|
on Heterodox Microeconomics |
|
Issue of 2017‒07‒30
eight papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Hanan Muhaya Alenazy (University of Leicester) |
| Abstract: | Gender equality is a controversial issue and has been a constant subject of debate across the world in varied domains and disciplines, particularly in the field of Higher Education (HE). Several scholars distinguish between the terms gender and sex. They believe that gender is a social construct and learnt behaviour, while sex is perceived as a biological category (McHugh 2007). Such differences in gender can be viewed as a cultural phenomenon, generating from the dominant concepts of a specific culture or era (Weiner 2010).It is argued that Muslim women are enslaved through oppression and inequality (Aquil 2012). Such inequality can be recognised in varied forms, for instance, their underrepresentation in several areas of achievement and progress particularly in acceding to senior management positions in academia. It seems that there is no exception for women in Saudi Arabia either, who might encounter such issues. Certain factors can be attributed to why women, particularly in Saudi Arabia, are not accorded career progression like their male counterparts, the primary one being the fact that 60% of Saudi women are homemakers (Alharbi 2014). Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate the intersection and influence of wider social discourses, religion, culture, and traditions on the role of Saudi women at work and exploring the nature and root causes of discrimination. My research methodology utilised a qualitative approach in the form of multiple case studies. This research was performed from a feminist standpoint. Feminist research brings gender to the foreground and endeavours to understand social phenomena from the perspective of women (Cohen et al. 2013). Similarly, as stated by Lather (1998) a leading scholar in feminist research, the purpose of such ideological study is to ?correct both the invisibility and distortion of female experience in ways relevant to ending women?s unequal social position?. The research sample comprised 25 participants, all female academics from five state universities, selected intentionally for this research, who had either been promoted to leadership positions or not. Additionally, there were five male participants who were considered key informants, closely connected with the formulation and implementation of policies in HE institutions in Saudi Arabia. This paper addresses the following question: To what extent are the obstacles that Saudi female academics face within the university, a reflection of the influence of wider social discourses, religion, cultures, and traditions on the role of Saudi working women? |
| Keywords: | Gender construction, Saudi women, wider social discourses, religion, cultures, and traditions. |
| JEL: | Z12 D63 Z18 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:4607665&r=hme |
| By: | Fix, Blair |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a new ‘power theory’ of personal income distribution. Contrary to the standard assumption that income is proportional to productivity, I hypothesize that income is most strongly determined by social power, as indicated by one’s position within an institutional hierarchy. While many theorists have proposed a connection between personal income and power, this paper is the first to quantify this relation. I propose that power can be quantified in terms of the number of subordinates below one’s position in a hierarchy. Using this definition, I find that relative income within firms scales strongly with hierarchical power. I also find that hierarchical power has a stronger effect on income than any other factor for which data is available. I conclude that this is evidence for a power theory of personal income distribution. |
| Keywords: | income distribution,hierarchy,power |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:capwps:201703&r=hme |
| By: | Landmann, Andreas (Paris School of Economics); Seitz, Helke (DIW Berlin); Steiner, Susan (Leibniz University of Hannover) |
| Abstract: | We examine the role of intergenerational co-residence for female labour supply in a patrilocal society. To account for the endogeneity of women's co-residence with parents or in-laws, we exploit a tradition in Central Asia, namely that the youngest son of a family usually lives with his parents. Using data from Kyrgyzstan, we therefore instrument co-residence with being married to a youngest son. We find the effect of co-residence on female labour supply to be negative and insignificant. This is in contrast to the previous literature, which found substantial positive effects in less patrilocal settings. Women who co-reside in Kyrgyzstan have more children, spend similar time on housekeeping tasks and child care, and invest more time in elder care compared with women who do not co-reside. These mechanisms appear to be inherently different from those in less patrilocal settings where co-residing parents relieve the women from household chores. |
| Keywords: | family structure, co-residence, labour supply, patrilocality, Kyrgyzstan |
| JEL: | J12 J21 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10890&r=hme |
| By: | Llop Llop, Maria |
| Abstract: | Environmental economics has proposed the taxation on energy as an effective way to mitigate the pollution caused by the production and use of energy based on fossil fuels. From a practical point of view, however, taxes on energy are thought to have a detrimental impact on the economy that reduce competitiveness and diminish economic welfare, especially if the tax burden is (completely or partially) translated to final prices. This paper provides a method to analyse by how much energy prices influence the price formation mechanism of an economy. The model used, which captures the general equilibrium channels existing among energy activities, the rest of the production system and households, is based on the accounting identities reflected in a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM). The SAM price model allows to identify the role of energy prices into the cost transmission and the price definition process. The empirical application, which is for the Catalan economy, shows a considerable influence of energy prices on both production and final prices. The results also show that the different forms of energy exert asymmetric impacts on the costs of sectors and consumers. Keywords: energy prices, cost linkages, price transmission, social accounting matrix. JEL Classification: C69. D58. Q41. |
| Keywords: | Energia -- Preus, 338 - Situació econòmica. Política econòmica. Gestió, control i planificació de l'economia. Producció. Serveis. Turisme. Preus, |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urv:wpaper:2072/290764&r=hme |
| By: | ?ukasz Ambroziak (Warsaw School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The making available in the early 2010s of databases containing world input-output tables (e.g. WIOD) was a significant advancement in research on international trade. It allowed to compile statistics of value added flows between countries. The concept ?trade in value added? accounts for the value added of one country directly and indirectly contained in final consumption of another country. The typical question would be: How much value added of other countries is contained in the consumption of the country under examination?. The trade statistics in value added term eliminate the multiple calculation of such goods in trade ? first as components (intermediate goods) and then as parts of final goods. Thus, those statistics are better to assess the benefits derived by particular countries from foreign trade. The aim of this paper is to present changes of trade balances in bilateral trade of the Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia ? CEECs) in 1995-2011. The illustration of these changes is based on trade statistics both in value added terms and in gross terms. The data are downloaded from the World Input-Output Database (WIOD Release 2013). The research study shows that trade deficits and trade surpluses when measured in value added terms tend to become smaller as compared to gross trade figures. The key to understanding of this pattern is trade in intermediates. The differences between trade balances in gross and value added terms differ among the CEECs. The largest are in the Central European countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia). These countries are strong integrated with the global value chains. |
| Keywords: | gross trade, value added trade, trade balance, Central and Eastern European countries |
| JEL: | F14 F60 D57 |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:5007460&r=hme |
| By: | Debra Bourdeau (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University--Worldwide) |
| Abstract: | This paper discusses my experience as an American instructor teaching a Values and Ethics course in Singapore. This course is required of all students in our university, which is a distributed-campus model with over 120 teaching sites, including our Asia campus. Having developed this course for online delivery for all of our instructors, I was aware of the Western focus of its textbook and its worldview. Similarly, the course itself is built upon Western teaching practices. Both realities produced a fascinating experience when I taught the course to approximately 60 undergraduate Singaporean students in a condensed nine-week format in 2015. The almost-fully Western view, based heavily on Judeo-Christian values and the philosophy of Aristotle, Plato, Descartes and Kant, proved to be a myopic way to approach the course. Blending Eastern concepts such as collectivism with Western ideals such as individualism, and the Western focus on reason with Buddhist understandings of cause/effect relationships, added depth to the student experience in the course and provided me with new levels of insight as an instructor. Additionally, the course demands significant student participation and collaboration, with the instructor often becoming more of a facilitator in the course. Singaporean students commented that this was a new way of learning for them, removing the layers of authority between student and teacher and increasing their confidence in their ability to speak articulately on course concepts. Finally, the class demands the application of various ethical frameworks to current issues, compelling students to consider contemporary world problems through the lens of formal philosophical thought. Their topics of choice provided an intriguing contrast to American students? selections for that same set of assignments. Ultimately, increasing globalization demands an internationalized curriculum that is not overly dependent on the traditions of any one specific culture. My experience in this course provides a case study of ?accidental? internationalization that could, ideally, lead to some permanent changes in how such courses can be taught to students worldwide. |
| Keywords: | teaching, humanities, values and ethics |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:4607642&r=hme |
| By: | Juan Pablo Mateo (Department of Economics, New School for Social Research and University of Valladolid) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a comparative analysis of the process of capital accumulation in three economies, US, Spain and Brazil, between 1990 and 2014. The objective is to analyze the peculiarities existing in these cases, corresponding to the main contemporary economy (US), a developed one, but with a peripheral integration into a more developed area, such as the Euroarea (Spain), and a semiperipheral economy (Brazil); and in a period in which, specially for both Spain and Brazil, a neoliberal turn is carried out, and achieving certain monetary stalibity that ultimately affect the macroeconomic performance. |
| Keywords: | Capital accumulation, productivity, profit rate, underdevelopment |
| JEL: | E11 E22 F00 O47 O5 |
| Date: | 2017–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:new:wpaper:1723&r=hme |
| By: | Kobil Ruziev (University of the West of England, Bristol); Don Webber (University of the West of England, Bristol) |
| Abstract: | In post-communist economies, a disproportionately greater share of formal finance is channelled to larger enterprises and SMEs lack appropriately-priced formal finance. This article examines whether institutional structure and interpersonal connectedness with bureaucrats exacerbate this formal finance misallocation. We show that access to and use of interpersonal bureaucratic networks improve chances of receiving formal bank credit by between 4–10%. The benefits of interpersonal links are stronger for larger SMEs, and being connected to bureaucratic networks is not associated with enterprise growth. These findings imply that traditional policies that increase bank finance to SMEs should also aim to improve impartiality of bureaucratic institutions and enforceability of private contracts. |
| Keywords: | Financial development; Formal finance; Firm-level analysis; Transition economies |
| JEL: | G00 G38 B52 P3 M2 |
| Date: | 2017–01–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uwe:wpaper:20171701&r=hme |