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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2016‒07‒23
eighteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Luana Simões Pinheiro |
| Abstract: | Foi a partir da atuação do movimento feminista que as mulheres passaram a demandar – teórica e politicamente – seu reconhecimento como sujeitos políticos. Até a década de 1990, o feminismo direcionou seus esforços para a conquista de direitos sociais e políticos, seja o direito ao voto – demanda do início do século XX –, seja a luta por igualdade e direitos no mundo do trabalho, no campo da saúde, no acesso à educação e no enfrentamento da violência tanto no espaço público quanto no privado. Durante este período, o feminismo trabalhou um sujeito unitário – as mulheres. Ainda que se reconhecesse a diversidade dentro deste grupo, a ideia de que haveria muito mais similaridades a unir as mulheres do que diferenças a separá-las pautou o movimento. Já na década de 1970, começa-se a questionar esta suposta universalidade, na ideia de que este sujeito unitário dizia respeito a um grupo muito particular de mulheres. Nesta nova fase do feminismo, que ganhou força a partir dos anos 1990, este debate torna-se central e a fragmentação do sujeito “mulher” alcança tal complexidade que se começa a falar na existência de um feminismo sem mulheres. É o início do movimento de desconstrução de uma categoria universal que este texto procura apresentar, abarcando, em especial, a produção da década de 1990 e do início dos anos 2000. |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipe:ipetds:2210&r=hme |
| By: | Muriel Gilardone (Normandie Université, UNICAEN, CREM UMR CNRS 6211, France) |
| Abstract: | Dans cet article, nous voulons montrer que l’usage du concept de capabilité comme une simple « métrique » du développement humain est une vision réductrice de la proposition intellectuelle de Sen. Contrairement à certaines idées reçues, Sen partage l’idée des tenants d’une économie de la personne (Ballet et al 2014) selon laquelle une théorie de la justice en termes de droits à certaines capabilités resterait prisonnière d’une vision purement fonctionnelle de la liberté. Notre démonstration passe par deux types d’arguments : 1) en reprenant l’hypothèse standard et originelle de la capabilité comme ensemble de vecteurs de fonctionnements accessibles (e.g., Sen 1987), nous mettons en évidence quatre implications théoriques de l’approche de Sen que la perspective standard en termes de « welfarisme formel » (D’Aspremont 2011, Baujard 2016) ne permet pas de saisir ; 2) nous confortons cette lecture en examinant l’hypothèse – passée inaperçue jusque là – de la capabilité comme « pouvoir effectif » d’agir dans le sens de résultats que l’on valorise (Sen 2008, 2010 [2009]). Dans les deux cas, il s’agit de montrer que la capabilité pour Sen est bien autre chose qu’une « métrique » de l’avantage personnel. De surcroît, la seconde hypothèse amène à intégrer d’emblée la question de l’obligation morale dans le concept de capabilité. Dès lors, la capabilité non seulement n’est pas une métrique de l’avantage personnel, mais elle n’est même plus une représentation de l’avantage personnel. C’est ici qu’apparaît la véritable révolution conceptuelle de Sen qui, contrairement à ce que Ricœur (2004) avait cru lire, ne se trouve pas dans le couple droit-capabilité, mais dans le couple responsabilité-capabilité nous obligeant à repenser le cadre standard des théories de la justice. |
| JEL: | A13 B31 B41 D63 I31 |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tut:cremwp:2016-11&r=hme |
| By: | J. Ignacio Giménez-Nadal (University of Zaragoza, CTUR and BIFI, Spain); Lucia Mangiavacchi (University of the Balearic Islands, Spain); Luca Piccoli (University of the Balearic Islands, Spain) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the relationship between the gender division of housework time of parents, with children living in the parental home, and that of the same children when they become adults and form their own families. Using the Russia Longitudinal Monitoring Survey (RLMS), we exploit its panel structure jointly with detailed information on children and parent’s time use, to analyse the time devoted by parents during their children’s adolescence (between 1994 and 1999) and that of the same children about ten years later (from 2006 to 2009). The results suggest that a greater involvement of fathers in the domestic activities traditionally done by mothers is related to a reduction in gender inequality in their children’s future families: father’s involvement in domestic activities has a significant impact on their sons’ time spent in the same activities. These findings shed light on the persistence of parental behaviour across generations. |
| Keywords: | Time Use, Housework, Gender Roles, Attitudes, Intergenerational Transmission, Russia. |
| JEL: | D13 J16 J22 P13 |
| Date: | 2016–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:inq:inqwps:ecineq2016-402&r=hme |
| By: | Noë, Ronald |
| Abstract: | After an introduction to biological markets written for non-biologists, I explore whether and to what extent natural markets, i.e. markets on which non-human traders exchange goods and services with members belonging to their own or to other species, can be compared to human ‘economic’ markets, i.e. the markets analysed by economists. Biological Market Theory (BMT) borrows jargon and ideas from economics, but was at least as much inspired by sexual selection theory, a collection of models of ‘mating markets’, including human mating markets. Here I ask two main questions: (1) Is there more than only a superficial resemblance between both types of markets? (2) Can the analysis of one yield insights about the other? First, I consider the different forms of human trading and markets and propose some biological ones to which these can best be compared, e.g. companies trading goods in markets shaped by ‘comparative advantage’ to underground nutrient exchange markets between plants and rhizobial bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi; job and retail markets with pollination, seed dispersal and protection markets between plants and insects; ‘embedded markets’ with grooming markets in non-human primates and so forth. Then I look at some phenomena that are considered to be exclusive to human markets, such as common currencies and binding contracts, and ask whether these are indeed that exclusive. Finally I look at the common ground: negotiations that take place on several types of markets, natural or not; the honesty of advertisements, which is recognised as a major problem for both human and non-human clients; the biological equivalent of the market – firm dichotomy and the importance of the costs of partner choice, which are known to economists as ‘transaction costs’ and to sexual selection theoreticians as ‘search costs’. I conclude that there are several good reasons to have a closer look at those properties that set human and biological markets apart, but certainly also at those features that make them comparable to each other. |
| Keywords: | cooperation, mutualism, trade, biological markets, mating markets, embedded markets, sexual selection, partner choice, currency, binding contract, negotiation, bargaining, honest advertisement, transaction costs, search costs, market – firm dichotomy |
| JEL: | B52 Z13 |
| Date: | 2016–07–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:72473&r=hme |
| By: | Robert C. Allen (New York University ABU Dhabi, UAE) |
| Abstract: | In the 1980s, Lindert and Williamson famously revised the social tables of King, Massie, Colquhoun, Smee, and Baxter that traverse the British industrial revolution. This paper extends their work in three directions: Servants are removed from middle and upper class households in the tables of King, Massie, and Colquhoun and tallied separately, estimates are made for the same tables of the number and incomes of women and children employed in the various occupations, income estimates are broken down into rents, profits, and employment income. These extensions to the tables allow variables to be computed that can be checked against independent estimates as a validation exercise. The tables are retabulated in a standard format to highlight the changing social structure of Britain during the industrial revolution. Changes in the social structure, the evolution of incomes by classes, and the pace of structural transformation are revealed. |
| JEL: | N13 N33 N53 |
| Date: | 2016–07–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nuf:esohwp:_146&r=hme |
| By: | Camilo Andrés Mayorquín |
| Abstract: | This paper has the objective of reviewing some of the key aspects that involve the association between physics and economics. It also invites to considerate the history behind the neoclassical model and how its physical origin is not well known. It is curious to see the close relation between these two sciences, but it is also curious how this could lead to misinterpretations and beliefs of economics being dependent on physics, which clearly is not the case. |
| Keywords: | economics, physics, history, neoclassical, misinterpretation |
| JEL: | B16 B23 B49 |
| Date: | 2016–07–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:col:000176:014826&r=hme |
| By: | d'Agostino, Giorgio; Scarlato, Margherita |
| Abstract: | The Child Support Grant (CSG) represents one of the major cash transfer implemented in South Africa to address children's vulnerability and household poverty. This paper provides an evaluation of the impact of the CSG on gender inequality by evaluating the effect of the programme on the employment status of adult members of beneficiary households. We use data from the 2008, 2010-2011 and 2012 National Income Dynamics Study and apply a fuzzy regression discontinuity design that exploits the expansion in eligibility due to a discontinous change in the age eligibility criterion. The analysis considers two source of heterogeneity in the impact of the CSG on labour market, i.e. gender and household members receiving the Old Age Pension social grant. In addition, the evaluation identifies differing effects by number of treated children in beneficiary households. Overall, this evaluation shows that the CSG had a negative effect on the probability of being employed of the beneficiary household members and increased gender inequality by strongly discouraging women's employment. |
| Keywords: | Cash transfers, Regression discontinuity design, sub-Saharan Africa |
| JEL: | C33 I38 O55 |
| Date: | 2016–06–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:72523&r=hme |
| By: | Qadri, Mubashar; Mamoon, Dawood |
| Abstract: | The idea “Creating shared value” (CSV) offers a resolute direction to the debate on the link between business and society which can be restored through three distinct actions such as a) reconceiving products and markets; b) redefining productivity in the value chain; and c) building supportive industry clusters. The critical analysis predicts that the path of these actions is progressive in nature and their scope apparently ranges from narrow to wider deliberations. Keeping variant scope of proposed actions, this particular paper encapsulates only first course of action which indirectly is anticipating a new wave of innovation. For this new wave of innovation, the role of social capital is explored to determine the extent this capital can drive next wave of innovation. In this regard, a model is proposed to predict the link between various dimensions of social capital and innovation that can produce both social and business revenues. The proposed model is based on the assumption that social capital is not limited to network theory only rather its origins are deep rooted and relations with community are more important and relevant. If organizations emphasize more and invest in developing relationships with network actors like suppliers, customers and rivalry firms, then potential benefits of social capital might be unnoticed. Therefore, similar to defining ‘value’ too narrowly due to strategic myopia, keeping the social circle of small radius also limit the organization’s ability to exploit the embedded potential of social capital. |
| Keywords: | Creating shared value (CSV), Social capital, Innovation, Network relationship(s) |
| JEL: | M2 |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:72554&r=hme |
| By: | Igor V. EVSTIGNEEV (University of Manchester); Thorsten HENS (University of Zürich and Swiss Finance Institute); Klaus Reiner SCHENK-HOPPÉ (University of Manchester) |
| Abstract: | The paper reviews a new research field that develops evolutionary and behavioural approaches for the modeling of financial markets. The main objective is to create a plausible alternative to the conventional Walrasian equilibrium theory based on the hypothesis of full rationality of market players. Rather than maximizing typically unobservable individual utility functions, traders/investors are permitted to have a whole variety of patterns of strategic behaviour depending on their individual psychology. The models considered in this field combine elements of evolutionary game theory (solution concepts) and stochastic dynamic games (strategic frameworks). |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1516&r=hme |
| By: | Didier SORNETTE (ETH Zurich and Swiss Finance Institute) |
| Abstract: | This short review presents a selected history of the mutual fertilization between physics and economics, from Isaac Newton and Adam Smith to the present. The fundamentally different perspectives embraced in theories developed in financial economics compared with physics are dissected with the examples of the volatility smile and of the excess volatility puzzle. The role of the Ising model of phase transitions to model social and financial systems is reviewed, with the concepts of random utilities and the logit model as the analog of the Boltzmann factor in statistic physics. Recent extensions in term of quantum decision theory are also covered. A wealth of models are discussed briefly that build on the Ising model and generalize it to account for the many stylized facts of financial markets. A summary of the relevance of the Ising model and its extensions is provided to account for financial bubbles and crashes. The review would be incomplete if it would not cover the dynamical field of agent based models (ABMs), also known as computational economic models, of which the Ising-type models are just special ABM implementations. We formulate the "Emerging Market Intelligence hypothesis" to reconcile the pervasive presence of "noise traders" with the near efficiency of financial markets. Finally, we note that evolutionary biology, more than physics, is now playing a growing role to inspire models of financial markets. |
| Keywords: | order book, Brownian particle, fluctuation-dissipation, dollar-yen OR from paper: Finance, physics, econophysics, Ising model, phase transitions, excess volatility puzzle, logit model, Boltzmann factor, bubbles, crashes, adaptive markets, ecologies |
| JEL: | A12 B41 C00 C44 C60 C73 D70 G01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1425&r=hme |
| By: | Jan Polach (London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, United Kingdom); Jiri Kukacka (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Smetanovo nabrezi 6, 111 01 Prague 1, Czech Republic; Institute of Information Theory and Automation, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Pod Vodarenskou Vezi 4, 182 00, Prague, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | Using the Heterogeneous Agent Model framework, we incorporate an extension based on Prospect Theory into a popular agent-based asset pricing model. The extension covers the phenomenon of loss aversion manifested in risk aversion and asymmetric treatment of gains and losses. Using Monte Carlo methods, we investigate behavior and statistical properties of the extended model and assess its relevance with respect to financial data and stylized facts. We show that the Prospect Theory extension keeps the essential underlying mechanics of the model intact, however, that it changes the model dynamics considerably. Stability of the model increases but the occurrence of the fundamental strategy is more extreme. Moreover, the extension shifts the model closer to the behavior of real-world stock markets. |
| Keywords: | Heterogeneous Agent Model, Prospect Theory, Behavioral Finance, Stylized facts |
| JEL: | C1 C61 D84 G12 |
| Date: | 2016–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2016_14&r=hme |
| By: | Constantin-Marius Apostoaie (Integrated Center for Studies in Environmental Science for the Northeast Region, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi) |
| Abstract: | The electoral process in a democratic country has a significant impact on its economy. Researchers even speak about the emergence of a new concept of "election-year economics" in economic policies, especially for countries with young democracies. Nevertheless, the implications of political factors in the electoral periods don’t resume to the economic aspects of the society; they make themselves noticed also on other non-economic issues such as: environmental protection, quality of life etc. If prior to the election period, the focus of the political parties and also of the general public is mainly on primary policies (including fiscal policies, budgetary or exchange rate policies), other secondary policies fade in the picture, among which we include the environmental policy. Nevertheless, during political campaigns prior to elections, some parties and their affiliated politicians may display a kind of pro-environmental behaviour only to convince some of the voters to cast them a ballot. If the specialized literature has looked well enough into the determinants of citizens’ pro-environmental behavior, this is not the case of the drivers that push political parties towards adopting environmental attitudes. The lack of knowledge in this regard is even more pronounced when dealing with Eastern European countries that were, in many cases, excluded from the research (given the inconsistency in and lack of data). The methodological approach consists in a regression analysis between the political parties’ tendencies towards environmental decisions and actions, on the one hand, and various economic, social and environmental conditions. Using the data provided by the Manifesto Project Dataset (CMP), the websites and platforms of the Romanian political parties and the input from interviews with politicians as well as ENGO specialists, covering the period 1990-2015, the paper investigates the “greening†of Romanian political parties prior to national election periods and the determinant factors in this regard. The preliminary results suggest that political parties’ environmental concern is strongly correlated with their political ideology, but also reveal some specific features that describe Romania’s young democratic system. The paper contributes to the existing literature by filling a gap related to the investigated subject (political parties’ environmental policy offer) and to the geographical coverage. Acknowledgement: This work is financially supported through the UAIC Grant for Young Researchers competition of the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iaşi, Romania (Grant registration number: GI-2015-24). |
| Keywords: | environment, environmental policy, political parties, electoral periods, electoral cycle, political ideology, political greening |
| JEL: | Q58 D78 H79 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:4006272&r=hme |
| By: | Klaus Wälde (Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz) |
| Abstract: | Emotions were central to the development of economics, especially in utility theory in classical economics. While neoclassical utility theory basically abolished emotions, behavioural economics more recently reintroduced emotions in utility theory. Beyond utility theory, economic theorists use emotions to explain behaviour which otherwise could not be understood or they study emotions out of interest for the emotion itself. While some analyses display a strong overlap between psychological thinking and economic modelling, in most cases there is still a large gap between economic and psychological approaches to emotion research. Ways how to reduce this gap are discussed. |
| Keywords: | utility theory, ex-ante emotions, immediate emotions, ex-post emotions belief-based emotions, regret, desire, stress, anxiety, guilt |
| Date: | 2016–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jgu:wpaper:1611&r=hme |
| By: | Yasin ÇİLHOROZ (Hacettepe University); Cuma SONÄžUR (Hacettepe University); Mehmet GÖZLÜ (Hacettepe University); Murat KONCA (Hacettepe University) |
| Abstract: | Until the begining of 1990s, firms had been looking ways to attain the competitive advantage and increase their profitabilites depending on it by realizing economies of scale or benefiting from market failure. Nowadays, with the impact of globalization, particularly great companies have started to purchase other firms or merge with them as a growth strategy. Pharmaceutical industry has the first place where the mergers and acquisitions occur mostly. Among the drives that leads pharmaceutical firms to mergers or acquisitions; high costs of research and development, economies of scale, motivation for new markets, efforts to improve the existing marketing possibilities, trying to keep up with competition can be counted. The aim of this study is to discuss mergers and acqusisitions in pharmaceutical sector and to evaluate global pharmaceutical industry in this terms. |
| Keywords: | Merger, Acquisition, Growth Strategy, Pharmaceutical Industry |
| JEL: | F23 G34 L65 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:4006562&r=hme |
| By: | Carattini, Stefano; Tavoni, Alessandro |
| Abstract: | The market for voluntary carbon offsets has grown steadily in the last decade, yet it remains a very small niche. Most emissions from business travel are still not offset. This paper exploits a unique dataset examining the decision to purchase carbon offsets at two academic conferences in environmental and ecological economics. We find that having the conference expenses covered by one's institution increases the likelihood of offsetting, but practical and ethical reservations as well as personal characteristics and preferences also play an important role. We draw lessons from the effect of objections on the use of offsets and discuss the implications for practitioners and policy-makers. Based on our findings, we conclude that ecological and environmental economists should be more involved in the design and use of carbon offsets. |
| Keywords: | Voluntary Carbon Offsetting, Public Goods, Ecological Economics, Environmental Economics, Environmental Economics and Policy, D6, H8, Q4, |
| Date: | 2016–07–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemmi:240749&r=hme |
| By: | Deniz Alca (Karabuk University) |
| Abstract: | By the course of time to address human societies the term “men†has been used so manhood became the decisive constituent of “humanity†. Security issues of any given society were and always have been the major justification instrument for this approach. Beyond humanities attachment to masculinity, war and eo ipso peace are Men’s decision to make. So rationel of men becomes the only logical explanation of the public realm. This understanding of common good comprehends war, peace and their contents limited to states, armies, soldiers and land, then the rest is just collateral damage who are mostly women as the use of rape, murder and 'scorched earth' policies become conventional for current conflicts especially at North African region. But what if this collateral damage (not only at war but also at peace) is the main problematic issue for the humanitarian society?From this standing point, our study aims to criticize the main stream security approach from three angles. Firstly the gender blindness of traditional security approach will be criticized. Alternatively, gender consciousness or engendered security approach will be analyzed in a different perspective for peacebuilding process. Than secondly top-down comprehension of security and its implications will be compared with bottom-to-top understanding of security. Top-down comprehension of securities’ peremptory tone and uncompromising nature’s disadvantages at a multi-dimensional conflict will be brought face to face by opportunities of bottom-to-top understanding of security for conflict resolution.Thirdly the perception of total security approach will be analyzed and perception of security of the oppressed will be discussed as a solution to the ongoing civil wars and conflicts by bringing a fresh look to the power politics.The desired output from this study is to unveil the illusional nature of traditional security approach and reveal the advantages of alternative approaches for peacebuilding process, conflict resolution and power politics. |
| Keywords: | gender blind, gender consciousness, engendered security, Men’s War, traditional security, top-down sucurity, bottom-to-top security, conflict resolution, peace building, power politics. |
| JEL: | F51 F50 F53 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:4006558&r=hme |
| By: | Jane Humphries (All Souls College, University of Oxford); Benjamin Schneider (Merton College, University of Oxford) |
| Abstract: | The prevailing explanation for why the Industrial Revolution occurred first in Britain is Robert Allen’s (2009) ‘high-wage economy’ view, which claims that the high cost of labour relative to capital and fuel incentivized innovation and the adoption of new techniques. This paper presents new empirical evidence on hand spinning before the Industrial Revolution and demonstrates that there was no such ‘high-wage economy’ in spinning, a leading sector of industrialization. We quantify the working lives of frequently ignored female and child spinners who were crucial to the British textile industry in the Early Modern period with evidence of productivity and wages from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth century. Our results show that spinning was a widespread, low-wage, low-productivity employment, in line with the Humphries (2013) view of the motivations for the factory system. |
| Keywords: | hand spinning, women's wages, Industrial Revolution, textiles, Great Divergence, High Wage Economy interpretation of invention and innovation |
| JEL: | J24 J31 J42 J46 N13 N33 N63 O14 O31 |
| Date: | 2016–06–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nuf:esohwp:_145&r=hme |
| By: | Susanne VON DER BECKE (ETH Zurich); Didier SORNETTE (ETH Zurich and Swiss Finance Institute) |
| Abstract: | We identify the origin of the contradicting perspectives on credit creation offered by Austrian, Mainstream and Post Keynesian economists as the neglect of the primacy of such assets as goods, properties and securities, which always pre-exist any transaction and loan. We develop a unified framework of credit creation based on three leading variables: (i) the amount of collateral assets accepted, (ii) the level of leverage and (iii) the level of trust and confidence. As credit expands along these dimensions, the money supply becomes more endogenous and the financial system more vulnerable to internally generated instabilities manifested as booms and busts. Empirical evidence demonstrates a significant shift in the components of bank balance sheets and a decoupling of bank assets from deposits since the mid-1980s, marking a shift from credit creation within traditional fractional reserve banking to "securitized-fractional reserve banking". Applying our framework of credit creation to the global financial crisis, we argue that growth over recent decades has been increasingly financed by credit creation and that the subprime crisis was both a signature and only one possible trigger in an increasingly unstable financial system. As trust began to recede, so did leverage and the amount of assets accepted as collateral, leading to a contraction in credit and to liquidity spirals. Subsequent measures by policymakers can be interpreted as attempts to avoid further contraction along these three variables. |
| Keywords: | Credit creation, Financial crises, Leverage, Liquidity, Confidence |
| JEL: | B53 E12 E13 E51 G01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1407&r=hme |