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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2023‒07‒31
sixteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Arnau Quera-Bofarull; Joel Dyer; Anisoara Calinescu; Michael Wooldridge |
| Abstract: | Agent-based models (ABMs) are a promising approach to modelling and reasoning about complex systems, yet their application in practice is impeded by their complexity, discrete nature, and the difficulty of performing parameter inference and optimisation tasks. This in turn has sparked interest in the construction of differentiable ABMs as a strategy for combatting these difficulties, yet a number of challenges remain. In this paper, we discuss and present experiments that highlight some of these challenges, along with potential solutions. |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2307.01085&r=hme |
| By: | Severin Reissl; Alessandro Caiani; Francesco Lamperti; Mattia Guerini; Fabio Vanni (OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po); Giorgio Fagiolo; Tommaso Ferraresi; Leonardo Ghezzi; Mauro Napoletano (OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po); Andrea Roventini (OFCE - Observatoire français des conjonctures économiques (Sciences Po) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po) |
| Abstract: | We build a novel computational input-output model to estimate the economic impact of lockdowns in Italy. The key advantage of our framework is to integrate the regional and sectoral dimensions of economic production in a very parsimonious numerical simulation framework. Lockdowns are treated as shocks to available labor supply and they are calibrated on regional and sectoral employment data coupled with the prescriptions of government decrees. We show that when estimated on data from the first "hard" lockdown, our model closely reproduces the observed economic dynamics during spring 2020. In addition, we show that the model delivers a good out-of-sample forecasting performance. We also analyze the effects of the second "mild" lockdown in fall of 2020 which delivered a much more moderate negative impact on production compared to both the spring 2020 lockdown and to a hypothetical second "hard" lockdown. |
| Keywords: | Input-output, Covid-19, Lockdown, Italy |
| Date: | 2021–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-04103906&r=hme |
| By: | Tristan VELARDO (CLERSÉ - Centre Lillois d’Études et de Recherches Sociologiques et Économiques - UMR 8019 - Université de Lille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | In order to deal with the relationship between science and ideology, Schumpeter distinguishes the Vision, an "effort of pre-analytical knowledge" which is, by definition, historically and socially located and which constitutes a necessary step of the scientific procedure on which is based what Schumpeter calls the "Analysis". The Analysis is strictly scientific work and responds, as such, to a number of rules whose objective is to provide satis- factory solutions to the problems encountered. The rules of analytical pro- cedure would be a solution to prevent the analysis from ideological contamination. Schumpeter thus develops a positive conception of science which is expressed by the elimination of ideology and philosophy by mov- ing them back to a pre-analytical moment. This paper intends to use economic philosophy, first as a tool to make a critical appraisal of the distinction between Vision and Analysis in Schumpeter's work. Indeed, rather than reconstructing a Vision, which would be prior and separate from the Analysis, economic philosophy proposes to grasp the fundamental philosophical questions of economic theories. In doing so, this paper proposes, secondly, to apply the methods of economic philosophy to Schumpeter's work in order to introduce a new entry to his work: the philosophical question running thought his work, i.e. the emergence of novelty. |
| Abstract: | Afin de traiter des rapports entre science et idéologie, Schumpeter distingue la Vision, cet « effort de connaissance pré-analytique » qui, par définition, est historiquement et socialement situé et qui constitue une étape nécessaire de la procédure scientifique sur laquelle se bâtit ce qu'il appelle « Analyse ». L'analyse est le travail proprement scientifique et répond, à ce titre à un certain nombre de règles dont l'objectif est de fournir des solutions satisfaisantes aux problèmes posés. Les règles de procédure analytique seraient une solution pour prémunir l'analyse contre une contamination idéologique. Schumpeter développe une conception positive de la science qui s'exprime par l'élimination de l'idéologie et de la philosophie en les reculant dans un moment pré-analytique. Cet article propose une critique de la conception de la science économique de Schumpeter. Dans un premier temps, nous utiliserons la philosophie économique comme outil pour une critique de la séparation entre Vision et Analyse chez Schumpeter. Dans un second temps, nous appliquons les méthodes de la philosophie économique à l'œuvre de Schumpeter afin d'entrevoir une nouvelle porte d'entrée dans son œuvre, celle de la question philosophique originaire qui lui sert de leitmotiv : l'émergence de la nouveauté. |
| Keywords: | Schumpeter (Joseph A.), Vision, Analysis, Economic philosophy, Novelty, Schumpeter, Analyse, Philosophie économique, Nouveauté |
| Date: | 2021–12–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04123565&r=hme |
| By: | Fratini, Saverio Maria; Ravagnani, Fabio |
| Abstract: | The two ‘slogans’ written by Sraffa in an early draft of the preface to his book (Sraffa Papers D3/12/43:1(3)) can be seen as the synthesis of a wider reasoning that he outlines in some manuscripts composed in 1955 and 1956. We rationalise this reasoning by three statements: A. The rate of profits manifests itself in the Standard system as the ratio of two well-defined quantities of Standard commodity; B. The rate of profits can be identified in the Standard system before knowing the prices of commodities; and C. The rate of profits emerging from the Standard system cannot be altered by ‘manipulations of prices’ and, for this reason, can be regarded as a non-price phenomenon. By discussing these statements in depth, we aim at shedding new light on the precise meaning of Sraffa’s slogans. |
| Keywords: | Sraffa; rate of profits; Standard commodity |
| JEL: | B24 B51 D33 D46 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117815&r=hme |
| By: | Kohnert, Dirk |
| Abstract: | Money rules the world. But the importance of money is far greater than conventional economic theory and its heroic equations suggest. People have invented their own forms of currency, they have used money in ways that baffle market theorists, they have incorporated money into friendship and family relationships, and they have changed the process of spending and saving. Individuals, families, governments and businesses have given money a social meaning in ways that economists could not even dream of before. A century ago, Georg Simmel, in his Philosophy of Money, pointed to various systems of exchange for goods and services that made possible the existence of incomparable value systems (land, food, honour, love, etc.) that supposedly made personal freedom possible. More recently, Ariel Wilkis brought Pierre Bourdieu's sociology of power into dialogue with Viviana Zelizer's sociology of money. He showed that money is a crucial symbol used to negotiate not only material possessions but also the political, economic, class, gender and generational ties between people. The growing threat of international terrorism has raised awareness that its existence is in itself an economic fact, as it is financed in various ways. The Moral Money Summit Africa, to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November 2023, aims to unlock capital to promote sustainable growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This is overdue, considering that multinational companies in SSA have been polluting the environment for decades and that corruption, money laundering, investments in conflict diamonds, arms and drug trafficking are widespread. The summit aims to answer questions such as: What role can Africa play in the global decarbonisation dilemma? How can ethics be ensured in commodity supply chains? How can ethical investors avoid investing in "sin stocks" such as "blood diamonds", arms and drug trafficking? However, given the unbroken power of multinational corporations and investment managers, the outcome of such summits is questionable. Comparative analyses of ESG awareness and frameworks in Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone African countries reveal significant differences. The most powerful three global asset managers, BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, still show "rational restraint", especially with regard to firm-specific sustainability activism. Also they can use their power to engage in "rational hypocrisy", similar to corporate |
| Keywords: | Ethical banking;ESG; International financial institutions; norm entrepreneur; international development; commercial banks; Sub-Saharan Africa; sustainable development; post-colonialism; informal sector; international trade; ODA; South Africa; Nigeria; Senegal; Angola; African Studies; |
| JEL: | D63 E26 F18 F22 F35 F54 I31 L25 N17 N27 O17 O35 O55 P16 Z13 |
| Date: | 2023–06–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:117779&r=hme |
| By: | Chennak, Ahmed; Giannakas, Konstantinos |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Marketing, Agricultural and Food Policy |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335916&r=hme |
| By: | Chinmayi Srikanth; Shubhasis Dey |
| Abstract: | The extant literature on status-signalling primarily adopts Veblen's theory of class to caste and racial identities. This study aims to adopt a more suitable theoretical lens that is more relevant not only for class identities, but also for other identities such as caste and race. By viewing conspicuous consumption within the Stigma-Identity-Threat framework, this study analyses how socially disadvantaged groups in India respond to stigma through their consumption behaviour. |
| Keywords: | Social identity, Consumption, Caste, Class, Social status, socioeconomic status, Disadvantaged groups |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2023-78&r=hme |
| By: | Pies, Ingo |
| Abstract: | Kapitalismus sieht sich seit je her drei moralisch artikulierten Vorwürfen ausgesetzt: Er führe (a) zur Verelendung der Arbeiter, (b) zur Zerstörung der Umwelt und (c) zum Verfall der Sitten. Zieht man empirisch Bilanz, sind nicht alle dieser Vorwürfe berechtigt, ganz im Gegenteil: (a) Im Kapitalismus werden die Menschen, und hier insbesondere die Arbeiter, kontinuierlich reicher und leben länger, gesünder und glücklicher. (b) Mit zunehmendem Reichtum steigt die Nachfrage nach Umweltschutz, während neue Technologien die Kosten dafür sinken lassen. (c) Kapitalismus fördert Kooperationsbereitschaft und Weltoffenheit. Er stärkt das Vertrauen in Institutionen und reduziert Xenophobie. Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es wichtig, zwischen berechtigter und unberechtigter Kapitalismus-Kritik zu unterscheiden und tatsächliche Missstände ordnungspolitisch anzugehen, d.h. mit einer Reform des institutionellen Ordnungsrahmens, um Märkte durch verbesserte Leistungsanreize funktionsfähig(er) zu machen - und für die gesellschaftliche Verwirklichung moralischer Anliegen besser in Dienst zu nehmen. |
| Keywords: | Kapitalismus, Markt, Ordnung, Wettbewerb, Wirtschaftsethik, Capitalism, Market, Order, Competition, Economic Ethics |
| JEL: | A12 M14 O10 O38 P12 P17 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:mlucee:202306&r=hme |
| By: | Leilei Shi; Bing-Hong Wang; Xinshuai Guo; Guocheng Wang |
| Abstract: | Complex adaptive learning is intelligent and plays roles in living and non-living complex systems. A complex system comprises many interacting individuals or units, shows hidden patterns as they interact, and widely occurs in almost every discipline, from natural to social sciences. It stimulates scientists to explore the mechanism of complex systems formulation. However, it is very challenging. Here the authors extract a universal rule or a law for interactive coherence in complex systems from a trading volume-price probability wave equation and apply it to complex quantum systems as its application. It assumes that particles can have a complex adaptive learning- or intelligence-like property in a reinforced coordinate and extend complex adaptive learning of traders in the financial markets to that of non-living particles in quantum physics. With these assumptions, the authors propose a theory of interactively coherent entanglement for intelligence-like particles, attempting to explain entanglement in quantum physics. It concludes that quantum entanglement is not a state of the superposition of coherent states as the mainstream Copenhagen school of thought claims. It is a state of interactively coherent entanglement generated by intelligence-like particles in a reinforced coordinate. The authors look forward to the experimental results to examine its validity and further improve the theory until it is perfect, suggesting industrial production of entanglement resources in new technical routes available and its potential application to quantum communications in the future. Keywords: Complex systems; Complex adaptive learning; Intelligence-like particles; Interactive coherent entanglement; Finance complexity; Volume-price wave equation |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2306.15554&r=hme |
| By: | Cadot, Julien; Féral, Arnaud |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Institutional and Behavioral Economics |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aaea22:335976&r=hme |
| By: | Manuel Alejandro Cardenete; M. Carmen Lima; Ferran Sancho |
| Abstract: | The input-output (I-O) model is a widely employed tool for examining the interconnected structure of an economy and evaluating policy impacts. The current model consists of two separate and independent modules that describe the underlying factors governing quantities and prices. However, these modules lack any form of interaction, existing in isolated spheres where prices do not influence quantities, and quantities do not affect prices. Consequently, the I-O model has been questioned for its limited descriptive capability, particularly when a more comprehensive assessment is necessary. This study aims to enhance the explanatory capabilities of the I-O model by proposing a novel improvement. We introduce an extended version of the traditional I-O price and quantity models, which integrates them into a unified "price-quantity" model, establishing interdependencies between the two modules. This integrated model could be useful in advancing the explanatory capacity of I-O analysis, without having to resort to computational general equilibrium (CGE) models. As we know, CGE models are considerably more complex and resource-intensive in terms of data requirements compared to I-O models. To evaluate the impact of NextGenerationEU funds on the Spanish economy, we apply this integrated I-O model, utilizing data from a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for 2016, the latest year with available official I-O data. |
| Keywords: | Price-quantity feedback, Social Accounting data, Impact evaluation |
| JEL: | C67 D57 E37 |
| Date: | 2023–07–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aub:autbar:973.23&r=hme |
| By: | Jean-Philippe Bouchaud; Matteo Marsili; Jean-Pierre Nadal |
| Abstract: | Classical economics has developed an arsenal of methods, based on the idea of representative agents, to come up with precise numbers for next year's GDP, inflation and exchange rates, among (many) other things. Few, however, will disagree with the fact that the economy is a complex system, with a large number of strongly heterogeneous, interacting units of different types (firms, banks, households, public institutions) and different sizes. Now, the main issue in economics is precisely the emergent organization, cooperation and coordination of such a motley crowd of micro-units. Treating them as a unique ``representative'' firm or household clearly risks throwing the baby with the bathwater. As we have learnt from statistical physics, understanding and characterizing such emergent properties can be difficult. Because of feedback loops of different signs, heterogeneities and non-linearities, the macro-properties are often hard to anticipate. In particular, these situations generically lead to a very large number of possible equilibria, or even the lack thereof. Spin-glasses and other disordered systems give a concrete example of such difficulties. In order to tackle these complex situations, new theoretical and numerical tools have been invented in the last 50 years, including of course the replica method and replica symmetry breaking, and the cavity method, both static and dynamic. In this chapter we review the application of such ideas and methods in economics and social sciences. Of particular interest are the proliferation (and fragility) of equilibria, the analogue of satisfiability phase transitions in games and random economies, and condensation (or concentration) effects in opinion, wealth, etc |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2306.16165&r=hme |
| By: | Ferran Sancho; Ana-Isabel Guerra; Betty Agnani |
| Abstract: | We introduce a novel static indicator of economy-wide resilience that captures the ability of an economy to adjust and recover from a negative shock from either the demand or the supply side. The metric is counterfactual and reveals by simulation the extent of the adjustments that would keep total income at least at the initial pre-shock level while maintaining the initial economic structure. The larger the scale of the needed adjustments in response to the shock, the smaller is the resilience of the economic system. The methodology we propose for this evaluation uses the concept of constrained input-output multipliers which in turn are incorporated within a linear programming problem. We show the applicability of this approach by calculating and comparing demand and supply resilience indices for a group of ten large OECD economies. For all these economies, the results show that manufacturing industries are more resilient than services sectors and that economic resilience regarding negative supply shocks is higher than demand shocks. |
| Keywords: | demand resilience, supply resilience, static economic resilience, constrained input- output multipliers, endogenous scaling. |
| JEL: | C67 D57 O57 |
| Date: | 2023–07–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:aub:autbar:972.23&r=hme |
| By: | Millard, Joe |
| Abstract: | Collective humanity is at a critical juncture. Despite our efforts to set targets and goals, biodiversity and climate are both changing rapidly, pushing us towards a biosphere our species has not known. One view is that we need transformational change of the economic paradigm, but that might be more an ideal than pragmatic. A new idea could be that we take inspiration from the way in which life has evolved, and co-opt some mechanism to self-regulate us within a boundary we at least know is not definitely unsafe. Think genes that up or down regulate themselves or switch off and on other genes, or hormones that up or down regulate the secretion of other hormones. For humanity, one means might be to co-opt the philosophy of the carbon coin, and devise a new single currency for nature. We track a conjunction of anthropogenic variables from space or remotely, combine that with a model predicting biodiversity change, and then link that to a new global currency that will help self-regulate those variables towards bending the curve. It would be hard, and there’s a lot we’d need to know to make it work, but I think this might be what life would do |
| Date: | 2023–06–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:j7phu&r=hme |
| By: | Sabiou Inoua; Vernon Smith |
| Abstract: | In retrospect, the experimental findings on competitive market behavior called for a revival of the old, classical, view of competition as a collective higgling and bargaining process (as opposed to price-taking behaviors) founded on reservation prices (in place of the utility function). In this paper, we specialize the classical methodology to deal with speculation, an important impediment to price stability. The model involves typical features of a field or lab asset market setup and lends itself to an experimental test of its specific predictions; here we use the model to explain three general stylized facts, well established both empirically and experimentally: the excess, fat-tailed, and clustered volatility of speculative asset prices. The fat tails emerge in the model from the amplifying nature of speculation, leading to a random-coefficient autoregressive return process (and power-law tails); the volatility clustering is due to the traders' long memory of news; bubbles are a persistent phenomenon in the model, and, assuming the standard lab present value pattern, the bubble size increases with the proportion of speculators and decreases with the trading horizon. |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2307.00410&r=hme |
| By: | Mohammadhosein Bahmanpour-Khalesi; Mohammadjavad Sharifzadeh |
| Abstract: | Nowadays, it is thought that there are only two approaches to political economy: public finance and public choice; however, this research aims to introduce a new insight by investigating scholastic sources. We study the relevant classic books from the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries and reevaluate the scholastic literature by doctrines of public finance and public choice. The findings confirm that the government is the institution for realizing the common good according to scholastic attitude. Therefore, scholastic thinkers saw a common mission for the government based on their essentialist attitude toward human happiness. Social conflicts and lack of social consent are the product of diversification in ends and desires; hence, if the end of humans were unified, there would be no conflict of interest. Accordingly, if the government acts according to its assigned mission, the lack of public consent is not significant. Based on the scholastic point of view this study introduces the third approach to political economy, which can be, consider an analytical synthesis among classical doctrines. |
| Date: | 2023–06 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2306.11049&r=hme |