 demonstrates that while the book was frequently cited, the literature generally ignored its analysis of the efficiency of apportionment standards. |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:zetq4&r= |
| By: | Petracca, Enrico |
| Abstract: | Review of “Risk, Choice, and Uncertainty: Three Centuries of Economic Decision-Making” by George G. Szpiro |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:jc6zf&r= |
| By: | Assous, Michaël |
| Abstract: | Review of “Irving Fisher” by Robert W. Dimand |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:m5fbw&r= |
| By: | Jérôme Gautié (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Date: | 2019–06–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-03242222&r= |
| By: | Hoover, Kevin D. |
| Abstract: | Review of “Roy Harrod” by Esteban Pérez Caldentey |
| Date: | 2021–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:he4av&r= |
| By: | Eric Brunat; Jacques Fontanel (CESICE - Centre d'études sur la sécurité internationale et les coopérations européennes - UPMF - Université Pierre Mendès France - Grenoble 2 - IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble) |
| Abstract: | Since the generalisation of the market economy, economic science has sounded the death knell for political economy. In this context, the market was omnipotent and the State had to concentrate its activity on the organisation of a regalian domain, often fluctuating and rather regressing according to private interests. Management science itself gave tools to companies within the framework of an economic system that advocated individual interest as the determining objective for each of the economic actors. Today, with the Covid-19 pandemic, the analyses of liberal economists are becoming obsolete in the face of a deep economic and social crisis. The economy is now revealing its eminently political character. The international, national and local public sectors organized the fight against the crisis of the market economy. The state once again became the central actor in the management of the national economy, and it was then led to make political choices that would redraw the economic and social structures of the country, particularly in the face of the large multinational firms and the ambitions of other nations. The profoundly political and social character of a globalized economy is highlighted by this crisis, which is characterized by the violence of relations between states and between citizens. |
| Abstract: | La science économique comme idéologie La science de gestion comme viatique de l'actionnaire Éric Brunat et Jacques Fontanel Revue Marché et Organisations n°41 2021 Depuis la généralisation de l'économie de marché, la science économique a sonné le glas de l'économie politique. Dans ce contexte, le marché était omnipotent et l'Etat devait concentrer son activité sur l'organisation d'un domaine régalien, souvent fluctuant et plutôt régressif en fonction des intérêts privés. La science du management elle-même a donné des outils aux entreprises dans le cadre d'un système économique qui prônait l'intérêt individuel comme objectif déterminant pour chacun des acteurs économiques. Aujourd'hui, avec la pandémie de Covid-19, les analyses des économistes libéraux deviennent obsolètes face à une profonde crise économique et sociale. L'économie révèle désormais son caractère éminemment politique. Les secteurs publics internationaux, nationaux et locaux organisent la lutte contre la crise de l'économie de marché. L'État redevient l'acteur central de la gestion de l'économie nationale, et il est alors amené à faire des choix politiques qui redessinent les structures économiques et sociales du pays, notamment face aux grandes firmes multinationales et aux ambitions des autres nations. Le caractère profondément politique et social d'une économie mondialisée est mis en évidence par cette crise, qui se caractérise par la violence des relations entre les États et entre les citoyens. |
| Keywords: | management science,economic policy,multinational firms,financial capitalism,pandemic,social inequality,economics,science économique,science de gestion,politique économique,firmes multinationales,capitalisme financier,pandémie,Covid-19,inégalité sociale |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03232720&r= |
| By: | Martina Cioni; Giovanni Federico; Michelangelo Vasta (Division of Social Science) |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the state of the art of economic history, focusing on recent changes that have recently characterized the field. We rely on a new database of almost 2,700 articles published from 2001 to 2018 in the top-five economic history journals and in 13 leading economics journals. We argue that economic history still remains a distinct field. The share of economic history articles in economics journals increased very little and only few authors published in both economics and economic history journals. Publishing in top-five economic journals yields more citations than in top-field journals, but this is not necessarily true for other prestigious economic journals. Finally, we speculate on the future. Will economic history lose its soul and become a sub-field of development studies? Will persistence studies become a separate field? Or, perhaps, a new synthesis will emerge, with scholars dealing with traditional and new research questions with a wide range of tools? JEL |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nad:wpaper:20210067&r= |
| By: | Edouard Mien (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne); M Goujon (CERDI - Centre d'Études et de Recherches sur le Développement International - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UCA - Université Clermont Auvergne) |
| Abstract: | This paper surveys the literature on the "Dutch disease" caused by natural resources revenues in developing countries. It describes the original model of Dutch disease and some important extensions proposed in the theoretical literature, focusing on the ones that meet the developing countries' conditions. It then reviews the main empirical studies that have been conducted since the 1980s, aiming to understand the methodological issues and to highlight the current gaps in the literature. There is evidence that the Dutch disease is still a topical issue for many developing countries, particularly in Africa. However, there remains large gaps in the theoretical and empirical literature in the understanding of the most adequate policy instruments to cope with, specifically in the least developed countries that are new producers of commodities. |
| Keywords: | Dutch disease,Natural resources,Resource curse,Structural transformations,Real exchange rate |
| Date: | 2021–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03256078&r= |