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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2020‒05‒25
seven papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Eissler, Sarah; Sanou, Armande; Heckert, Jessica; Myers, Emily; Nignan, Safiatou; Thio, Elisabeth; Pitropia, Lucienne Amélie; Ganaba, Rasmané; Pedehombga, Abdoulaye; Gelli, Aulo |
| Abstract: | The SELEVER study is a five-year impact evaluation designed to address key knowledge gaps on the impact of a poultry value chain intervention on the diets, health, and nutritional status of women and children in Burkina Faso. This report uses qualitative methods to examine gendered participation in poultry value chains, the gendered opportunities and barriers experienced in poultry value chains, and the SELEVER program’s impact on these factors. A previous report (Eissler et al., 2020) based on the same fieldwork covered questions relating to local understandings of empowerment and dynamics of household food production and allocation. Six villages across five provinces were purposively selected for this study. Data were collected using multiple qualitative methods. In each village, we conducted four sex-disaggregated focus group discussions and semi-structured individual interviews with a man and a woman from two different households. Sex-disaggregated seasonal calendars were created for half of the villages. Interviews were also conducted with project service providers in each community, including group leaders (n=13), voluntary vaccinators (n=10), and poultry traders (n=6). A mix of inductive and deductive coding guided the thematic analysis of the data. The results indicate that while women in the study areas do engage in agricultural labor and various income-generating activities, they must prioritize their domestic responsibilities. Men are primarily responsible for providing staple food ingredients (e.g. grains or meat) for household consumption and earning the primary income, which often requires them to engage in seasonal migration. Men are increasingly aware of women’s time and unpaid labor burdens, and have started sharing in these tasks, a shift in which participants attribute to SELEVER. Additionally, we find that SELEVER has increased women’s capacity and opportunity to engage in poultry value chain activities while reducing barriers to their participation. SELEVER has trained selected women to practice as Village Volunteer Vaccinators (VVVs), which has enabled them to earn additional income. Notably, SELEVER has been effective in challenging and facilitating changing perceptions on traditional gender norms, such that men are increasingly supportive of their wives to engage in income-generating activities or activities outside of the household. Results highlight the importance of SELEVER’s engagement with men, as women’s ability to participate in activities outside of traditional gendered boundaries relies on their husbands’ permission. Without it, a woman cannot raise poultry, cultivate her own crops, practice as a VVV, or participate in women’s associations or income-generating activities. Despite evidence of success, barriers to women’s full participation persist. A lack of sufficient financial capital and autonomy in decision making limit women’s ability to improve upon and manage their poultry endeavors. A lack of financial capacity and time, limited freedom of movement, and restricting social norms further limit women’s ability to practice as service providers in the value chain. SELEVER can continue to address challenging social norms and focus on these more nuanced barriers women face in increasing their capacity for participation |
| Keywords: | BURKINA FASO; WEST AFRICA; AFRICA SOUTH OF SAHARA; AFRICA; nutrition; empowerment; gender; women; value chains; poultry; diet; health; nutrition-sensitive value chains; poultry value chains; poultry production; impact evaluation |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:ifprid:1928&r=all |
| By: | Naqvi, Natalya |
| Abstract: | After years of placing faith in the markets, we are seeing a revival of interest in statist economic policy across the world, particularly with regards to finance. How much policy space do previously liberalized developing countries still have to renationalize their financial sectors by exerting direct control over the process of credit allocation, despite the constraints posed by economic globalization? Under what conditions do they actually use this policy space? Bolivia is an especially important case because it is one of the few peripheral countries that implemented strongly interventionist financial reform in the 2010s. Using Bolivia as a least likely case, I argue that two factors, increased availability of external financing sources, and domestic popular mobilization, create favorable conditions for developmentalist financial reform because these make it possible to reduce external conditionalities and overcome opposition by the domestic financial sector. Popular mobilizations paved the way for reform by bringing developmentalist policymakers to power and exerting pressure on them to 1. Maximize policy space by diversifying into newly available alternative sources of foreign borrowing to reduce external conditionalities, and 2. Mitigate the importance of disinvestment threats by domestic economic elites by incrementally increasing public ownership and control of the economy. |
| Keywords: | business power; development; finance; Globalization; industrial policy; policy space |
| JEL: | F3 G3 |
| Date: | 2019–12–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:104232&r=all |
| By: | Naudé, Wim |
| Abstract: | Entrepreneurship in advanced economies is in decline. This comes as a surprise: many scholars have anticipated an upsurge in entrepreneurship, and expected an "entrepreneurial economy" to replace the post-WW2 "managed" economy. Instead of the "entrepreneurial economy" what has come into being may perhaps better be labelled the "ossified economy." This paper starts by document the decline. It then critically presents the current explanations offered in the literature. While having merit, these explanations are proximate and supply-side oriented. Given these shortcomings, this paper contributes a new perspective: it argues that negative scale effects from rising complexity, as well as long-run changes in aggregate demand due to inequality and rising energy costs, are also responsible. Implications for entrepreneurship scholarship are drawn. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship,start-ups,development,economic complexity,growth theory |
| JEL: | O47 O33 J24 E21 E25 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:539&r=all |
| By: | Bauermann, Tom |
| Abstract: | The persistently low and (partly) negative output growth in Germany in 2019 evoked memories of the recent global economic crisis and, by this, sparked debates about measures to counter the growing number of unemployed, for example changing the generosity of unemployment benefits (UB) and short-time work. This paper aims to contribute to the theoretical literature of policy responses to recessions by analyzing three prominent instruments: a) a permanent (simultaneous) reduction of unemployment benefits and increasing search efforts, b) a fiscal stimulus and c) short-time work. In contrast to other studies that use, e.g., search (and matching) models, I build an agent-based macroeconomic model (ABM). Using an ABM allows me to analyze the macro- and microeconomic effects of such policies as well as their interplay. Further, I can analyze the effects from the heterogeneity of agents. I find four main results: 1) a) has nearly no effect on unemployment in the short run and its effects are limited in the long run. This is contrary to the canonical search and matching models, even though the policy reveals the same 'desired' effects, e.g. shorter unemployment spells. Nevertheless, it confirms recent research on the topic. 2) However, contrary policies, i.e. increasing the unemployment benefits, do not improve the situation either. Unemployment rather increases in the long run. 3) In comparison to a), policies b) and c) can dampen unemployment in the short run. 4) In contrast to representative agent (equilibrium) models, I can show that short-time work supports the economic recovery through demand stabilization and distributive effects among heterogeneous firms. Especially, the distributive effects of short-time work have not been shown in other papers so far. |
| Keywords: | Agent-based model,governmental policy responses,macroeconomics,recession,unemployment |
| JEL: | E12 E24 C63 E32 H12 |
| Date: | 2020 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:rwirep:847&r=all |
| By: | Lilit Popoyan (Institute of Economics (LEM), Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa (Italy)); Mauro Napoletano (Sciences Po-OFCE, and SKEMA Business School); Andrea Roventini (EMbeDS and Institute of Economics (LEM)) |
| Abstract: | We develop a macroeconomic agent-based model to study how financial instability can emerge from the co-evolution of interbank and credit markets and the policy responses to mitigate its impact on the real economy. The model is populated by heterogenous firms, consumers, and banks that locally interact in different markets. In particular, banks provide credit to firms according to a Basel II or III macro-prudential frameworks and manage their liquidity in the interbank market. The Central Bank performs monetary policy according to different types of Taylor rules. We find that the model endogenously generates market freezes in the interbank market which interact with the financial accelerator possibly leading to firm bankruptcies, banking crises and the emergence of deep downturns. This requires the timely intervention of the Central Bank as a liquidity lender of last resort. Moreover, we find that the joint adoption of a three mandate Taylor rule tackling credit growth and the Basel III macro-prudential frame-work is the best policy mix to stabilize financial and real economic dynamics. However, as the Liquidity Coverage Ratio spurs financial instability by increasing the pro-cyclicality of banks’ liquid reserves, a new counter-cyclical liquidity buffer should be added to Basel III to improve its performance further. Finally, we find that the Central Bank can also dampen financial in- stability by employing a new unconventional monetary-policy tool involving active management of the interest-rate corridor in the interbank market. |
| Keywords: | Financial instability; interbank market freezes; monetary policy; macro-prudential policy; Basel III regulation; Tinbergen principle; agent-based models. |
| JEL: | C63 E52 E6 G01 G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2020–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fce:doctra:2014&r=all |
| By: | Angela Cristina Marques Salgueiro (UFMG - Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais [Belo Horizonte]); Jean-Luc Moriceau (LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School, DEFI - Département Droit, Economie et Finances - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - TEM - Télécom Ecole de Management - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School) |
| Abstract: | L'objectif de cet article est de réfléchir à propos des concepts que nous permettent de lire dans l'œuvre de Lévinas une éthique de la communication qui prend à revers bien de nos habitudes de pensée. Elle vise une relation sans relation, qui ne cherche pas l'entente mutuelle, qui ne présuppose pas une position d'égalité. Elle ne se produit pas entre deux êtres humains dans le temps mais donne à être, produit le temps d'une manière singulière et confère humanité. Quand on aborde la politique, son éthique de la communication est la mieux forme d'accueillir le vulnérable contre les principes d'universalité. |
| Abstract: | O objetivo deste artigo é refletir acerca dos elementos conceituais que nos permitem ler na obra de Lévinas uma ética da comunicação que se constitui de modo contrário a muitos de nossos hábitos de pensamento. Ela visa uma relação sem relação, que não busca o entendimento mútuo, que não pressupõe uma posição de igualdade. Quando se trata de política, sua ética da comunicação é, sem dúvida, a mais capaz de acolher a alteridade, os vulneráveis e os fracos, e não se baseia em princípios instituídos a priori e dos quais podemos sempre desafiar a universalidade. |
| Keywords: | Communication,Éthique,Visage,Justice,Altérité,Rosto,Ética,Comunicação,Justiça,Alteridade |
| Date: | 2020–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02546866&r=all |
| By: | Christophe Darmangeat (SOPHIAPOL - Sociologie, philosophie et anthropologie politiques - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre, LADYSS - Laboratoire Dynamiques Sociales et Recomposition des Espaces - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UP1 - Université Panthéon-Sorbonne - UP8 - Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - UPD7 - Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7) |
| Abstract: | We are building a database dealing with 240 societies in order to evaluate the relationships between storage, slavery and payments. As a whole, the results confirm Alain Testart's statements. Payments stand as an overall reliable indication of the presence of wealth and exploitation; with very few rare exceptions, slavery is identified within this set of societies. In a materialistic perspective, we locate the technical-economical origin of payments not only in food storage but, more widely, in the production of movable and durable goods whose manufacturing require a large amount of work ("W goods"). |
| Abstract: | On construit une base de données portant sur 240 sociétés afin de tester les relations entre stockage, esclavage et paiements. Les résultats confirment globalement les propositions d'Alain Testart. Les paiements constituent un indice globalement sûr de la présence de la richesse et de l'exploitation et, à de très rares exceptions près, c'est au sein de cet ensemble social que se rencontre l'esclavage. Dans une perspective matérialiste, l'origine techno-économique des paiements doit toutefois être située, au-delà du seul stockage alimentaire, plus largement dans la production de biens meubles, durables et nécessitant une importante quantité de travail. |
| Keywords: | storage,inequalities,marxisme,social anthropology,Marxism,marriage payments,stockage,anthropologie sociale,compensation matrimoniale,exploitation,inégalités |
| Date: | 2018–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-02547193&r=all |