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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2018‒05‒21
twenty-two papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Gaygysyz Ashyrov; Tiiu Paas; Maryna Tverdostup |
| Abstract: | The paper focuses on examining the role of blue industries in the national economies of Estonia and Finland as two neighbouring countries that have a sea border. We exploit the Input-Output (I-O) methodology to analyse inter-industry linkages relying on the OECD I-O tables. The OECD database comprises information on 34 sectors of the national economy over the period 1995–2011. The results of the analysis show that despite rather weak overall backward and forward linkages of aggregated blue industries within the national economies, they play a remarkable role in the economic activities of maritime regions, and to a large extent drive the economic success of Estonian and Finnish regional and national economies in generating new growth and employment. The weak backward and forward linkages indicate that negative dynamics within the blue economy yield rather weak negative externalities for the overall economy, and by contrast, if the national economy as a whole is suffering under a crisis, the potential impact on industries is not particularly remarkable. These findings suggest that blue industries are relatively independent within national economies having a remarkable role in socio-economic development of maritime regions, and thereby, create good preconditions for the stable development of cross-border cooperation between the maritime regions of both countries. |
| Keywords: | marine industries, blue economy, Finland, Estonia, Input-Output tables analysis, cross-border cooperation |
| JEL: | C67 Q22 Q25 Q28 Q51 R15 O52 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mtk:febawb:109&r=hme |
| By: | Hiroshi Onishi (Faculty of Economics, Keio University) |
| Abstract: | Revolutions, typical cases of crucial social transformations, cannot be realized successfully without a large number of activists. Therefore, creating conditions favorable for acquiring enough participants should be an important topic of Marxist social science. In particular, this problem includes the "free-ride," because the benefits of revolutionaries' activities are gained not only by the activists but also by all other members. The paper analyzes problems such as this one, applying non-cooperative game theory to social dilemma problems. This leads to some interesting results. In this research, the problem of the workers' choice between unity or freeride is first defined using numerical examples of the gain structure. It is defined again in a more generalized form using other parameters. In so doing, we express both the cost of participating in the movement and the gains from the concession of the ruling class. Because this analysis focuses on the importance of the number of participants, the concession of the ruling class is framed as a function of the number of participants. The results of this analysis revealed that the economic foundation and superstructure accurately correspond in some game structures but not in others. In other words, the social dilemma presents either as a case of prisoners' dilemma or as a chicken game. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the influence of group size, and it was revealed that groups with a large number of members, such as a ruling class, find it particularly difficult to unite. This phenomenon is called the "large group dilemma." In these ways, this research shows that the aforementioned type of game theory can be used to analyze the difficulties and possibilities of social movements. |
| Keywords: | revolution, historical materialism, social dilemma, large group, chicken game |
| JEL: | B14 C72 D74 P16 |
| Date: | 2018–04–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:keo:dpaper:2018-006&r=hme |
| By: | Michalis Nikiforos |
| Abstract: | The paper discusses the Sraffian supermultiplier (SSM) approach to growth and distribution. It makes five points. First, in the short run the role of autonomous expenditure can be appreciated within a standard post-Keynesian framework (Kaleckian, Kaldorian, Robinsonian, etc.). Second, and related to the first, the SSM model is a model of the long run and has to be evaluated as such. Third, in the long run, one way that capacity adjusts to demand is through an endogenous adjustment of the rate of utilization. Fourth, the SSM model is a peculiar way to reach what Garegnani called the "Second Keynesian Position." Although it respects the letter of the "Keynesian hypothesis," it makes investment quasi-endogenous and subjects it to the growth of autonomous expenditure. Fifth, in the long run it is unlikely that "autonomous expenditure" is really autonomous. From a stock-flow consistent point of view, this implies unrealistic adjustments after periods of changes in stock-flow ratios. Moreover, if we were to take this kind of adjustment at face value, there would be no space for Minskyan financial cycles. This also creates serious problems for the empirical validation of the model. |
| Keywords: | Sraffian Supermultiplier; Long Run; Utilization; Autonomous Demand |
| JEL: | B22 B5 E12 E32 O4 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_907&r=hme |
| By: | Robert E. Hall |
| Abstract: | The markup of price over marginal cost reveals market power. The distinction between marginal and average cost is key. Average cost is easy to measure, but the price/average cost ratio understates the price/marginal cost ratio when fixed costs are present. In particular, in free-entry equilibrium, where revenue equals cost, the price/average cost ratio is always one, while the price/marginal cost ratio may be above one. The idea here is to calculate marginal cost as the ratio of the adjusted expenditure on inputs to the adjusted change in output. The first adjustment is to remove the change in expenditure that arises from the changes in input costs. The second adjustment is to remove the change in output attributed to productivity growth. Application to KLEMS productivity data finds a typical markup ratio of 1.3. Markup ratios grew between 1988 and 2015. For mega-firms, the paper uses employment at firms with 10,000+ workers. Substantial heterogeneity occurs across sectors and in growth rates. There is no evidence that mega-firm-intensive sectors have higher price/marginal cost markups, but some evidence that markups grew in sectors with rising mega-firm intensity. |
| JEL: | D24 L1 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24574&r=hme |
| By: | Jean-Luc Gaffard (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques); Mauro Napoletano (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques); Andrea Roventini (Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM)) |
| Abstract: | The authors build a simple agent-based model populated by households with heterogenous and time-varying financial conditions in order to study how fiscal multipliers can change over the business cycle and are affected by the state of credit markets. They find that deficit-spending fiscal policy dampens the effect of bankruptcy shocks and lowers their persistence. Moreover, the size and dynamics of government spending multipliers are related to the degree and persistence of credit rationing in the economy. On the contrary, in presence of balanced-budget rules, output permanently falls below pre-shock levels and the ensuing multipliers fall below one and are much lower than the ones emerging from the deficit-spending policy. Finally, the authors show that different conditions in the credit market significantly affect the size and the evolution of fiscal multipliers |
| JEL: | E63 E21 C63 |
| Date: | 2017–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/2d0r8783s48d1bllkeldav8hqp&r=hme |
| By: | Parlow, Anton |
| Abstract: | Increasing female landownership or labor force participation are policies designed to empower women in developing countries. Yet, societies are diverse and I find that across language and ethnic groups not all Pakistani women benefit from these increased economic opportunities in their decision making. I even find negative impacts of labor force participation on empowerment for some groups. This can be explained by different gender expectations along these gendered institutions. |
| Keywords: | Women's Empowerment, Ethnicity, Identity |
| JEL: | J0 J01 O12 |
| Date: | 2018–04–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:86367&r=hme |
| By: | Fanti, Lucrezia |
| Abstract: | This paper introduces the classical idea about the so-called directed and induced technical change (ITC) within a Keynesian demand-side and evolutionary endogenous growth model in order to analyze the interplay among technical change, long-run economic growth and functional income distribution. An ITC process is analyzed within an Agent-Based Stock-Flow Consistent (AB-SFC) model, wherein credit-constrained heterogeneous firms choose both the intensity and the direction of the innovation towards a labor- or capital-saving choice of technique. In the long-run, the model reproduces the so-called Kaldor stylized facts (i.e. with a purely labor-saving technical change), however during the transitional phase the model shows a labor-saving/capital-using innovation pattern, as the aggregate output-capital ratio decreases until it stabilizes in the long-run, as well as declining labor share for long time periods and we can ascribe these evidences mainly to the directed technical change process. In order to stress the effective role of the innovation bias on the model dynamics, we compare the baseline scenario with a counterfactual scenario wherein a neutral technical progress is at work. |
| Keywords: | Agent-Based Macroeconomics; Stock-Flow Consistent Models; Induced Technical Change; Directed Innovation; Choice of Techniques; Labor Share; Growth and Distribution. |
| JEL: | E24 E25 O33 O41 |
| Date: | 2018–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:86645&r=hme |
| By: | Guendalina Anzolin (PHD Candidate, Department of Economics, Society & Politics, Università di Urbino "Carlo Bo") |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to engage in the contemporary debate around the opportunity to diversify and upgrade a country’s economic system through the contribution of natural resource sectors. Adopting a revisitation of Hirschman’s linkage theory, the analysis looks at mining arguing that the outsourcing process changed the dynamics of the sector, which is now characterised by the promotion of high-level technology and innovation. By focusing on the Brazilian mining sector, the development of consumption and backward linkages is examined in relation to the S11D iron ore project. The specificity of the case presents an in-depth analysis, permitting a caseby-case, one size-does-not-fit-‐all evaluation approach, which is crucial in formulating appropriate policy solutions to problems facing developing economies. It is argued that, overall, mining had a positive impact on the region where it operates, with strong consumption linkages. Nonetheless, due to an absent formal public policy, while backward linkages related to innovation and knowledge services are well--‐‐developed and very often at the technological frontier, the ones related to capital goods are weak and in the hands of foreigner subsidiaries |
| Keywords: | industrial policy, structural change, natural resources, value-chain |
| JEL: | O14 O25 Q32 F21 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:urb:wpaper:18_04&r=hme |
| By: | Eduardo A. Haddad; Natalia Q. Cotarelli, Thiago C. Simonato, Vinicius A. Vale; Jaqueline C. Vicentin |
| Abstract: | The aim of this paper is to describe in details the process of estimation of two interregional input-output systems for Greece, for the years 2010 and 2013. Further understanding of the changing structure of the Greek regional economies during the crisis, within an integrated interregional system, is one of the main goals of a broader project underway at the University of São Paulo Regional and Urban Economics Lab (NEREUS). With this paper, we make available not only the details of the methodological procedures adopted to generate the interregional systems, but also the database itself to be used by other researchers and practitioners. |
| Keywords: | Interregional input-output; methodology; data; Greece |
| JEL: | C67 D57 R15 |
| Date: | 2018–05–14 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2018wpecon07&r=hme |
| By: | Berthold Herrendorf; Richard Rogerson; Ákos Valentinyi |
| Abstract: | Existing models of structural change typically assume that all of investment is produced in manufacturing. This assumption is strongly counterfactual: in the postwar US, the share of services value added in investment expenditure has been steadily growing and it now exceeds 0.5. We build a new model, which takes a unified approach to structural change in investment and consumption. Our unified approach leads to three new insights: technological change is endogenously investment specific; having constant TFP growth in all sectors is inconsistent with structural change and aggregate balanced growth occurring jointly; the sector with the slowest TFP growth absorbs all resources asymptotically. We also provide empirical support from the postwar US for the first and third insight. |
| JEL: | O11 O14 |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:24568&r=hme |
| By: | Spenser Robinson; Robert Simons; Eunkyu Lee |
| Abstract: | This paper reports on the development and potential implementation of a new green office building rating index. It is intended to provide a market-driven green scoring for US office buildings that includes buildings below the level of LEED. The index data are drawn from demand-side data from tenant surveys for individual green office buildings features and from supply-side data from hedonic analysis of rent rolls. The index also includes qualitative input from institutional industry leaders on how it could be useful to them in practice in market their somewhat green office space to potential tenants. This paper details the development and first steps towards implementation of the scoring system. A variety of proposed models, including some that separate out LEED and non-LEED buildings, are analyzed, discussed, and optimized, and tested on a captive sample of 198 US office buildings. A reasonable model shows that about one-third of the non-LEED buildings score higher on this scoring system than lower-scoring LEED buildings. This indicates a market may be present for this type of index. |
| Keywords: | Green; LEed; Office; Sustainability; Sustainable Real Estate |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2017–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2017_15&r=hme |
| By: | Anna Carolina Machado (IPC-IG); Charlotte Bilo (IPC-IG); Imane Helmy (IPC-IG) |
| Abstract: | "Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam and can be understood as a form of religious duty, purifying one's wealth and at the same time functioning as a means to redistribute wealth to those in need. In Arabic, zakat means, among others, growth and purity (Dean and Khan 1997). In Muslim-majority countries, it has a long tradition of providing income, goods for consumption and other basic services such as health care and education to poor and marginalised populations. A growing body of research has investigated the role of zakat in the provision of social protection?understood here as income and in-kind transfers with the aim of protecting vulnerable people against risks?and its importance as a poverty reduction mechanism (see Ali 2014; Hassan 2010; Hassanain and Saaid 2016; Ibrahim and Ghazali 2014). Although much of the criticism of zakat institutions evolves around their lack of coordination, efficiency and transparency (Johari, Ali, and Aziz 2015), zakat has several advantages when it comes to assisting poor people. In countries where the State provides limited social protection?due to ongoing conflicts, for example?zakat can play a crucial role in providing support to those in need". (...) |
| Keywords: | Role, zakat, provision, social protection, comparison, Jordan, Palestine, Sudan |
| Date: | 2018–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipc:wpaper:168&r=hme |
| By: | Veldman, Jeroen |
| Abstract: | To engage with inequality, I explore how corporate governance theory is based on inherently contingent ideas of the legal and organizational structuring of the modern public corporation in a corporate ‘architecture’, and how these contingent ideas affect the distribution of privileges, protections and proceeds to different types of actors. I argue that the currently dominant corporate governance theory ignores a specific corporate architecture that provided internal and external legitimacy to the modern public corporation by embedding a set of trade-offs between constituent groups and cementing those trade- offs into a broader institutional setting. Ignoring this architecture leads to the redirection of the privileges and protections embodied in the modern corporation to the exclusive benefit of an implicit coalition of market value-oriented shareholders and managers, while the risks to all other actors, interests and timeframes are relegated to the status of ‘externalities’. I explore how a focus on contingent conceptions of the modern corporation and of corporate governance provides an organizational-level explanation for growing inequality with which existing sectoral and state-centric approaches and means for engagement can be complemented. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, Corporation, Corporate governance, Corporate architecture, Oligopoly, Political economy |
| JEL: | B0 K0 L13 L22 L40 M10 |
| Date: | 2018–04–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:86644&r=hme |
| By: | Christoph Aymanns; J. Doyne Farmer; Alissa M. Keinniejenhuis; Thom Wetzer |
| Abstract: | This paper reviews the literature on heterogeneous agent models of financial stability and their application in stress tests. We open with the observation that the financial system is a complex system, which heterogeneous agent models are well-suited to analyze. The paper then proceeds in two parts. In the first part, we discuss the fundamental drivers of systemic risk in financial systems, and set out how our understanding of them can be informed by heterogeneous agent models. We focus on models of systemic risk resulting from leverage constraints and models of financial contagion due to interconnectedness. In the second part of this review, we discuss how the conceptual insights from leverage and contagion models can be combined to model and understand systemic risk more broadly and to build robust and data-driven stress tests. |
| Keywords: | social learning, networks, multi-agent deep reinforcement learning |
| Date: | 2017–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:sfwpfi:2018:05&r=hme |
| By: | Frédéric Gannon; Vincent Touze (Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques) |
| Abstract: | Si la réduction des taux de mortalité est une bonne nouvelle, le vieillissement qu’elle induit est souvent source d’inquiétude. En effet,pour beaucoup de seniors, l’idée d’atteindre un âge élevé est aussi synonyme d’un risque accru de dégradation de la qualité de vie en raison d’une perte d’autonomie et d’entrée en dépendance .La dépendance et la perte d’autonomie renvoient à des états particuliers : La dépendance est l’impossibilité partielle ou totale pour une personne d’effectuer sans aide les activités de la vie, qu’elles soient physiques, psychiques ou sociales ; et donc de s’adapter à son environnement. L’autonomie, elle, est définie par la capacité à se gouverner soi-même (possibilité d’aides permettant l’autonomie)1. (introd.) |
| Keywords: | Vieillissement; Troisièpme âge |
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/1pdf8o07lb8qcrrbboliequpu0&r=hme |
| By: | Elif Alkay; Craig Watkins |
| Abstract: | There have been extensive rearrangement of the Turkish planning system in terms of both institutional restructuring and reform of planning laws between 2000-2014. Planning reforms have emerged a recentralized planning system that remarkably differs from the period of 1985-200, which adopted decentralization of planning authorities. New regulations basically provide the basis for government institutions to be more influential in urban development processes, and strengthen the power of the role of some municipalities in planning whilst defenestrating others. In this paper, the prospective impacts of the new planning system on housing development are discussed. The discussion of the new planning system from the housing development perspective is based on documentary analysis and semi-structured interviews. The interviewee sample includes two main groups: the first group involves planning authorities and the second group involves market actors in housing development sector. This system-wide discussion aims to reflect policy-makers, governmental decision-makers and market actors’ perspectives on the housing development views on the new planning system beyond and the opportunities and/or conflicts that arise. |
| Keywords: | Housing; Market; planning regime; planning regulation; Policy |
| JEL: | R3 |
| Date: | 2017–07–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arz:wpaper:eres2017_268&r=hme |
| By: | Donald Tomaskovic-Devey (UMAassAmherst); Olivier Godechot (Observatoire sociologique du changement) |
| Abstract: | The international Comparative Organizational Inequality Network (COIN) asks: • What factors drive overall income inequality within and between workplaces? • How do workplaces exacerbate or mitigate the impact of individual distinctions, such as education level, gender, or immigrant status? • How do inequality-generating mechanisms vary as a function of institutional context? |
| Keywords: | Inequality; Incomes; Firms; Wages; Segregation at work; Workplaces |
| Date: | 2017–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/4v6p1gq4sh92k9v7sj8ivc6eq3&r=hme |
| By: | Alena Fomina (Central Research Institute of Economy Management and Information Systems "Electronics"); Oksana Berduygina (Tyumen Industrial University); Alexander Shatsky (Russian State Social University) |
| Abstract: | The stability of economic development is determined by the features of the network structure in collaborative engagement of enterprises. Industrial cooperation is just one part of that process; it differs in spatial coverage and range of activity. The complexity of taking into account the synergistic effect that arises in this case stresses the importance of this question from the theoretical and practical points of view. For this purpose, the paper considers the essence of industrial cooperation, some approaches to agglomerative tendencies and conceptual visions of cooperation from the standpoint of institutional theory. The investigation of the influence of cooperation on economic growth is based on several hypotheses. The first one is about the positive correlation between the studied parameters; the second one is about the fact that protection of institutional property rights is an important factor in cooperation development. These theories have been studied within the frame of loglinear model using the table of data about 20 European countries for the forecast period of 2017-2021. The results show that the mature system of industrial cooperation allows providing an additional economic growth at the level of 2.3-3.0%. It is also important to conclude that cooperation enhances the factor impact of the usual determinants of economic growth (working labor, capital and export). The model also takes into account some other possible determinants of economic growth such as expenses on research and development, use of a right of intellectual property and the Index of Economic Freedom. At the same time, a lax regulation in the sphere of property rights protection can become an incentive for co-operators. These and some other provisions determine the ways of enhancing of activity of enterprises for their close collaboration; it is emphasized that the development of co-operational relations has a great impact on competitiveness and sustainability. |
| Keywords: | sustainable economic growth,industrial cooperation,determinants of economic growth,integrated entities,effects of cooperation |
| Date: | 2018–03–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01773578&r=hme |
| By: | Denise Trebes |
| Abstract: | Zusammenfassung (deutsch): Die Klimaerwärmung schreitet unaufhörlich voran, so dass eine Regulierung der Treibhausgasemissionen großer Industriezweige unerlässlich ist. Einer der größten Verursacher von CO2-Emissionen ist der Transportsektor. Für den Flugsektor hat die ICAO daher eine globale marktbasierte Maßnahme, namens CORSIA beschlossen. Dabei handelt es sich um einen Offsetting-Mechanismus, mit dem die Emissionen des Flugsektors mit Hilfe von Zertifikaten aus umweltfreundlichen Projekten ausgeglichen werden sollen. Ziel CORSIAs ist es, ein kohlenstoffneutrales Wachstum ab 2020 zu gewährleisten und damit zu einer Emissionsreduktion beizutragen. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit war es, den Beschluss und die Effektivität von ICAOs marktbasierter Maßnahme zu analysieren. Die Untersuchungen haben ergeben, dass die derzeitige Ausgestaltung CORSIAs vermutlich nicht ausreichend ist, um eine Vereinbarkeit mit dem 1,5 Grad Ziel des Pariser Abkommens zu gewährleisten. Ursache hierfür sind im Wesentlichen die zu schwachen Regelungen des Offsetting-Systems. Dazu zählen die einseitige Betrachtung von ausschließlich CO2-Emissionen, die zahlreichen Ausnahmen von Nationen sowie der Zeithorizont CORSIAs, da die Maßnahme erst 2021 mit einer freiwilligen Phase beginnt. Abstract (english): The climate change is progressing incessantly. Hence, the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from large industrial sectors is indispensable. One of the main sources of carbon dioxide emissions is the transport sector. For aviation ICAO therefore adopted a global market-based measure called CORSIA. This offsetting mechanism will be used to offset emissions from the aviation sector with the help of certificates from environmental projects. The aim of CORSIA is to ensure carbon-neutral growth from 2020 onwards and thus contribute to a reduction in emissions. The aim of this work was to analyze the decision and effectiveness of ICAO’s market-based measure. The investigations have shown that the current design of CORSIA is probably not sufficient to ensure compatibility with the 1.5 degree objective of the Paris Convention. This is mainly because of the weak regulation of the offsetting system. These include the one-sided view of solely carbon dioxide emissions, the numerous exemptions of nations and the time horizon of CORSIA, since the measure begins with a voluntary phase in 2021. |
| Date: | 2017–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:euv:dpaper:27&r=hme |
| By: | Michaela Slotwinski; Alois Stutzer |
| Abstract: | The role of women in Western societies changed dramatically in the 20th century. We study how political empowerment affected women’s emancipation as reflected in their life choices like marital decisions and labor market participation. The staggered introduction of female suffrage in Swiss states allows us to exploit the variation in the age women experienced enfranchisement to estimate the differences in life choices between women who were socialized in a world where women had a formal say in politics and those who were mainly socialized before. Our empirical findings document that political empowerment strongly increased female labor force participation, weakened marital bonds and motivated human capital investment. Moreover, being socialized with female suffrage increased long-term voting participation and perceptions of control. Our evidence suggests that changes in formal political institutions hold the power to change norms. |
| Keywords: | female suffrage, voting rights, institutions, norms, female labor force participation, marital choices, voting participation, efficacy |
| JEL: | D02 D72 J12 J16 J22 J24 Z13 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_7002&r=hme |
| By: | Ruggie, John Gerard (Harvard University) |
| Abstract: | The United Nations Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in June 2011. To date, they constitute the only official guidance the Council and its predecessor, the Commission on Human Rights, have issued for states and business enterprises on their respective obligations in relation to business and human rights. And it was the first time that either body had “endorsed†a normative text on any subject that governments did not negotiate themselves. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, describes the UNGPs as “the global authoritative standard, providing a blueprint for the steps all states and businesses should take to uphold human rights.†According to Arvind Ganesan, who directs business and human rights at Human Rights Watch, as recently as the late 1990s “there was no recognition that companies had human rights responsibilities.†Needless to say, many factors contributed to this shift, particularly escalating pressure from civil society and adversely affected populations. But in terms of putting a global standard in place, The Economist Intelligence Unit has judged Council endorsement of the UNGPs to be the “watershed event.†|
| Date: | 2017–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecl:harjfk:rwp17-030&r=hme |
| By: | Judit Juhász (University of Szeged); Zoltán Bajmócy (University of Szeged); György Málovics (University of Szeged); Judit Gébert (University of Szeged) |
| Abstract: | The capability approach of Amartya Sen focuses on the freedom of individuals, their real opportunity to lead a life they have a reason to value. Within this framework poverty is not solely the lack of material goods, but the lack of valuable doings and beings one has the freedom to choose. The objective of present paper was to propose a minimum set of aspects to be considered by poverty alleviation initiatives on the basis of the capability approach; and to test this framework through a qualitative empirical analysis carried out in Hungary. The paper analyzed how were the proposed aspects of poverty alleviation reflected by various stakeholders of poverty reduction initiatives (decision makers, experts and civil activists). It first examined the general thinking of stakeholders about poverty, then it analyzed their opinion about a planned housing project for disadvantaged people in Szeged, Hungary. According to the results, the general thinking of stakeholders about poverty was in harmony with the aspects we proposed on the basis of the capability approach. However, stakeholders’ focus of attention shifted when they evaluated a given case instead of just thinking generally about poverty. |
| Keywords: | Poverty Alleviation, Capability Approach, Relation of Economics to Social Values, Human Development, International Linkages to Development |
| Date: | 2018–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:smo:tpaper:003&r=hme |