|
on Heterodox Microeconomics |
|
Issue of 2017‒01‒22
sixteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Malikane, Christopher |
| Abstract: | Based on new quarterly estimates of the general rate of profit over 1960-2016, this paper shows that the South African economy experienced two phase changes in the pace and rhythm of capital accumulation. The rate of profit exhibits a cyclical tendency to fall, mainly driven by the tendency of capital intensity to rise. The economy experienced a crisis of absolute overproduction of capital in the mid-1980s. This crisis was not only characterised by stagnation in the mass of profits, it was also characterised by a halt in capital accumulation. Thereafter, the rate of profit recovered primarily because of the fall in the capital-output ratio but it failed to reach the levels seen in the 1970's. We estimate that in 2012, the South African economy entered a new and on-going crisis of overproduction of capital characterised by stagnant profits and prolonged overaccumulation, which makes it impossible for economic growth to recover. |
| Keywords: | falling rate of profit, capital intensity, overproduction of capital, overaccumulation |
| JEL: | B5 E11 O5 |
| Date: | 2017–01–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76165&r=hme |
| By: | Chatterjee, Susmita; Datta Gupta, Sangita |
| Abstract: | Abstract: Social Entrepreneurship focuses on activities that make world a better place to live in Social Entrepreneurship addresses various social issues. One such issue is rural development and poverty eradication. One way to achieve this is through self-Help groups. Self –Help group ( SHG) is a unique concept in India Self Help group is a homogenous group of people who have come together with the intention of increasing their income, improve their standard of living and status in society. Self –Help groups is a tool to eradicate poverty and encourage rural development. This study looks into journey of two women from two self-help groups of West Bengal. One SHG is located in rural area and another is in urban area. Self help groups helped them in developing their enterprise. These two micro entrepreneurs in turn provided livelihood to many women in their locality. They have been instrumental in providing other women in their locality with decent income. Self-Help groups not only helped in eradication of poverty but also helped in empowerment of women by providing them with income and social recognition. |
| Keywords: | Social Entrepreneurship, Micro-Entrepreneurs, SHG, India, |
| JEL: | O2 |
| Date: | 2016–12–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:75885&r=hme |
| By: | Heinz Welsch; Philipp Biermann |
| Abstract: | Previous research has found that subjective well-being (SWB) is lower for individuals classified as being in poverty. Using panel data for 39,239 individuals living in Germany from 2005-2013, we show that people’s SWB is negatively correlated with the state-level poverty ratio while controlling for individual poverty status and poverty intensity. The negative relationship between aggregate poverty and SWB is more salient in the upper segments of the income distribution and is robust to controlling for the rate of unemployment and per capita GDP. The character of poverty as a public bad suggests that poverty alleviation is a matter not only of equity, but of efficiency. |
| Keywords: | poverty; poverty ratio; subjective well-being; public bad; life satisfaction |
| JEL: | I31 I32 D60 |
| Date: | 2016 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:diw:diwsop:diw_sp885&r=hme |
| By: | Karwowski, Ewa (Kingston University London); Shabani, Mimoza (University of East London and School of Oriental and African Studies); Stockhammer, Engelbert (Kingston University London) |
| Abstract: | The financialisation literature has grown over the past two decades. While there is a generally accepted definition, effectively financialisation has been used to describe very different phenomena. This paper proposes a multi-faceted notion of financialisation by distinguishing between financialisation of non-financial companies, households and the financial sector and using activity as well as vulnerability measures of financialisation. We identify seven financialisation hypotheses in the literature and empirically investigate them in a cross-country analysis for 17 OECD countries for the 1997-2007 period. We find that different financialisation measures are only weakly correlated, which suggests the existence of distinct financialisation processes. There is strong evidence across all sectors that financialisation is closely linked to asset price inflation and correlated with a debt-driven demand regime. Financial deregulation encourages financialisation, especially in the financial and household sector. By contrast, there is limited evidence that market-based financial systems tend to be more financialised, meaning financialisation can occur with large banks. Foreign financial inflows do not seem to be a main driver. We do not find indication that a secular investment slowdown precedes financialisation. Overall, our findings suggest that financialisation should be understood as variegated process, playing out differently across economic sectors in different countries. |
| Keywords: | financialisation; cross country analysis; financial deregulation; property prices |
| JEL: | B50 B51 G10 G20 G30 P51 |
| Date: | 2017–01–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:kngedp:2017_001&r=hme |
| By: | Kijong Kim; Ipek Ilkkaracan; Tolga Kaya |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the aggregate and gender employment impact of expanding the early childhood care and preschool education (ECCPE) sector in Turkey and compares it to the expansion of the construction sector. The authors' methodology combines input-output analysis with a statistical microsimulation approach. Their findings suggest that the expansion of the ECCPE sector creates more jobs and does so in a more gender-equitable way than an expansion of the construction sector. In particular, it narrows the gender employment and earnings gaps, generates more decent jobs, and achieves greater short-run fiscal sustainability. |
| Keywords: | Early Childhood Care and Preschool Education; Employment; Gender Equality; Macroeconomic Impact; Microsimulation; Input-Output Analysis |
| JEL: | I25 E17 R15 O23 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_882&r=hme |
| By: | Pilon, André Francisco |
| Abstract: | In view of the overwhelming pressures on the global environment and the need to disrupt the systems that drive them, an ecosystemic theoretical and practical framework is posited for the evaluation and planning of public policies, research and teaching programmes, encompassing four dimensions of being-in-the-world (intimate, interactive, social and biophysical), as they combine, as donors and recipients, to induce the events (deficits/assets), cope with consequences (desired/undesired) and contribute for change (potential outputs). The focus should not be on the “bubbles” of the surface (consequences, fragmented issues), but on the configurations deep inside the boiling pot where the problems emerge. New paradigms of development, growth, power, wealth, work and freedom, embedded at institutional level, include heterogeneous attributes, behaviours and interactions and the dynamics of the systems (institutions, populations, political, economic, cultural and ecological background). Instead of dealing with the bubbles (segmented, reduced issues) and trying to solve isolated and localized problems without addressing the general phenomenon, the proposal emphasizes the definition of the problems deep inside the “boiling pot”, where the problems emerge, encompassing the current “world-system” with its boundaries, structures, techno-economic paradigms, support groups, rules of legitimation, and coherence. In the socio-cultural learning niches, heuristic-hermeneutic experiences generate awareness, interpretation and understanding beyond established stereotypes, both from a thematic (“what”) and an epistemic point of view (“how”). |
| Keywords: | education, culture, politics, economics, ethics, environment, ecosystems |
| JEL: | I00 I25 I28 I29 O21 O31 Q2 Q28 Q5 Q51 Q56 Q57 Q58 |
| Date: | 2016–11–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76172&r=hme |
| By: | Daniele Tavani (Department of Economics, Colorado State University.); Luca Zamparelli (Department of Social Sciences and Economics, Sapienza University of Rome) |
| Abstract: | This paper surveys the last two and a half decades of non-neoclassical literature on endogenous technical change and the factor distribution of income. The implications of classical- Marxian and post-Keynesian contributions are compared with neoclassical exogenous and endogenous growth theories. We find the comparison illuminating in several respects: despite the strong differences in the assumptions regarding the substitutability between capital and labor, the role of different classes in society, and whether or not productive factors are fully employed, the various alternative models can be classified in a way that highlights remarkable similarities with their neoclassical counterparts. Both neoclassical and alternative theories of endogenous growth: (i) have shown that long-run growth is sensitive to investment decisions; (ii) rely on a linear spillover from the stock of knowledge to the production of innovations, and (iii) match the Kaldor facts in the long run. The comparison allows to evaluate competing theories by looking at the different channels they emphasize: saving behavior and market structure in the neoclassical theories, as opposed to income distribution, the state of the labor market, and investors’ behavior in alternative theories. |
| Keywords: | Endogenous technical change, neoclassical growth, alternative theories, income distribution. |
| JEL: | B50 D33 O33 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:saq:wpaper:1/17&r=hme |
| By: | Veronica Polin (Department of Economics (University of Verona)) |
| Abstract: | Homelessness is one of the most extreme forms of poverty. Recent literature explains this event using an approach that combines individual characteristics and structural forces. However, in the homelessness’s study few attention has been given to human dimension and the role of crisis of identity and recognition. The need to be socially recognized is not simply a need among many others, to which we can possibly give up: it is a basic condition of our being human persons. Becoming homeless is definitely a very traumatic event, but these persons suffer before they begin this transition and continue even after that. In both phases, homeless people might be victims of various forms of misrecognition: physical and psychological maltreatment, rights’ deprivation and social exclusion that affect the validation of their social identity. Homelessness is certainly an expression of material and economic poverty, but it might also reflect other human and social problems. The aim of this paper is to explore how identity and recognition concepts can be used as a framework to understand homelessness experience more deeply |
| Keywords: | poverty, homelessness, identity, recognition. |
| JEL: | D63 H53 I38 |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ver:wpaper:02/2017&r=hme |
| By: | Ali, Khalifa Mohamed (The Islamic Research and Teaching Institute (IRTI)); Elzahi, Abdelrahman (The Islamic Research and Teaching Institute (IRTI)) |
| Abstract: | In the Republic of the Zakah programme not only aims at short-term escape from poverty due to the programme investments but rather the provision of tools, livelihoods, and peace of mind necessary for participants to sustain themselves as they actively work their way out of poverty. The main objective of this paper is to determine the milestones of alleviating poverty through Zakah Systems in the Republic of the Sudan. More specifically the study seeks to examine the operational efficiency of the Sudanese Zakah Chamber (SZC); to assess the impact of the SZC on its targeted beneficiaries and to determine the extent to which the SZC is linked to the Sudanese Micro finance services (MFS) sector. A structured questionnaire is used.. The results suggest that despite some operational inefficiencies and the challenges facing the SZC there exists a positive and significant relationship between the programme and poverty alleviation in Sudan. |
| Keywords: | Zakah; Islamic Microfinance; Poverty alleviation. |
| JEL: | G21 I30 |
| Date: | 2016–05–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:irtiwp:2016_011&r=hme |
| By: | Gala, Paulo; Rocha, Igor; Magacho, Guilherme |
| Abstract: | This paper brings elements from the economic complexity literature to the discussions of the structuralist tradition on the central role of manufacturing and productive sophistication to economic growth. Using data provided by the Atlas of Economic Complexity this study sought to verify if countries’ complexity is important to explain convergence and divergence among poor and rich countries and, if so, which are the countries that will be able to reduce the income gap compared to developed countries. The econometric analysis revealed that exports and production complexity is significant to explain convergence and divergence among countries. |
| Date: | 2016–12–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:eesptd:436&r=hme |
| By: | Perugini, Cristiano; Žarković Rakić, Jelena; Vladisavljević, Marko |
| Abstract: | The great recession, and the countercyclical responses by European governments that followed, triggered an extensive wave of fiscal adjustments. The implementation of these austerity measures, although underpinned by a widespread consensus, underwent severe criticism. While their effects on output and employment have been extensively investigated, their impacts on wage inequality have received relatively less attention. In this paper we focus on the consequences of austerity measures on gender wage inequalities. After having described the literature-based conceptual framework of our analysis, we provide empirical evidence on the effects of austerity measures on: (i) the adjusted gender wage gap; and (ii) the patterns of gender horizontal segregation. The analysis covers the group of EU-28 countries in the years from 2010 to 2013. Results show that austerity measures (both tax-based and expenditure-based) impacted significantly on various sides of gender wage inequality, putting at risk the relatively little progress achieved in Europe so far. |
| Keywords: | austerity, gender wage inequality, gender segregation, EU-28 |
| JEL: | E62 J16 J31 O52 |
| Date: | 2016–12–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76306&r=hme |
| By: | Pereira, Luiz C. Bresser |
| Abstract: | This paper searches to understand the developmental state and its historical role in the industrial revolution and after it. First, the developmental state is defined as an alternative to the liberal state. Second, it was in the framework of a developmental state that industrial revolutions took place, and four models of developmental state are defined. Third, after the industrial revolution, the state withdraws partially from the economy, but the developmental state continues to have a major role in assuring the general conditions that make competitive the competent business enterprises in each country – in conducing an active macroeconomic policy, particularly an exchange rate policy, in coordinating the non-competitive industries, and in conducing strategic industrial and technological policy. The paper concludes by comparing developmentalism with nationalism. |
| Date: | 2016–09–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fgv:eesptd:426&r=hme |
| By: | David Stuckler; Aaron Reeves; Rachel Loopstra; Martin McKee |
| Abstract: | Objective To determine whether sugar industry-related organizations influenced textual changes between the draft and final versions of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2015 guideline Sugars intake for adults and children. Methods Stakeholder consultation submissions on the draft guideline from seven sugar industry-related and 10 public health organizations were assessed using the Wordscores program. Document scores were rescaled using the Martin–Vanberg transformation to improve comparability. Draft and final guidelines were compared to identify changes influenced by the sugar industry and public health organizations. Findings There was a small shift in transformed Wordscores score between the draft and final guidelines, from 0.25 to 0.24, towards the industry position. The change was linked to increased use of the word “low” to describe the quality of the evidence, consistent with industry arguments. There was also a shift from use of the word “consumption” to “intake”, irrespective of policy position. Scores for World Sugar Research Organisation and Sugar Nutrition UK submissions ( 0.11 and 0.18, respectively) represented strong pro-industry positions and scores for European Public Health Alliance and Wemos submissions (1.00 and 0.88, respectively) represented the strongest public health positions. Industry tactics included challenging the quality of the evidence, distinguishing between different types of sugar and advocating harm reduction. Conclusion There was little change between draft and final versions of the WHO sugars intake guideline 2015, following industry consultation. The main change was linked to emphasizing the low quality of the evidence on sugar’s adverse effects. Guideline development appeared relatively resistant to industry influence at the stakeholder consultation stage. |
| JEL: | R14 J01 |
| Date: | 2016–05–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:68796&r=hme |
| By: | Bulut, Mehmet; Korkut, Cem |
| Abstract: | The Ottoman State is accepted as the civilization of waqf so that the borrowing of people who needed cash was provided by waqfs that had cash as capital. These waqfs operated their capitals within the limits that were drawn by Ottoman ulema under the effects of interest ban in Islamic states. These waqfs can be thought of as the pioneers of modern Islamic financial institutions. The CWs became the factor of stability in the Ottoman financial system with controlling high usury rates and determining the market interest rate. Today, the participation banks as interest-free financial institutions fulfill this function. The participation banks that bring together the people who want to borrow money without interest and the people who want to operate his capital with halal ways are separated from cash waqfs in some respects. In this study, even though they follow similar financial methods, the difference in their purposes and other characteristics of interest-free financial institutions and their pioneer of CWs will be examined. |
| Keywords: | Ottoman State, cash waqfs, interest-free financial institutions, participation banks, Islamic finance |
| JEL: | G20 G23 N20 N25 |
| Date: | 2016–12–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:76009&r=hme |
| By: | Fernando Borraz; Gerardo Licandro; Daniela Sola |
| Abstract: | This paper presents new evidence on wage and price setting based on a survey of more than 300 Uruguayan firms in 2013. Most of the firms set prices considering costs and adding a profit margin; therefore, they have some degree of market power. The evidence indicates that price increases appear quite flexible in Uruguay (prices are downward rigid). Most of the firms adjust their prices without following a regular frequency which suggests that price changes in Uruguay are state-dependent, although wage changes are concentrated in January and July. Interestingly, the cost of credit is seen by companies as an irrelevant factor in explaining price increases. We also find that cost reduction is the principal strategy to a negative demand shock. Finally, the adjustment of prices to changes in wages is relatively fast. |
| Keywords: | price setting, labor market, survey evidence, Uruguay |
| Date: | 2017–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bis:biswps:605&r=hme |
| By: | Marcella Corsi; Carlo D'Ippoliti; Giulia Zacchia |
| Abstract: | Recent reforms of the Italian university system introduced a centralized national qualification competition (called ASN), necessary for accessing all academic positions in the country. Following a well-known international trend, the new mechanism is founded on rigid standardized indexes of “scientific productivity” based on bibliometric indicators. In economics, women’s lower success rate (35%) compared to men’s (44%) is often connected to lower productivity. We provide evidence matching all candidates’ CVs with their record of publications on EconLit, showing that women’s typical career profiles, e.g. in terms of type of publications, topics and methods of inquiry, were penalized regardless of scientific productivity. Our work aims not only at documenting, through a large scale natural experiment, the causes of the underrepresentation of women in academia (especially in top positions) and within economics, but also at raising the issue of new incentives and constrains that increasingly push women to uniform their careers and their research interests to those of their men colleagues. |
| Keywords: | women economists; research paradigms; Italy |
| JEL: | J16 B54 A14 |
| Date: | 2016–01–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/244040&r=hme |