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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2022‒06‒13
fourteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Zdravka Todorova |
| Abstract: | The article discusses commitment to full employment in light of institutional theory and offers a renewed examination of Keynes’s "socialization of investment" concept. The discussion builds on Veblen's theory of human development, predation, and capitalism. It highlights contemporary institutional inquiry in a discussion of ongoing issues of care and social disparities. Based on this, the article formulates problems for a broader inquiry about socialization of investment. The article provides insights about Job Guarantee based on original institutional economics concepts. |
| Keywords: | job guarantee, care systems, Feminist Post Keynesian-Institutional economics, social stratification, socialization of investment, Modern Money Theory and institutions |
| JEL: | B52 B54 E12 P16 Z18 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pke:wpaper:pkwp2216&r= |
| By: | Vanessa Oltra (BSE - Bordeaux Sciences Economiques - UB - Université de Bordeaux - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Modern economic approaches of empathy and sympathy aim at adding an altruistic dimension to the standard economic decision theory. The purpose of the introduction of another regarding dimension, in addition to the sole personal interest, is to try to explain prosocial preferences or behaviours. In this article, we show how and why the economic literature tries to grasp those concepts, but in a way that is very far from the original Smithian sympathy developed in his Theory of Moral Sentiments (TSM). We argue that, by remaining in the framework of methodological individualism and instrumental rationality, economic approaches, particularly in the field of experimental and behavioural economics, tend to reduce and to intrumentalize the concepts of sympathy and empathy. Such approaches seem to us not consistent with the Smithian social philosophy of human nature and interpersonal relationships. |
| Keywords: | Smithian sympathy,Empathy,Theory of moral snetiments,behavioural economics |
| Date: | 2022–03–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03623609&r= |
| By: | Tsoulfidis, Lefteris |
| Abstract: | In recent years there is a revival of political economy and discussions are about the near linearities of price rate of profit trajectories. In this article, we argue that the economy’s input-output data are of low effective dimensionality, meaning that there is overfitting of both data and dimensions and that the fundamental behavior of the economy can be tracked down with the use of a low dimensional system. |
| Keywords: | Near-linearity, price trajectories, eigendecomposition, effective rank, Shannon entropy |
| JEL: | B24 B51 C67 D46 D57 E11 E31 |
| Date: | 2022–04–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:113068&r= |
| By: | Deepankar Basu; Oscar Orellana |
| Abstract: | Can cost-reducing, technical change lead to a fall in the long run rate of profit if class struggle manages to keep the rate of exploitation constant? In this paper we demonstrate, in a general circulating capital model, that if (a) the technical change is capital-using labor-saving (CU-LS), (b) the real wage bundle can change, and (c) the decline in the unit cost of production is bounded above by the change in the nominal labor cost associated with the new technique of production, then viable technical change can be consistent both with a constant rate of exploitation and a fall in the long run rate of profit. This result vindicates Marx's claim in Volume III of Capital, that if the rate of exploitation remains unchanged then technical change in capitalist economies can lead to a fall in the long run rate of profit. |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2205.08956&r= |
| By: | Pies, Ingo |
| Abstract: | Dieser Aufsatz diskutiert die Stärken und Schwächen des Kapitalismus sowie der Kapitalismuskritik aus der wirtschaftsethischen Perspektive des ordonomischen Forschungsprogramms. Das Hauptargument lautet, dass vielen Menschen die Funktionsweise einer wettbewerblich verfassten Marktwirtschaft unklar ist und dass gerade deshalb viele negative Moralurteile über Kapitalismus schlecht informiert sind. Insbesondere wird oft übersehen, dass sich mit einer kapitalistischen Gesellschaftsordnung ganz neue Optionen zur Verwirklichung moralischer Anliegen eröffnen, insbesondere zur Solidarität mit Fremden, die man als Übergang von der Nächsten- zur Fernstenliebe kennzeichnen kann. |
| Keywords: | Ordonomik,Kapitalismus,Kapitalismuskritik,Wettbewerb,Marktwirtschaft,Moral,Ordonomics,capitalism,critique of capitalism,competition,market economy,morality |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mlucee:202204&r= |
| By: | Lundberg, Shelly (University of California, Santa Barbara) |
| Abstract: | The economics literature on gender has expanded considerably in recent years, fueled in part by new sources of data, including from experimental studies of gender differences in preferences and other traits. At the same time, economists have been developing more realistic models of psychological and social influences on individual choices and the evolution of culture and social norms. Despite these innovations much of the economics of gender has been left behind, and still employs a reductive framing in which gender gaps in economic outcomes are either due to discrimination or to “choice.” I suggest here that the persistence of this approach is due to several distinctive economic habits of mind—strong priors driven by market bias and gender essentialism, a perspective that views the default economic agent as male, and an oft-noted tendency to avoid complex problems in favor of those that can be modeled simply. I also suggest some paths forward. |
| Keywords: | gender, culture, social norms, discrimination |
| JEL: | J16 |
| Date: | 2022–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15217&r= |
| By: | Stefano Solari (Università di Padova) |
| Abstract: | The philosophy of the Enlightenment and political thought of modernity found tough opposition in the Roman Catholic Church. Liberalism was associated with Free Masons and revolutionary intent. Nonetheless, liberalism and political economy stimulated some theoretical analysis and specific theoretical positions in terms of social philosophy and social economics by the Church. This paper presents an analysis of encyclical letters and other papal documents, as well as the writings of other Catholic scholars, to elaborate on the theoretical points used to contrast liberalism. Compromises, as well as turning points in the evolution of the Catholic position, are investigated. Lastly, the epistemological and historical reasons for the affinity of Roman Catholicism with ethical liberalism and the limits of this similarity are discussed. 1. Liberal and Catholic, an Italian drama |
| Date: | 2022–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-03619130&r= |
| By: | Fahd Zulfiqar (Pakistan Institute of Development Economics) |
| Abstract: | In literature, conceptualisations of love vary. These definitions have been theorised from different theoretical standpoints. For instance, feminist literature stands divided with a few studies quoting that love is liberating, empowering and people who are romantically in love with each other share equal space in a relationship. But this interpretation is not unanimously embraced within feminist and queer literature. An alternative standpoint views love as patriarchal, sexist, and heteronormative. The structural standpoint speaks of changing dynamics of love due to macro-, meso-, and mirco- factors such as capitalist interventions (macro-factor), consumerism, conspicuous consumption, and sexual division of labour (meso-factors) and gendered expressions (micro-factor), both verbal/non-verbal, in which a lover is economically dependent on and domestically subservient to the loved one (Cancian, 1986). |
| Keywords: | Economy of Love, Valentine's Day, |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pid:kbrief:2022:55&r= |
| By: | Püttmann, Vitus (Leibniz University of Hannover); Thomsen, Stephan L. (Leibniz University of Hannover) |
| Abstract: | In line with the growing relevance of higher education and science for societal development and innovation processes, there has been a steady increase in the salience of interrelations with the extra-academic environment in the context of academics' work. Insights into the status of this so-called third mission in the academic profession remain fragmented, however. We use the concept of an academic identity as an analytical lens to investigate this status empirically based on an original survey among 4,284 professors in Germany across the full range of academic disciplines. The results show that the third mission is firmly included in the academic identities of many, but not all, professors and that the forms of inclusion differ. Specifically, we are able to identify four types of identities: (1) the dedicated type who embraces the third mission as a whole; (2) the idealistic type who emphasizes responsibility toward society and sociopolitical matters; (3) the pragmatic type who emphasizes material work-related and personal benefits; and (4) the reserved type, characterized by an overall distanced stance. We furthermore find evidence of a strong impact of disciplinary communities on the specific types of identities that academics develop, whereas the organizational context and the cohorts to which academics belong appear less relevant. In addition, there are indications that individual characteristics shape the identity formation process. Last, there are strong and differential associations between academics' identities and their actual third mission engagement. Overall, it appears that the third mission—at least if its multifaceted nature is considered—is a relevant area of activity for a significant share of the academic profession. |
| Keywords: | third mission, knowledge transfer, continuing education, societal engagement, academic profession, academic identity, professor |
| JEL: | I23 O35 O36 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp15280&r= |
| By: | Cutuli, Romina |
| Abstract: | El best seller La magia del orden, de la japonesa Marie Kondo, ha sido epicentro y disparador de una tendencia mediática y editorial acerca del valor del orden como parte del buen vivir. Las repercusiones de la obra dieron espacio a una serie de Netfix, y otras repercusiones editoriales que mantienen a los lectores fidelizados. En este artículo se propone una lectura del fenómeno editorial y televisivo desde Argentina, como primera aproximación a una investigación de más largo aliento sobre las transformaciones y continuidades en los procesos de trabajo doméstico. El análisis fue un puntapié inicial a la consolidación de un subgénero que denominaré "autoayuda doméstica", asociado con la persistencia de una división sexual del trabajo que sobrecarga a las mujeres de tareas del hogar no remuneradas, aun cuando desarrollen actividades remuneradas fuera de hogar. Se sugiere comprender estos discursos en diálogo con la individualización propia de la subjetividad neoliberal, y a su circulación y éxito con una lógica bifronte a la vez que, refresca la visibilidad y relevancia de estas tareas impone nuevos estándares de calidad. En este sentido, la exhibición de resultados, popularizada a través de las redes sociales, tiene el riesgo de convertirse en un mandato que sobrecargue aún más a las mujeres. |
| Keywords: | Género; Trabajo Doméstico; |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nmp:nuland:3624&r= |
| By: | Sadri, Arash |
| Abstract: | Resolving the "replication crisis" is a top priority of the scientific community now. "Reproducibility" is claimed as a central tenet of science and the estimated economic and social burden is huge. Numerous proposals have been made. Still, there lacks not only an established solution but even an agreement on whether there exists a "crisis" or not. Here, by questioning the philosophical foundations of our study designs and analyses, I trace back the "crisis" to reductionist ontologies and methodologies ingrained in the modern statistical methods which have dominated biological, medical, psychological, and social sciences for a century. The crisis is not our inability to "reproduce" results but that we expect to be able to "reproduce" results despite neglecting almost all individual-level and contextual variables of complex processes. |
| Date: | 2022–04–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:metaar:yxba5&r= |
| By: | Edquist, Charles (CIRCLE, Lund University); Laatsit, Mart (CIRCLE, Lund University) |
| Abstract: | ‘The system of innovation approach’ has been around in innovation research for more than three decades. In this paper, we ask whether the time has come to try to develop a general theory of innovation. There is now a considerable literature addressing what happens in the innovation systems (and not only which elements and components they include). This literature places the focus on the causes of innovations in terms of functions and activities in the systems. Analysing this literature, including the several lists of activities and functions, is the focus in this paper. We aim to find out whether these lists are useful for developing a general theory of innovation. We argue that we, as a ‘collective research community’, have already tried to do this, and that we have made some progress. We will indicate how this work can continue to develop the systems of innovation ‘approach’ into a ‘theory’. |
| Keywords: | Innovation; System of innovation; Innovation policy; Holistic innovation policy; Linear view; Research Policy |
| JEL: | O30 O38 O49 O52 |
| Date: | 2022–05–16 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2022_007&r= |
| By: | Borooah, Vani |
| Abstract: | The raison d’être of this paper is to develop measures for xenophobia, homophobia, and patriarchy and, in so doing, to provide systematic information about the degree of prejudice against certain groups (foreigners, homosexuals, women) — in particular, whether prejudice differs by the world’s regions and religions, and between the groups that are the target of prejudice. Furthermore, the chapter enquires about the characteristics of persons — apart from their religion and region — that make for prejudice, or a lack of it. In developing the analysis, this chapter makes several conceptual contributions. It advances the concept of a “xenophobia score” which is used to measure the amount of xenophobia in different regions of the world. It links homophobia to attitudes towards homosexuality. Lastly, it examines dissonance between men and women in their views about gender equality and, in so doing, measures the amount of “gender tension” among adherents of different religions and denizens of different regions. Underpinning this analysis is a multivariate analysis of xenophobia, homophobia, and patriarchy. This allows one to answer questions that are of considerable societal importance: are women more liberal than men in their attitude towards foreigners and homosexuals? Do women seek greater equality than men are prepared to concede? |
| Keywords: | Prejudice, homophobia, xenophobia, misogyny |
| JEL: | I3 I31 J71 |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:113065&r= |
| By: | Woodgate, Ryan |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a two-country Kaleckian model in which "Northern" firms invest a fixed fraction of total investment in foreign affiliates in the low-wage "South" in order to offshore the production of intermediate goods over time and lower overall labour costs. On the back of this setup follows an analysis of the macroeconomic implications of offshoring in the short and long run. Offshoring through vertical FDI is found to lead to a falling wage share and a simultaneously falling price level and rising mark-up in the North, whereas the effect on equilibrium capacity utilisation may be positive or negative. Interestingly, however, regardless of the effect on capacity utilisation and firm profitability, we can show that the structural change implied by offshoring leads to lower rates of capital accumulation and employment in the North relative to the initial (pre-offshoring) values in the short run. The long-run effects on Northern employment and growth, on the other hand, depend crucially on the long-run accumulation rate of the Northern-owned multinational firms. However, the model shows that, if wages endogenously converge during the transition due to higher unemployment in the North and lower unemployment in the South, then the long-run Northern capacity utilisation and accumulation rates are increasingly likely to fall relative to pre-offshoring values. The model appears well suited to shed light on many real-world macroeconomic phenomena, such as rising FDI flows, falling wage shares, rising mark-ups in an era of low inflation, hysteresis, and secular stagnation. |
| Keywords: | offshoring,foreign direct investment,distribution,stagnation |
| JEL: | F62 F23 O41 E11 E12 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:1822022&r= |