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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2017‒10‒29
six papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Simon Cornee; Panu Kalmi; Ariane Szafarz |
| Abstract: | Social banks screen loan applicants by using both social and financial criteria, and social screening implies an extra workload. To check the costs involved in this type of screening we use balance-sheet information on European banks, and compare the operating costs of social banks with those of other banks. Surprisingly, our first results suggest that social banks’ costs are not significantly higher than those of their mainstream counterparts. Next, we uncover that the extra costs of social screening are offset by a cheaper workforce. Despite their need for specific screening, social banks are financially sustainable in a market dominated by for-profit institutions. |
| Keywords: | Social Screening; Social Banks; Screening Costs; Warm Glow |
| JEL: | G20 L33 J32 L31 D63 D82 G21 |
| Date: | 2017–10–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/259912&r=hme |
| By: | Laura Valladão de Mattos |
| Abstract: | Esse artigo analisa um debate, ocorrido nas décadas de 1870 e 1880, que se seguiu a fortes críticas lançadas por dois economistas historicistas, Thomas Cliffe Leslie e John Kells Ingram, à natureza dedutiva, abstrata e universalista da Economia Política. O objetivo desses economistas era substituir essa ciência por uma Economia de caráter indutivo e histórico. Walter Bagehot e William Stanley Jevons – defensores, respectivamente, da ortodoxia vigente e do marginalismo emergente – reagiram diretamente a esses críticos. A resposta de Bagehot foi reafirmar o método dedutivo da Economia Política, porém restringir a validade dessa ciência às sociedades comerciais avançadas como a Inglaterra. A reação de Jevons foi enfatizar a natureza dedutiva e universal da teoria econômica, mas defender a importância da existência de ramos de históricos e aplicados de investigação. Argumenta-se que, o desafio historicista colocou as questões metodológicas na ‘ordem do dia’ e fez com que esses economistas atribuíssem um ‘lugar’ para a história – ainda que não aquele almejado por Leslie e Ingram. Analisar esse debate metodológico permite uma compreensão melhor das alternativas que se apresentavam para a Economia ao final do século XIX e pode, quem sabe, jogar luz sobre os rumos que a nossa ciência tomou nas primeiras décadas do século XX. |
| Keywords: | Cliffe Leslie; John Ingram; Stanley Jevons; Walter Bagehot; historicismo |
| JEL: | B1 B15 B5 |
| Date: | 2017–10–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2017wpecon18&r=hme |
| By: | Amanda S. Bayer; David W. Wilcox |
| Abstract: | The distribution of economic education among US college graduates is quite unequal: female and underrepresented minority undergraduates, collectively, major in economics at 0.36 the rate that white, non-Hispanic male students do. This paper makes a four-part contribution to address this imbalance. First and foremost, we provide detailed comparative data at the institution level to provoke and inform the attention of economists and senior administrators at colleges and universities, among others. Second, we establish a definition of full inclusion in economic education on college and university campuses and use that definition to evaluate the status quo and to compare institutions. Third, we illuminate the reasons why the need to improve the distribution of economic education is urgent, including the imperative to support economic policymaking. Lastly, we point the way forward, identifying both currently available resources and reasonable next steps for all involved parties to take. |
| Keywords: | Education ; Ethnicity ; Race |
| Date: | 2017–10–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedgfe:2017-105&r=hme |
| By: | Bacchetta, Philippe |
| Abstract: | The Sovereign Money Initiative will be submitted to the Swiss people in 2018. This paper reviews the arguments behind the initiative and discusses its potential impact. I argue that several arguments are inconsistent with empirical evidence or with economic logic. In particular, controlling sight deposits neither stabilizes credit nor avoids financial crises. Also, assuming that deposits at the central bank are not a liability has implications for fiscal and monetary policy; and Benes and Kumhof (2012) do not provide support for the reform as they do not analyze the proposed Swiss monetary reform and their closed-economy model does not fit the Swiss economy. Then, using a simple model with monpolistically competitive banks, the paper assesses quantitatively the impact of removing sight deposits from commercial banks balance sheets. Even though there is a gain for the state, the overall impact is negative, especially because depositors would face a negative return. Moreover, the initiative goes much beyond what would be the equivalent of full reserve requirement and would impose severe constraints on monetary policy; it would weaken financial stability rather then reinforce it; and it would threaten the trust in the Swiss monetary system. Finally, there is high uncertainty both on the details of the reform and on its impact. |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:12349&r=hme |
| By: | Michael Wyrwich (FSU Jena) |
| Abstract: | There is a large and successful literature exploiting the division and re-unification of Germany as a natural experiment for analysing the effects of political regimes on economic behaviour. This paper contributes to this literature by reassessing the role of legacy effects of socialist labour market policies for explaining the much higher female labour force participation (FLFP) in East Germany as compared to West Germany. The starting point of the analysis is the empirical pattern that FLFP was already higher in the East before German separation. Applying difference-in-differences analyses on participation rates shows that there is, if anything, only a small long-term socialist treatment effect. Apparently, there is no effect in areas that have been either rural or heavily industrialized before German separation. In line with previous research, this study finds that there is an East German mark-up for social acceptance of maternal employment. An additional and novel finding of this study is that current social acceptance of maternal employment is also driven by pre-war differences in female labour supply. This corresponds to a remarkable mark-up of married East German women in the labour market before German separation that is also descriptively shown in the paper. Overall, the results suggest that potential legacy effects of socialism on attitudes toward working women do not necessarily translate into meaningful East-West differences in terms of actual female labour force participation. |
| Keywords: | Female labour force participation, Gender, Attitudes toward work, Regional labour markets |
| JEL: | J16 J22 J23 N34 P25 P30 R23 |
| Date: | 2017–10–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jrp:jrpwrp:2017-015&r=hme |
| By: | ISHIKAWA Yoshifumi; NAKAMURA Ryohei |
| Abstract: | Various types of policies related to economic promotion and population growth have been implemented for regional revival. The economic effects of these policies are generally estimated using an intra-regional input-output model, and these policies are evaluated by indexes such as production, value added, and labor income. However, one major issue with the intra-regional model commonly used is how to endogenize private household consumption that can be linked to labor income. Labor income estimated by the conventional model is not the net regional income, but rather, the gross regional income. That is, the gross regional income is distributed to the other region due to interregional commuting, and some part of the consumption demand of households living in a region is allocated to the other region. Therefore, the conventional model may overestimate the economic effects of the own region. In this study, we developed an interregional input-output model with interregional commuting and consuming regions and considered a new method for analyzing the economic effects of such promotion policies for a small region. As an example, we analyzed the effects of some regional policies for Fuji City using this model and found that analysis using the conventional model overestimates the economic effects of Fuji City. |
| Date: | 2017–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:rdpsjp:17061&r=hme |