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on Business, Economic and Financial History |
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Issue of 2015‒04‒19
29 papers chosen by |
| By: | Ewan McGaughey |
| Abstract: | Why does codetermination exist in Germany? Law and economics theories have contended that if there were no legal compulsion, worker participation in corporate governance would be ‘virtually nonexistent’. This positive analysis, which flows from the ‘nexus of contracts’ conception of the corporation, supports a normative argument that codetermination is inefficient because it is supposed that it will seldom happen voluntarily. After discussing competing conceptions of the corporation, as a ‘thing in itself’, and as an ‘institution’, this article explores the development of German codetermination from the mid-19th century to the present. It finds the inefficiency argument sits at odds with the historical evidence. In its very inception, the right of workers to vote for a company board of directors, or in work councils with a voice in dismissals, came from collective agreements. It was not compelled by law, but was collectively bargained between business and labour representatives. These ‘codetermination bargains’ were widespread. Laws then codified these models. This was true at the foundation of the Weimar Republic from 1918 to 1922 and, after abolition in 1933, again from 1945 to 1951. The foundational codetermination bargains were made because of two ‘Goldilocks’ conditions (conditions that were ‘just right’) which were not always seen in countries like the UK or US. First, inequality of bargaining power between workers and employers was temporarily less pronounced. Second, the trade union movement became united in the objective of seeking worker voice in corporate governance. As the practice of codetermination has been embraced by a majority of EU countries, and continues to spread, it is important to have an accurate positive narrative of codetermination’s economic and political foundations. |
| JEL: | J50 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:61593&r=his |
| By: | Ilaria Suffia |
| Abstract: | Firms’ survival and longevity have recently emerged as a new intriguing theme of business history, spreading from the initial studies on family business to all forms of business. In family business the transition to the next generation can represent a strong limit to survival, as it depends on three different longevity factors: the family members’ involvement and commitment, the preparation of an adequate succession planning and the presence of a competitive advantage. Temporal continuity has become an independent topic involving all types of business, with respect to size, ownership and sectorial diversity. The goal of the analysis was to identify the determinants of longevity. The present research moves along this second line of investigation, focusing on small-scale businesses and taking into consideration a case study. The small and medium-scale (SME) system examined is that of Sesto San Giovanni, one of the most important Italian Company-town during the 20th century, considered the ‘industrial district’ of Milan. The study first verifies the evolution of the local SMEs system, highlighting its development during the century. Having defined the context, the attention shifts to the temporal survival of local businesses and its determinants. Finally, the research includes the history of several enterprise experiences to illustrate the analysis’ results. |
| Keywords: | Economic History, Micro-Business History, Europe, 1913- |
| JEL: | N84 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:301&r=his |
| By: | Gilles Psion (INED) |
| Abstract: | In the mid-eighteenth century, the population of France was four times larger than that of the United Kingdom (around 25 million versus 6 million). In the late eighteenth and nineteenth century, population growth was much weaker in France than in the UK, and by 1918 the two populations were the same size (nearly 40 million inhabitants). The UK population then continued to grow, so that by 1944 it was larger than France’s by 10 million (49 million versus 39 million). After World War II, France’s population gradually recovered, and since the mid-1990s, the two populations have remained fairly similar in size and increased at the same pace. However, recent population growth has been more regular in France and is due primarily to natural increase (births minus deaths), whereas in the UK net migration (the difference between migrant entries and departures) is the main growth factor. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idg:posoce:520&r=his |
| By: | Claudio Bravo-Ortega; Nicolas Eterovic |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:udc:wpaper:wp399&r=his |
| By: | Weber, Warren E. (Bank of Canada, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta & University of South Carolina) |
| Abstract: | In the United States prior to 1863, each bank issued its own distinct notes. E-money shares many of the characteristics of these bank notes. This paper describes some lessons relevant to e-money from the U.S. experience with state bank notes. It examines historical evidence on how well the bank notes—a privately issued currency system with multiple issuers—functioned with respect to ease of transacting, counterfeiting, safety, overissuance, and par exchange. It finds that bank notes made transacting easier and were not subject to overissuance. However, counterfeiting of bank notes was widespread, bank notes were not perfectly safe, and notes of different banks did not exchange at par and rates of exchange were volatile. The paper also examines how bank notes were regulated and supervised and how that regulation and supervision affected the functioning of the system. The U.S. experience with state bank notes suggests that a privately issued e-money system can operate efficiently but only with appropriate government intervention, regulation, and supervision to minimize counterfeiting and to promote safety and par exchange. |
| Keywords: | bank notes; e-money; financial services |
| JEL: | E41 E42 E58 |
| Date: | 2015–03–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedacf:2015_001&r=his |
| By: | Francesco Ammannati |
| Abstract: | Nell'ambito delle ricerche di storia economica, l'area lucchese appare relativamente trascurata dalla pi recente storiografia italiana ed in particolare toscana. A parte indagini a carattere principalmente politico o demografico, il ricco patrimonio documentario conservato negli archivi lucchesi stato fino ad oggi solo parzialmente sfruttato. Questa ricerca intende apportare nuovi dati e riflessioni inedite al dibattito che vede lo studio della disuguaglianza nella distribuzione della ricchezza come questione chiave nellÕanalisi dello sviluppo economico nel lungo periodo. Attraverso i dati rintracciabili negli estimi trecenteschi e cinquecenteschi e nel Catasto guinigiano dei primi anni del Quattrocento, fonti fiscali che si sono giˆ dimostrate ottimi strumenti per misurare i livelli di ricchezza della popolazione censita e ricostruirne i trend macroeconomici di concentrazione, si cercherˆ di fornire un primo quadro dÕinsieme della distribuzione della proprietˆ nel contado della cittˆ della seta. Particolare attenzione sarˆ prestata anche al possibile impatto della Peste Nera che, stando alla storiografia pi recente, pare aver determinato una lunga fase di declino nella disuguaglianza conclusasi solo attorno alla seconda metˆ del XV secolo. The area of Lucca seems relatively neglected by the most recent Italian economic historiography. Apart from research primarily devoted to political or demographic issues, some of which date back several decades, the rich documentary patrimony preserved in the archives of Lucca was until now only partially exploited. This paper aims to provide new data and reflections to the debate which sees the study of the inequality in the distribution of wealth as a key issue in the analysis of economic development in the long run. By using the data recorded by some fiscal registers (the estimi of the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries and the catasto guinigiano of the early fifteenth century), a kind of source which already proved to be an excellent tool to measure the levels of wealth of the surveyed population and to reconstruct its macroeconomic trends of concentration, we will try to provide a first overview of the distribution of property in the countryside of the city of silk. A particular attention will be paid also to the possible impact of the Black Death which, according to the most recent literature, seems to have led to a long period of decline in inequality ended only around the second half of the fifteenth century. |
| Keywords: | Economic inequality; social inequality; wealth concentration; middle ages; early modern period; Tuscany; Italy; Lucca; plague; Black Death |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:don:donwpa:073&r=his |
| By: | Cahit Guven; Gizem Nur Han; Zolzaya Luvsandorj; Mehmet Ulubasoglu |
| Abstract: | The Gallipoli Campaign was one of the hardest fought wars in modern human history. A manmade disaster that occurred exactly 100 years ago on a narrow geographic strip on the Gallipoli peninsula, it claimed the lives of a total of approximately 120,000 soldiers from the belligerent powers, the Ottoman Empire on one side, and Britain, France, Australia, New Zealand, British India and Newfoundland, on the other. Despite its significance in the world history, the Gallipoli Campaign has been subject to little systematic investigation for its consequences. We empirically examine the effects of this war on children who lived in Anatolia and were aged under five in 1915. Combining the Turkish census data with military records that provide information on the number of Turkish soldiers killed in the Gallipoli Campaign from each of 67 provinces in Turkey, we find significant evidence that the war severely affected the socioeconomic outcomes of many survivor children later in life. Our estimates document that, for every additional 1,000 soldiers killed from a province, indicating the severity of the war exposure, children from that province lost 0.12 to 0.17 years of schooling, or were 1.3% to 2.5% more likely to remain illiterate. These are substantive effects given that average years of schooling in our whole sample is 1.47 years and literacy rate is 34%. Our results are robust to controlling for birth-year- and birth-province-fixed effects, falsification tests, and alternative definitions of treatment. |
| Keywords: | Gallipoli War, children, socioeconomic outcomes in adulthood, treatment |
| Date: | 2015–04–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dkn:econwp:eco_2015_8&r=his |
| By: | Wahl, Fabian |
| Abstract: | This study investigates the effect of participative political institutions (PPIs) that emerged in many central European cities from the late 13th century. The empirical analysis of the paper is based on newly compiled long-run data for the existence of different types of PPIs in 104 cities in the Holy Roman Empire. The effect of both an overall index of participativeness of political institutions as well as of the individual PPIs is tested empirically. When pooled over all periods and observations, there seems to be a significant positive overall effect of PPIs in the German-speaking area but not in the Low Countries. The study founds considerable spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the effect of PPIs. Furthermore, the effect of different types of PPIs differs substantially and in general seems to be short-lived. That is, the results show that the positive initial effect of some PPIs declined the longer they existed and over time. |
| Keywords: | Medieval Period,Early-Modern Period,Central Europe,City Development,Political Institutions,Early Democracy,Guilds |
| JEL: | N44 N94 O10 R11 H11 D72 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:hohdps:022015&r=his |
| By: | Luis Ignacio Jácome |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a brief historical journey of central banking in Latin America to shed light on the debate about monetary policy in the post-global financial crisis period. The paper distinguishes three periods in Latin America’s central bank history: the early years, when central banks endorsed the gold standard and coped with the collapse of this monetary system; a second period, in which central banks turned into development banks under the aegis of governments at the expense of increasing inflation; and the “golden years,†when central banks succeeded in preserving price stability in an environment of political independence. The paper concludes by cautioning against overburdening central banks in Latin America with multiple mandates as this could end up undermining their hard-won monetary policy credibility. |
| Keywords: | Central banking;Latin America;Central bank role;Monetary policy;Inflation targeting;Economic recession;Financial crises;Cross country analysis;Latin America, central banks, inflation. |
| Date: | 2015–03–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imf:imfwpa:15/60&r=his |
| By: | Alston, Julian M.; Andersen, Matthew A.; Pardey, Philip G. |
| Abstract: | Some studies have reported a slowdown in U.S. farm productivity growth, but the prevalent view among economists is to reject or downplay the slowdown hypothesis, implying that the rates of productivity growth experienced over the past half century can be projected forward. We set out to resolve this issue, which matters both for understanding the past and anticipating the future. Using newly compiled multifactor and partial-factor productivity estimates, developed for the purpose, we examine changes in the pattern of U.S. agricultural productivity growth over the past century. We detect sizable and significant slowdowns in the rate of productivity growth. Across the 48 contiguous states for which we have very detailed data for 1949–2007, U.S. multifactor productivity (MFP) growth averaged just 1.18 percent per year during 1990–2007 compared with 2.02 percent per year for the period 1949–1990. MFP in 44 of the 48 states has been growing at a statistically slower rate since 1990. Using a longer-run national series, since 1990 productivity growth has slowed compared with its longer-run growth rate, which averaged 1.52 percent per year for the entire period, 1910–2007. More subtly, the historically rapid rates of MFP growth during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s can be seen as an aberration relative to the long-run trend. A cubic time-trend model fits the data very well, with an inflection around 1962. We speculate that a wave of technological progress through the middle of the twentieth century—reflecting the progressive adoption of various mechanical innovations, improved crop varieties, synthetic fertilizers and other chemicals, each in a decades long process—contributed to a sustained surge of faster-than-normal productivity growth throughout the third quarter of the century. A particular feature of this process was to move people off farms, a one-time transformation of agriculture that was largely completed by 1980. |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:umaesp:200927&r=his |
| By: | Valerio Varini |
| Abstract: | The article retraces the steps which marked the transformation of Sesto San Giovanni from a small agricultural centre in the vicinity of a great city such as Milan, to becoming one of the principal centres of Italian industry. Two preliminary questions, of notable importance, have been dealt with the definition of company town, as so considered by the most authorative historiography. Following that there is a brief résumé of the diffusion of the company towns in Italy. The two premises serve to better comprehend the case of Sesto San Giovanni. Its uniqueness lies, however, in being the outcome of action by a plurality of businesses which contributed to building the ‘factory city’. From 1905, their choice of setting up their plants caused a sudden increase in the population, which was followed by an equally sharp increase in the demand for lodgings and social infrastructures. In the face of this necessity, the employers were forced to invest in building, at first with the intention of rapidly housing the workers and, then to proceed with a more rational planning of specific villages for the workforce. In the decades between the Wars, Sesto San Giovanni was provided with a wide range of services in the fields of health care, schooling and even leisure. These policies permitted the creation of solid, close-knit company communities, founded on the intense participation of the workforce in the functioning of the production activity. The social network, however, held together principally on the basis of the recognition of mutual obligations and responsibilities, rather than one mere subordination to a paternalistic domination. |
| Keywords: | Economic History; Company Town; Enterpreneur; Welfare |
| JEL: | N34 N94 L31 L33 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mib:wpaper:302&r=his |
| By: | Johnson, Noel |
| Abstract: | What is the relationship between state capacity, national identity, and economic development? This paper argues that increases in state capacity can lower the collective action costs associated with political and economic exchange by encouraging the formation of a common identity. This hypothesis is tested by exploiting the fact that the French Monarchy was more successful in substituting its fiscal and legal institutions for those of the medieval seigneurial regime within an area of the country known as the Cinq Grosses Fermes (CGF). Highly disaggregated data on regional self-identification from the 1789 Cahiers de Doléances confirm that regions just inside the CGF were more likely than regions just outside the CGF to identify themselves with national, as opposed to local, institutions. We also show that regions inside the CGF that affiliated with national identity were more economically developed during the first half of the nineteenth century and more likely to contribute towards local public goods. |
| Keywords: | Culture; Institutions; State Capacity; Economic Development |
| JEL: | D03 N43 O43 |
| Date: | 2015–04–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:63598&r=his |
| By: | Ezra Davar (r) |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that the post-Walras general equilibrium theory is irrelevant to real contemporary economic life. The main achievement of modern General Equilibrium Theory is the proof of equilibrium’s existence. It might be that the proof of the equilibrium existence is a mathematical achievement, but the question is whether these proofs are harmonious with the economic situation in reality. This paper traces concisely how Walras’s theory has been became causing economic science to deviate in an erroneous direction and reaching a deep crisis; because post-Walras’s economists, since Pareto, have misunderstood and misinterpreted Walras’s economic theory. This group of Post-Walras authors (Pareto, Cassel, Schlesinger, Wald, and von-Neumann, Hicks, Keynes, Lange, and Patinkin) then recast Walras’s theory into incorrect and wrong form; their error further compounded when a later group of economist-mathematicians (Arrow, Debreu, Friedman, Samuelson, Solow and others) accepted their interpretation without reservation. Post-Walras’s economists ignore Walras’s less known assumptions and blame him for disregarding the problem of equilibrium existence, uniqueness and stability and comparative-static. Therefore, their main objective since the beginning of the 20th century was the rigorous proof of equilibrium existence. However, this proof was based on unrealistic assumptions and along the road the goal of economics was lost. The nine crucial, unrealistic assumptions will be considered and will illustrate that modern general equilibrium theory is irrelevant to real economics and is also far removed from Walras’s general equilibrium theory. |
| Keywords: | Walras; post-Walras; General Equilibrium Theory; Modern Theory; Unrealistic Assumptions |
| JEL: | A1 B2 D5 E4 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pes:wpaper:2015:no46&r=his |
| By: | Bernardo Alves Furtado; Patrícia Alessandra Morita Sakowski |
| Abstract: | This text was written as part of the project Modelling of Complex Systems for Public Policy. It reviews the classical authors who jointly contributed to establish the elements of what could constitute a “science of complexity”. Based on the original writings of these authors, the text discusses the central concepts of complex systems: i) the interaction between (homogeneous or heterogeneous) agents and the environment; ii) emergence and self-organization; iii) the importance of nonlinearity and scales; iv) the determinism of rules; v) the emphasis on dynamics and feedback; and vi) the notions of adaptation, learning and evolution. Finally, contemporary criticisms are presented. They suggest that the arguments of complex systems do not support the epistemological establishment of a supposedly new science, but they do not reject the advances proposed by complexity studies. Este texto está inserido no projeto Modelagem de Sistemas Complexos para Políticas Públicas e faz uma resenha dos autores clássicos que, em conjunto, contribuíram com os elementos do que seria uma “ciência da complexidade”. Com base no pensamento original destes autores, os conceitos centrais de sistemas complexos são discutidos, a saber: i) a interação entre agentes (homogêneos ou heterogêneos) e o ambiente; ii) as propriedades emergentes e a auto-organização; iii) a importância da não linearidade e das escalas; iv) as regras e seu determinismo; v) a ênfase na dinâmica e retroalimentação; e vi) as noções de adaptação, aprendizado e evolução. Por fim, críticas contemporâneas são apresentadas. Elas sugerem que os argumentos de sistemas complexos não sustentam epistemologicamente a constituição de suposta nova ciência, mas não rejeitam os avanços propostos nos estudos de complexidade. |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:0203&r=his |
| By: | Daniel Kaufmann (KOF Swiss Economic Institute, ETH Zurich, Switzerland) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents nominal stability in Switzerland from 1805 to 2013 using a data set on annual price, wage and nominal GDP changes. The trends of these indicators are estimated by an unobserved-components stochastic-volatility model in order to control for short-term fluctuations and measurement error. Based on a narrative analysis of these trends five main findings emerge. (i) Fiat currency regimes in Switzerland provided a relatively stable monetary background even compared to the metal-currency regimes before WW1. (ii) The flexible inflation targeting regime adopted in December 1999 has performed best over the last two centuries measured by today’s definition of nominal stability. (iii) Fiat currency regimes without clearly communicated nominal price anchor (Bretton Woods System and monetary targeting) were characterised by an inflation bias. (iv) The metal-currency regimes (competing currencies and bimetallism before World War 1, and to some extent flexible inflation targeting, were associated with a deflation bias. (v) Persistent deflations in terms of the CPI only occurred under metallic regimes before WW2. These episodes were accompanied by falling nominal GDP, falling employment but relatively stable hourly wages. |
| Keywords: | monetary history, monetary regimes, Nominal stability, unobserved-components stochastic-volatility model, price stability |
| JEL: | E31 C22 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:kof:wpskof:15-379&r=his |
| By: | Nikita A. Vul (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | When the Qing Empire collapsed in 1911, military groups moved to the forefront. The power of regional warlords bloomed during 1916–28, splitting China into disparate fiefdoms. The fragmentation of China largely defined the course of events in this country through all 20 century, so explaining the origins of the warlord era is important. This paper documents the prerequisites of Republican warlordism during 1850s–1900s. Through their analysis the paper argues for the direct linkage between Qing-era literati governors and Republican-era military warlords. Since the imperial government failed to crush the Taiping Rebellion, local elites gained military experience and influence, thus becoming a cradle for China’s future break-up |
| Keywords: | Qing Empire, power, warlords, elites, disintegration |
| JEL: | Z19 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:95hum2015&r=his |
| By: | Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph |
| Abstract: | Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the historical trajectory of African management research and managerial thinking. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws from a review and synthesis of the literature from 1960–2012. Findings – The analysis led to the identification of three distinct phases which reflect the difficult and uncertain beginning to a promising future. Our historical pathway model also allows us to account for the evolution of management philosophies and thoughts, and current state of knowledge. Originality/value – Although there is a burgeoning stream of African management research, lack of comprehensive review and synthesis have obscured the enormous strides made. We advance a “novel” approach towards theory application and theory creation building on the “convergence hypothesis” and “divergence hypothesis”. Our analysis yielded a number of promising avenues for future research. |
| Keywords: | African management research; Africa; business; |
| JEL: | L0 L1 M0 M1 M2 M3 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:63625&r=his |
| By: | Borowiecki, Karol Jan (Department of Business and Economics); Kavetsos, Georgios (Department of Social Policy) |
| Abstract: | We investigate the impact of peer competition on longevity using a unique historical data set of 144 prominent music composers born in the 19th century. We approximate for peer competition measuring (a) the number or (b) the share of composers located in the same area and time, (c) the time spent in one of the main cities for classical music, and (d) the quality of fellow composers. These measures imply that composers’ longevity is reduced, if they located in agglomerations with a larger group of peers or of a higher quality. The point estimates imply that, all else equal, a one percent increase in the number of composers reduces composer longevity by about 7.2 weeks. The utilized concentration measures are stronger than the personal factors included in the analysis in determining longevity, implying that individuals’ backgrounds have minimal impact on mitigating the effect of experienced peer pressure. The negative externality of peer competition is experienced also in all cities, fairly independent of their size. Our results are reaffirmed using an instrumental variable approach and are consistent throughout a range of robustness tests. Besides the widely known economic benefits associated with competition, these findings suggest that significant negative welfare externalities exist as well. |
| Keywords: | Geographic concentration; well-being; mortality; urban history; culture |
| JEL: | D12 I12 N90 R11 Z19 |
| Date: | 2015–04–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:sdueko:2015_006&r=his |
| By: | Azam, Jean-Paul |
| Abstract: | This paper uses a provocation model to explain why the initial Muslim coalitions against southern Christians broke up in Sudan and Chad. The need to cooperate was made obvious in Sudan when oil flew in a Chinese-built pipeline running through the Christian rebels’ homeland. Jihad was called off and political Islam was discarded when the rebels showed their ability to disrupt the oil flow by blowing up the pipeline. The government of Sudan had switched from African socialism to Political Islam a couple of decades before. It then imposed the Sharia Law even on the Christians as a provocation to trigger a rebellion after years of peace and to launch an ethnic cleansing campaign in the oil-rich areas. In Chad also, the initial Muslim coalition against the Christians broke up for sharing the oil money with the latter, but with a different timing. |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:29179&r=his |
| By: | Labrinidis, George |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the discussion on the modern monetary arrangements from a Marxist perspectives, following the recent developments of the Marxist theory of world money. The paper treats the US Dollar as a primus inter pares quasi-world money and challenges the argument of the US hegemony by exploring the behavior of major capitalist states and selected developing countries as far as their official international reserves are concerned. The findings reveal a clear pattern in the behavior of major capitalist states in terms of size and forms, although the degree varies implying a hierarchical structure of the corresponding quasi-world moneys. Although part of a vast literature on international reserves, the analysis focuses on developed countries and treats them individually. The merit of this approach is that it reveals the above mentioned pattern which is blurred when Japan is included. The results imply that current international monetary arrangements promote multipolarity and competition in the geopolitical scene, the evolution of which is historical. |
| Keywords: | International reserves, quasi-world money, US Dollar, Gold |
| JEL: | B51 E58 F3 F31 |
| Date: | 2014–10–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:59963&r=his |
| By: | Luis Felipe Zegarra (CENTRUM Católica Graduate Business School) |
| Abstract: | This article analyzes the evolution of the private credit market of Lima between 1835 and 1865. In particular, it explores the effects of political instability and institutional change on the allocation of medium-term and long-term credit. By relying on a sample of more than 1,200 notarized records, the article shows that institutions had an important effect on the cost of credit. Political instability and institutional uncertainties led to high interest rates. As Peru became more stable after the mid-1840s and the risk of lending declined, interest rates declined. |
| Keywords: | Mortgage credit, legislation, institutions, political instability |
| JEL: | N2 N26 N46 K1 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apc:wpaper:2015-039&r=his |
| By: | Kalim Siddiqui (University of Huddersfield) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the issue of the state versus the market in developing countries. There was wide ranging debate in the 1950s and 1960s about the role of the state in their economy when these countries attained independence, with developing their economies and eradicating poverty and backwardness being seen as their key priority. In the post-World War II period, the all-pervasive ‘laissez-faire’ model of development was rejected, because during the pre-war period such policies had failed to resolve the economic crisis. Therefore, Keynesian interventionist economic policies were adopted in most of these countries. The economic crisis in developing countries during the 1980s and 1990s provided an opportunity for international financial institutions to impose ‘Structural Adjustment Programmes’ in the name of aid, which has proved to be disastrous. More than two decades of pursuing neoliberal policies has reduced the progressive aspects of the state sector. The on-going crisis in terms of high unemployment, poverty and inequality provides an opportunity to critically reflect on past performance and on the desirability of reviving the role of the state sector in a way that will contribute to human development. |
| Keywords: | ‘Market-centric’ model, role of the state, economic policy and developing countries |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pes:wpaper:2015:no96&r=his |
| By: | Sapovadia, Vrajlal |
| Abstract: | This paper attempts to work on transnational migration of Indians after 1800 AD and limits it on two aspects; i. those who were born in India after independence (August 1947) and are living outside India permanently ii. Those who or their parents were born in United India in or after 19th century and are permanently living outside India. The paper aims to analyze the pattern of migration of Indians over time and its impact on India. Beside we discuss economic, social and political impact and how it influenced reform in education, societal & political, we argue that the flow have distinct character in each wave based on the destination, factor behind migration, skill set of migrant. |
| Keywords: | Indian diaspora, migration, NRIs |
| JEL: | Z10 |
| Date: | 2015–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:63609&r=his |
| By: | Leonid Sykiainen (National Research University Higher School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The analysis of the interaction between Sharia and legislation in action along with the compatibility of Sharia with contemporary Russian law is important from both a scientific and a practical point of view. There are several reasons for the increasing interest in this issue: the renaissance of Islam, the activity of Muslim communities outside the regions where Islam has traditionally spread, the threat of Islamic extremism, and the increasing influence of Sharia upon the political and legal development of the Muslim world. Russian researchers do not have a common attitude to Sharia’s relation to Russian legislation. They put forward different arguments for and against including Sharia in the official legal system. Along with these, some Russian lawyers make attempts to find the legal possibility or even necessity of including Sharia in contemporary Russian reality, including norms, principles and institutions in the legislation. There are three modes of possible interaction between Sharia and state legislation. The first is represented by the direct inclusion of Sharia norms into the legislation. The second is legal acts which refer to historical or local traditions. The third is that Sharia provisions can be used for solving issues which are provided for by dispositive norms of state legislation |
| Keywords: | Sharia, legislation, Russian law, historical and local traditions, adat, polygamy, waqf, Sharia court, local government, dispositive norms. |
| JEL: | K10 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:49/law/2015&r=his |
| By: | Paster, Thomas |
| Abstract: | What is the impact of business interest groups on the formulation of public social policies? This paper reviews the literature in political science, history, and sociology on this question. It identifies two strands: one analyzes the political power and influence of business, the other the preferences and interests of business. Since the 1990s, researchers have shifted their attention from questions of power to questions of preferences. While this shift has produced important insights into the sources of the policy preferences of business, it came with a neglect of issues of power. This paper takes a first step towards re-integrating a power-analytical perspective into the study of the role of business in welfare state politics. It shows how a focus on variation in business power can help to explain both why business interest groups accepted social protection during some periods in the past and why they have become increasingly assertive and averse to social policies since the 1970s. |
| Abstract: | Wie beeinflussen Unternehmensverbände die Gestaltung staatlicher Sozialpolitik? Dieses Papier bietet einen Überblick über die politikwissenschaftliche, geschichtswissenschaftliche und soziologische Forschungsliteratur zu diesem Themenfeld. Es identifiziert zwei Forschungsstränge: Einer befasst sich mit politischer Macht und Einflussnahme von Unternehmen und der andere mit deren sozialpolitischen Interessen und Präferenzen. Seit den 1990er-Jahren verlagert sich der Schwerpunkt der Forschung vom ersten zum zweiten Strang. Diese Verlagerung brachte wichtige neue Einsichten in die sozialpolitischen Präferenzen von Unternehmen, führte jedoch zu einer Vernachlässigung von Fragen nach Ursachen und Stärke des politischen Einflusses von Unternehmen. Der Bericht versucht, die machtanalytische Perspektive in die Untersuchung der Ausgangsfrage - wie Unternehmensinteressen Sozialpolitik beeinflussen - zu reintegrieren. Durch diesen Blick auf die verschiedenen Ausprägungen politischen Einflusses kann erklärt werden, warum Unternehmensverbände sozialpolitische Reformen in bestimmten Perioden akzeptierten, jedoch seit den 1970er-Jahren staatlicher Sozialpolitik zunehmend kritisch gegenüberstehen. |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mpifgd:153&r=his |
| By: | Labrinidis, George |
| Abstract: | Distinguishing between the money that functions in the world market and the money that functions internally in an economy has troubled many theorists. This paper is informed by the Marxist approach to money in general and world money in particular and argues that the theoretical difficulty derives from a fundamental misconception with regard to the forms of money. Consequently, the paper offers an analysis of the forms of money and shows that a new form emerged as early as 1914 associated with the world market, which might be called quasi-world-money, such as the US dollar. The analysis provides a framework within which to comprehend the residual but essential role of gold in parallel to quasi-world-money. The framework also allows for money convertibility to be redefined appropriately. |
| Keywords: | forms of money, quasi-world money, gold, convertibility, USD |
| JEL: | B51 E42 F33 |
| Date: | 2014–05–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:59962&r=his |
| By: | Zimmermann, Christian (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) |
| Abstract: | RePEc is an open bibliography project driven entirely by volunteers and without a budget. It was created to enhance the dissemination of research in economics by making it more accessible to authors, publishers, and readers: 1800 publishers participate in this initiative, and 44000 authors are registered. Some of those authors became frustrated when their work was plagiarized and no action was taken. Many have asked whether RePEc could take action. The RePEc Plagiarism Committee was created to respond to this request. Because RePEc has no enforcement power, it can only “name and shame” verified offenders. This essay discusses the experience over the first years of the Committee. |
| Keywords: | Plagiarism; academic literature; naming and shaming; economics |
| JEL: | A13 A14 |
| Date: | 2015–04–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:2015-008&r=his |
| By: | Andrés Fernández Martín; Cesar Tamayo |
| Abstract: | This paper presents an integrated overview of the literature linking institutions, financial development and economic growth. From the large body of research on institutional development, the paper first selects those contributions that make it possible to study the role of institutional arrangements in ameliorating/worsening the information frictions and transaction costs that characterize the development of financial markets. The paper then investigates the theoretical mechanisms by which these specific frictions affect economic growth and presents the stock of empirical evidence quantifying the impact of institutions on growth through financial development. |
| Keywords: | Economic Development & Growth, Financial Markets, Financial Policy, Financial development, Financial frictions, Property rights, Contract enforcement, Transaction costs, Institutions, Economic growth |
| Date: | 2015–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:88737&r=his |
| By: | David Hugh-Jones and (University of East Anglia); Carlo Perroni (University of Warwick) |
| Abstract: | We examine why heterogenous communities may fail to provide public goods. Current work characterizes sanctioning free-riders as an under-supplied public good. We argue that often free-riders can be punished by the coordinated action of a group. This punishment can be profitable, and need not be undersupplied. But the power to expropriate defectors can also be used to expropriate outgroups. Heterogenous societies may be inefficient because minorities, rather than free-riders, are expropriated. Even if this is not so, groups’ different beliefs about the reasons for expropriation may make the threat of punishment less effective at preventing free-riding. We illustrate our theory with evidence from California mining camps, contemporary India, and US schools. In a public goods experiment using minimal groups and a profitable punishment institution, outgroups were more likely to be punished, and reacted differently to punishment than ingroup members. |
| Keywords: | Group Coercion, Social Heterogeneity |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:224&r=his |