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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2018‒08‒20
23 papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Quentin Couix (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Despite his early contribution to the rise of mathematics in economics, Georgescu-Roegen's later methodological criticism of models has received little attention from historians and philosophers of economics. This paper attempts to fill this gap following two lines. First, I examine his explicitly methodological claims and connect them with related topics in economic methodology. Building on the distinction between dialectical and arithmomorphic concepts, I characterise his approach to theory-making as a three steps process of idealisation, isolation and arithmetisation. In this framework, models perform two functions, checking for logical consistency and facilitating understanding, which can be related to the idea of modelling as theorising. I then confront these general principles with Georgescu-Roegen's flow-fund model of production. I use the methodology as a reading grid of this theory, while examining its limits and complementary principles in practice. This shows a great deal of consistency, where idealisation provides conceptual foundations, isolation determines the relevant problems, and models are built according to structural consistency. The two functions of models are then illustrated by the logical derivation of older principles formulated by Babbage and Smith, and the understanding of the different organisational patterns of production. But some slightly different functions also appear when specific configurations of the model enable to check the conceptual consistency of other theories, or the understanding provided by the model contributes to the formation of new concepts. Hence, the consistency and the complementarity between Georgescu-Roegen's methodology and practice of theory-making provide interesting insights and a useful background for further investigations. |
| Abstract: | Malgré l'importante contribution de Georgescu-Roegen à l'économie mathématique, sa critique méthodologique ultérieure des modèles a reçu peu d'attention de la philosophie économique. Cet article comble ce vide en examinant en premier lieu sa méthodologie explicite et en la reliant à la littérature. Partant de la distinction entre les concepts dialectiques et arithmomorphiques, je caractérise son rapport à l'élaboration théorique comme un processus en trois étapes d'idéalisation, d'isolement et d'arithmétisation. Dans ce cadre, les modèles remplissent deux fonctions, de validation de la cohérence logique et de facilitation de la compréhension. Je confronte ensuite ces principes au modèle flux-fonds de production de Georgescu-Roegen. Sa méthodologie sert de grille de lecture de la théorie, qui révèle en retour limites et principes complémentaires. L'idéalisation fournit les fondements conceptuels, l'isolement délimite les problèmes pertinents, et la cohérence structurelle est rigoureusement respectée, tandis que les deux fonctions des modèles sont illustrées par la dérivation de principes antérieurs et la compréhension des modes d'organisation. Mais d'autres fonctions apparaissent : la validation de la cohérence conceptuelle et la contribution à la formation de nouveaux concepts. Par conséquent, la méthodologie de Georgescu-Roegen et sa pratique de la théorie fournissent un point de vue utile pour mieux comprendre sa pensée. |
| Keywords: | methodology,philosophy,models,flow-fund,production function,input-output,Georgescu-Roegen,méthodologie,philosophie,modèles,flux-fond,fonction de production,entrée-sortie,substitution |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-01854031&r=hme |
| By: | Feuerbacher, Arndt; Dukpa, Chencho; Grethe, Harald |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a 2012 Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for Bhutan with a detailed representation of the agricultural sector. Given the availability of extensive household, labour force and agricultural survey data as well as a large dataset of audited company reports, a bottom-up approach is applied to estimate the 2012 SAM, including the estimation of 2012 supply and use matrices. In case of missing data, the SAM relies on information from Bhutan’s 2007 supply and use table. The bottom-up approach allows for a detailed depiction of economic activities and their interlinkages with markets and institutions. The SAM consists of a total of 221 accounts, including 108 commodity, 52 activities, 31 factor and 16 household accounts. There are 14 agricultural and 5 postharvest activities producing 48 agricultural commodities. Agricultural commodities are differentiated by marketed and home-produced-home-consumed (HPHC) commodities to account for the large prevalence of subsistence farming in Bhutan and the differences in prices due to transportation and trade margins. Important features of farming systems and rural livelihoods in Bhutan such as the role of manure, bullock draught power, crop residues, community forestry and brewing of ara, a widely consumed local alcoholic beverage made of cereals, are depicted. Given the increasing importance of hydropower generation within Bhutan’s economy, the SAM also represents significant level of detail of the electricity generation sector and the input structure of energy intensive industries. The final SAM is estimated using an information-theoretic, cross-entropy approach. Taking a Bayesian perspective, uncertainties of cell entries’ prior values are set such that they reflect the availability and quality of data sources. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural and Food Policy, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies |
| Date: | 2017 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:huiawp:272932&r=hme |
| By: | Pascal Seppecher (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - USPC - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Isabelle Salle (Utrecht School of Economics - Utrecht University [Utrecht]); Marc Lavoie (CEPN - Centre d'Economie de l'Université Paris Nord - UP13 - Université Paris 13 - USPC - Université Sorbonne Paris Cité - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper studies coordination between firms in a multi-sectoral macroeconomic model with endogenous business cycles. Firms are both in competition and interdependent, and set their prices with a markup over unit costs. Markups are heterogeneous and evolve under market pressure. We observe a systematic coordination within firms in each sector, and between each sector. The resulting pattern of relative prices are consistent with the labor theory of value. Those emerging features are robust to technology shocks. |
| Keywords: | General interdependence, Pricing, Agent-based modeling |
| Date: | 2017–03–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01486597&r=hme |
| By: | Clement A. Tisdell |
| Abstract: | Provides a sketch of the development of the concept of bounded rationality in economic thought. The concept of rationality has several meanings. These different meanings are taken into account in considering the further development of economic thought. Different views of ecological rationality are critically examined in the light of these concepts. Whether or not various theories of behavioral economics can be classified as exhibiting bounded rationality is discussed. Satisficing behavior is commonly associated with bounded rationality but as demonstrated, it is not the only reason for adopting such behavior. The idea of some authors that optimization models under constraints are of little or no relevance to bounded rationality is rejected. Bounded rationality is an important contributor to the diversity of (economic) behaviors. This is stressed. Whether or not a behavior is rational depends to a considerable extent on the situation (the constraints) that decision-makers or actors face. The time-constraint is very important as an influence on the rationality of decisions. Aspects of this are covered. |
| Keywords: | Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2017–11–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:uqseet:264873&r=hme |
| By: | Asara, Viviana |
| Abstract: | The "movements of the squares" involved first and foremost an awakening or re-discovering of the radical imagination both in the square encampments, and in later projects created with the movements' decentralizations. The new alternative projects born after the square have materialized the movements' radical imaginaries in urban environments, extending and deepening concerns of broad political change over everyday life. Based on ethnographic work on the Indignados' movement in the city of Barcelona, this paper delves more particularly into three Indignant urban projects. It untangles three common and interlinked radical imaginaries both embodied and actualized in participants' social practices, and further orienting their future visions: commons, autonomy and ecologism. Scrutinizing their meaning, it also sheds light on connected issues such new ways of interfacing with local state authorities and redefining the boundaries between the public and the common. It shows that the ecologism imaginary cannot be properly grasped if disconnected from the other two imaginaries, and argues that a transformative eco-politics can only be claimed as such if it is able to articulate such an integrated vision typical of "socio-environmental movements". |
| Keywords: | Indignados, imaginary, movement of the squares, commons, autonomy, environment |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wus009:6431&r=hme |
| By: | Ozlem Omer (Middle East Technical University) |
| Abstract: | In this article, we demonstrate that a quantal response statistical equilibrium approach to the US housing market with the help of maximum entropy method of modeling is a powerful way of revealing di erent characteristics of the housing market behavior before, during and after the recent housing market crash in the US. In this line, a maximum entropy approach to quantal response statistical equilibrium model (QRSE), introduced by Scharfenaker and Foley (2017), is employed in order to model housing market dynamics in di erent phases of the most recent housing market cycle using the S&P Case Shiller housing price index for 20 largest- Metropolitan Regions, and Freddie Mac housing price index (FMHPI) for 367 Metropolitan Cities for the US between 2000 and 2015. Estimated model parameters provide an alternative way to understand and explain the behaviors of economic agents, and market dynamics by questioning the traditional economic theory, which takes assumption for the behavior of rational utility maximizing representative agent with self-ful lled expectations as given. |
| Keywords: | Housing Market Crash, Statistical Equilibrium, Quantal Response, Informational Entropy, Maximum Entropy Method |
| JEL: | C18 D89 D90 E30 G01 R39 |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:new:wpaper:1809&r=hme |
| By: | Vladimir Soloviev; Andrey Belinskiy |
| Abstract: | This article demonstrates the possibility of constructing indicators of critical and crisis phenomena in the volatile market of cryptocurrency. For this purpose, the methods of the theory of complex systems such as recurrent analysis of dynamic systems and the calculation of permutation entropy are used. It is shown that it is possible to construct dynamic measures of complexity, both recurrent and entropy, which behave in a proper way during actual pre-crisis periods. This fact is used to build predictors of crisis phenomena on the example of the main five crises recorded in the time series of the key cryptocurrency bitcoin, the effectiveness of the proposed indicators-precursors of crises has been identified. |
| Date: | 2018–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1807.05837&r=hme |
| By: | Victor H. Aguiar; Roland Pongou; Roberto Serrano; Jean-Baptiste Tondji |
| Abstract: | Aguiar et al. (2018) propose the Shapley distance as a measure of the extent to which output sharing among the stakeholders of an organization can be considered unfair. It measures the distance between an arbitrary pay profile and the Shapley pay profile under a given technology, the latter profile defining the fair distribution. We provide an axiomatic characterization of the Shapley distance, and show that it can be used to determine the outcome of an underlying bargaining process. We also present applications highlighting how favoritism in income distribution, egalitarianism, and taxation violate the different ideals of justice that define the Shapley value. The analysis has implications that can be tested using real-world data sets. |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bro:econwp:2018-9&r=hme |
| By: | Francesco Lamperti (Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM) - Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna [Pisa]); Andrea Roventini (OFCE - Observatoire Français des Conjonctures économiques - Institut d'Études Politiques [IEP] - Paris - Fondation Nationale des Sciences Politiques [FNSP], Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM) - Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna [Pisa]); Amir Sani (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Taking agent-based models (ABM) closer to the data is an open challenge. This paper explicitly tackles parameter space exploration and calibration of ABMs combining supervised machine-learning and intelligent sampling to build a surrogate meta-model. The proposed approach provides a fast and accurate approximation of model behaviour, dramatically reducing computation time. In that, our machine-learning surrogate facilitates large scale explorations of the parameter-space, while providing a powerful filter to gain insights into the complex functioning of agent-based models. The algorithm introduced in this paper merges model simulation and output analysis into a surrogate meta-model, which substantially ease ABM calibration. We successfully apply our approach to the Brock and Hommes (1998) asset pricing model and to the " Island " endogenous growth model (Fagiolo and Dosi, 2003). Performance is evaluated against a relatively large out-of-sample set of parameter combinations, while employing different user-defined statistical tests for output analysis. The results demonstrate the capacity of machine learning surrogates to facilitate fast and precise exploration of agent-based models' behaviour over their often rugged parameter spaces. |
| Keywords: | meta-model,agent based model,surrogate,calibration,machine learning |
| Date: | 2017–04–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-01499344&r=hme |
| By: | Walter Paternesi Meloni; Matteo Deleidi |
| Abstract: | Mature European countries have recently experienced a slackening in output growth and stagnating labour productivity, which may result both from poor ‘within sector’ growth and/or ‘structural change’. In this regard, the contribution of the paper is twofold. First, we assess the weight of ‘structural change’ versus ‘within sector’ growth in affecting overall productivity dynamics by means of a shift-share analysis. Second, we investigate the impact of demand factors on ‘within sector’ productivity growth by estimating the Kaldor-Verdoorn long-run coefficients in response to the dynamics of autonomous demand (1980-2015). We find that: (i) productivity growth is mainly driven by the ‘within sector effect’, with a relatively smaller role played by structural change; (ii) autonomous demand growth is relevant in determining productivity dynamics, especially in manufacturing. A major policy implication is that coordinated expansionary policies would matter for productivity growth in the EU, and at the same time contribute to sustain employment. |
| Keywords: | Structural Change; Tertiarisation; Shift-Share Analysis; Labour Productivity; Kaldor-Verdoorn Law. |
| JEL: | E24 L16 O47 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rtr:wpaper:0239&r=hme |
| By: | Carlos Eduardo Suprinyak (Cedeplar-UFMG) |
| Abstract: | Accounts of Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen’s career as an economist usually focus either on the brilliance of his pioneer contributions to mathematical economics during the 1930s, or more frequently, on his later conversion to a critical approach to economic theory anchored on the centrality of the entropy law in a dynamic setting. These two disparate moments, however, were connected by Georgescu-Roegen’s strong attraction to the study of the problems afflicting underdeveloped societies. This began with his work on the agricultural economy of his native Romania, produced under the auspices of Harvard’s Russian Research Center in the late 1940s. Thenceforth, he embarked on a journey that spawned his early interest in Leontief-type linear models, an extended tour of Southeast Asia commissioned by Vanderbilt University’s Graduate Program in Economic Development, and several visits to Brazil during the 1960s to assist in the development of academic economics in the country. The paper highlights these lesser-known aspects of Georgescu-Roegen’s intellectual trajectory, while using his case to illustrate some of the paths open for inquiry during the heyday of development economics. |
| Keywords: | Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, development economics, Vanderbilt University, economic programming, modernization. |
| JEL: | B31 B25 O10 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td584&r=hme |
| By: | Hynes, Stephen; Skoland, Kathrine; Ravagnan, Elisa; Gjerstad, Brita; Krøvel, Vatland Anne |
| Abstract: | Around the world, there is a growing emphasis on developing the aquaculture industry in an environmentally, economically and socially sustainable manner and this is the case also in Norway and Ireland. The impact of aquaculture on the environment is currently evaluated by the use of a set of indicators focusing mainly on physical and chemical parameters, while to date social acceptance has not been integrated fully into aquaculture sustainability evaluation. With this in mind, this paper examines the public attitudes of the Irish and Norwegian general public to marine aquaculture. Both countries have long coastlines, a significant aquaculture industry and a strong emphasis on public participation in decision-making. The results indicate that both the Norwegian and Irish public recognise the potential of aquaculture to create opportunities for employment in coastal areas but opinion is much more divided on some of the more controversial impacts of aquaculture on the marine environment. The results would also suggest that the Norwegian general public may be better informed on issues related to aquaculture development. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2017–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:semrui:266405&r=hme |
| By: | Giovanni Dosi; Marcelo C. Pereira; Andrea Roventini; Maria Enrica Virgillito |
| Abstract: | In this work we discuss the research findings from the labour-augmented Schumpeter meeting Keynes (K+S) agent-based model. It comprises comparative dynamics experiments on an artificial economy populated by heterogeneous, interacting agents, as workers, firms, banks and the government. The exercises are characterised by different degrees of labour flexibility, or by institutional shocks entailing labour market structural reforms, wherein the phenomenon of hysteresis is endogenous and pervasive. The K+S model constitutes a laboratory to evaluate the effects of new institutional arrangements as active/passive labour market policies, and fiscal austerity. In this perspective, the model allows mimicking many of the customary policy responses which the European Union and many Latin American countries have embraced in reaction to the recent economic crises. The obtained results seem to indicate, however, that most of the proposed policies are likely inadequate to tackle the short-term crises consequences, and even risk demoting the long-run economic prospects. More objectively, the conclusions offer a possible explanation to the negative path traversed by economies like Brazil, where many of the mentioned policies were applied in a short period, and hint about some risks ahead. |
| Keywords: | Labour market, Policy evaluation, Agent-based model |
| Date: | 2018–08–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2018/24&r=hme |
| By: | José M. Gaspar (ISEG, University of Lisbon. CPBS and CEGE, Universidade Católica Portuguesa. CEF.UP.) |
| Abstract: | This paper serves as an orientation towards the understanding of the theoretical limitations in New Economic Geography and seeks to provide a prospective assessment of new avenues of research along which the field could improve and develop. We identify many of the persistent features and assumptions which have thwarted the evolution of New Economic Geography and led to a sprawl of criticism within the field. This criticism has opened a discussion towards the identification of new possible directions, some of which are being progressively undertaken, while others raise issues that are difficult to overcome both analytically and empirically. |
| Keywords: | new economic geography; limitations; future research; |
| JEL: | R10 R12 R23 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:por:fepwps:605&r=hme |
| By: | Wolfgang Drechsler |
| Abstract: | The Reality and Diversity of Buddhist Economics (With Case Studies of Thailand, Bhutan and Yogyakarta) |
| Date: | 2016–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tth:wpaper:69&r=hme |
| By: | Sergei Belkov (University of Manchester); Igor V. Evstigneev (University of Manchester); Thorsten Hens (University of Zurich, Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration (NHH), and Swiss Finance Institute) |
| Abstract: | Evolutionary Finance focuses on questions of "survival and extinction" of investment strategies (portfolio rules) in the market selection process. It analyzes stochastic dynamics of financial markets in which asset prices are determined endogenously by a short-run equilibrium between supply and demand. Equilibrium is formed in each time period in the course of interaction of portfolio rules of competing market participants. A comprehensive theory of evolutionary dynamics of this kind has been developed for models in which short selling is not allowed and asset supply is exogenous. The present paper extends the theory to a class of models with short selling and endogenous asset supply. |
| Keywords: | Evolutionary finance, Survival portfolio rules, Random dynamical systems |
| JEL: | C73 D52 G11 |
| Date: | 2017–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp1726&r=hme |
| By: | Sánchez, Luis |
| Abstract: | Le changement climatique est l’un des plus grands défis du vingtet-unième siècle en raison de ses causes et conséquences mondiales et de l’ampleur des efforts coordonnés qui seront nécessaires pour limiter ses impacts négatifs, s’adapter aux nouvelles conditions climatiques et atténuer les émissions de gaz à effet de serre. Cette publication a pour objectif principal de fournir une présentation graphique concise des hypothèses de base et des données statistiques relatives à l’économie du changement climatique en Amérique latine et dans les Caraïbes. La présentation d’un éventail de faits stylisés prétend servir d’outil pour améliorer la conception, l’instrumentation et l’évaluation des politiques publiques du vingt et unième siècle axées sur la transformation du mode de développement actuel et la transition vers un modèle plus durable. En plus de l’avantpropos ci-dessus et de la présente introduction, cette étude explorera neuf thèses sur le changement climatique en Amérique latine et dans les Caraïbes, ainsi que sept des défis qui en découlent. |
| Keywords: | CAMBIO CLIMATICO, ASPECTOS ECONOMICOS, AGENDA 2030 PARA EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE, OBJETIVOS DE DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE, DESARROLLO ECONOMICO, MODELOS DE DESARROLLO, CONSUMO, AGRICULTURA, RECURSOS ENERGETICOS, INFRAESTRUCTURA FISICA, ZONAS URBANAS, RECURSOS HIDRICOS, BOSQUES, DIVERSIDAD BIOLOGICA, COSTAS, INDICADORES AMBIENTALES, GAS DE EFECTO INVERNADERO, INDICADORES ECONOMICOS, INDICADORES DEL DESARROLLO, ASPECTOS SOCIALES, CLIMATE CHANGE, ECONOMIC ASPECTS, 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, SOCIAL ASPECTS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DEVELOPMENT MODELS, CONSUMPTION, AGRICULTURE, ENERGY RESOURCES, PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE, URBAN AREAS, WATER RESOURCES, FORESTS, BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, COASTS, ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS, GREENHOUSE GASES, ECONOMIC INDICATORS, DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS |
| Date: | 2018–07–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ecr:col022:43785&r=hme |
| By: | Javier Rodríguez Weber (Programa de Historia Económica y Social, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República) |
| Abstract: | In recent years, a dense and fruitful debate on the history of inequality in Latin America has developed. The central points of the debate are: 1) the origin of Latin American inequality; 2) the role of the region’s colonial legacy; 3) whether the continent went through a period of “levelling” between 1930 and 1980; and 4) the sustainability of the recent trend towards inequality reduction. In this context, this paper has two main objectives. First, to evaluate the merits and empirical base of different positions under debate. Second, and most important, to offer a brief history of income inequality in Latin America based on the best evidence available. Thus, the paper presents an analytical narrative centered on the linkages between peripheral capitalism -to which Latin American economies moved in nineteenth century- and the institutional heritage, much of it of colonial origin. The main argument is that both changes and persistent features of inequality can be explained by the way in which the price cycles of exports interact with a political-institutional framework. |
| Keywords: | Inequality, Latin America, Institutions, History, Peripheral capitalism |
| JEL: | N36 O54 B52 |
| Date: | 2018–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ude:doctra:51&r=hme |
| By: | André Lapidus (PHARE - Pôle d'Histoire de l'Analyse et des Représentations Economiques - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper shows that Hume's theory of passion, such as elaborated mainly in book II of the Treatise of Human Nature (1739-40) and in the Dissertation on the Passions (1757), gives rise to a conception of the decision process which challenges the canonical approach to the rationality of decision, as rationality of preferences or rationality of choice. It shows that when adopting a Humean perspective, rationality is not embodied as consistency requirements of individual behaviour, but may emerge as a possible outcome of some dispositions of our mind, which make the world inhabited by our emotions. |
| Keywords: | Hume, economic philosophy, rationality, decision, passion,emotion, desire, preference, will, choice |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01831901&r=hme |
| By: | Fix, Blair |
| Abstract: | What accounts for the growth of US top income inequality? This paper proposes a hierarchical redistribution hypothesis. The idea is that US firms have systematically redistributed income to the top of the corporate hierarchy. I test this hypothesis using a large scale hierarchy model of the US private sector. My method is to vary the rate that income scales with hierarchical rank within modeled firms. I find that this model is able to reproduce four intercorrelated US trends: (1) the growth of the top 1% income share; (2) the growth of the CEO pay ratio; (3) the growth of the dividends share of national income; and (4) the "fattening" of the entire income distribution tail. This result supports the hierarchical redistribution hypothesis. It is also consistent with the available empirical evidence on within-firm income redistribution. |
| Keywords: | top income share,inequality,hierarchy,power,functional income distribution,personal income distribution |
| JEL: | B5 C5 D31 D33 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:capwps:201805&r=hme |
| By: | Rawa Nahhas (School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Canadian University Dubai, U.A.E. Author-2-Name: Author-2-Workplace-Name: Author-3-Name: Author-3-Workplace-Name: Author-4-Name: Author-4-Workplace-Name: Author-5-Name: Author-5-Workplace-Name: Author-6-Name: Author-6-Workplace-Name: Author-7-Name: Author-7-Workplace-Name: Author-8-Name: Author-8-Workplace-Name:) |
| Abstract: | "Objective – This paper pursues an approach of archaeological meditations into human achievement and its fruits; meditations in search of the possibility and the means of conditioning innovations in a manner that can harness these innovations to make "sustainable development" a reality that goes beyond mere "utopian dreams." The process seems like a feast for the thinking and inquiry: what do we do about the experienced paradox of the times: the abundant wealth of the scientific technological experience with its ever-evolving revolutions of innovation on one hand, and a plethora of deeply-rooted ever-increasing problems manifested in the issues of sustained development that challenge present creativity while pursuing the dream. Methodology/Technique – In this research, previous studies reviewed extensively. Findings – In conclusion, we intended our approach to be a feast for thinking based on the Aristotelian concept of ""the will to live together,"" in order to foster mature and responsible thinking methodologies. This can be possible when the philosophical mind comprehensively and radically tackles existing and future realities, in light of the present situation while contending with irresponsible practices, to achieve a transition from mental deficiency to maturity as a first step towards a productive system for human activity in general. Novelty – The study justifies that we intended our approach to be a feast for thinking based on the Aristotelian concept of ""the will to live together,"" to foster mature and responsible thinking methodologies." |
| Keywords: | Question is Power; Sustainable Development; Utopia; Socrates Dialogue; Innovation. |
| JEL: | B51 Z13 |
| Date: | 2017–07–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gtr:gatrjs:gjbssr493&r=hme |
| By: | Jesus Ferreiro; Carmen Gómez |
| Abstract: | For mainstream economics, rigidities in the labour market are the primary determinants of high and persistent long-term unemployment rates, leading to the need to reform labour market institutions and make them more flexible. Flexible labour markets would not only help to smooth normal business cycle fluctuations (implying a small impact of these fluctuations on employment and unemployment) but also to reduce the negative impacts on labour market of structural shocks. If we focus on the labour market performances in the European Union during the Great Recession, we can easily detect the existence of significant differences in the impact of this common structural shock on the domestic labour markets. For mainstream economics, the countries with the best results in terms of unemployment and employment would have been those that had a more flexible labour market at the beginning of the crisis and/or those having implemented reforms to increase this flexibility.The aim of this paper is to determine the validity of this argument, that is, whether labour reforms making the labour market more flexible effectively ensure macroeconomic stability by reducing the impact on the labour market of economic shocks. Using panel data techniques, we investigate whether, as mainstream studies argue, the evolution of employment and unemployment in the EU labour markets is explained, and to what extent, by the levels and changes registered in the indicators of employment protection legislation. Conversely, we examine whether, as heterodox and post-Keynesian studies suggest, this evolution is explained by the changes registered in economic activity (i.e., GDP growth). |
| Keywords: | employment, unemployment, Great Recession, employment protection |
| JEL: | C23 E24 J21 J64 J88 |
| Date: | 2018 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:imk:fmmpap:31-2018&r=hme |
| By: | Jaime Bonet-Morón (Banco de la República de Colombia); Yuri Reina-Aranza (Banco de la República de Colombia); Diana Ricciulli-Marin (Banco de la República de Colombia) |
| Abstract: | Desde mediados del siglo XX los movimientos sociales en Chocó y Buenaventura han sido la principal forma de reclamación por el rezago económico y social que experimentan estos territorios. En la mayoría de los casos las protestas han terminado con el compromiso del gobierno de realizar inversiones para superar las brechas. Sin embargo, las manifestaciones continúan, argumentadas en el incumplimiento o el poco avance de lo pactado. Ante esta situación han surgido dos visiones opuestas: la idea de un olvido estatal por parte de los habitantes y el uso ineficiente de los recursos existentes que sugiere el gobierno nacional. El principal objetivo de este documento es revisar la evidencia que permita examinar estas tesis. Los resultados muestran que, en efecto, los gobiernos nacionales y locales han ejecutado más recursos. Sin embargo, las necesidades de inversión que revelan los indicadores, y que coinciden con las peticiones de las protestas, superan en algunos casos los fondos disponibles. Mejorar la gestión pública local, a través de una mayor transparencia y calidad del gasto, podría ser una buena oportunidad para trabajar en la superación del rezago. **** ABSTRACT: Since the 1960s, social movements in Choco and Buenaventura have emerged to demand solutions for the region’s economic and social lag. In most cases, the population reaches an agreement with the government, where the latter compromises on specific investments to overcome the region’s lag. Despite the former, agreements aren’t totally fulfilled and protests continue. Hence, two opposing perspectives have emerged: the region’s inhabitants argue the government ignores their needs, while the national government claims an inefficient use of existing resources. The aim of this paper is to revise these arguments using available evidence. Results show that more resources have been executed in the region. However, investment needs, revealed both through indicators and protesters demands, surpass available funds in some cases. Improving public administration, through higher fiscal transparency and spending efficiency, might be a good opportunity to work on overcoming the region’s lag. Classification JEL: B55, O10, I38. |
| Keywords: | Movimientos sociales, desarrollo económico, litoral Pacífico colombiano, Social movements, economic development, Colombian Pacific Coast. |
| Date: | 2018–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bdr:region:270&r=hme |