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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2025–10–20
fifteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Kapeller, Jakob; Scharnreitner, Franz |
| Abstract: | This paper revisits paradigmatic differences in economics with a focus on input-output modeling. We show that such differences represent deep divides in economic theorizing and impact strongly on the magnitude and signs of expected effects. At the same time estimates from input-output models are crucial for understanding the expected economic impacts of additional investment undertaken in the course of a socio-ecological transformation aiming to render social provisioning processes carbonneutral. Taking the transformation of the German housing sector as a practical example this paper illustrates the divergence between typical results obtained and explores two central axiomatic variations of a neoclassical approach - the introduction of CES-functions as well as labor slack - that promise to explore some middle ground in between established approaches. Thereby we hope to better illuminate how different axiomatic setups imprint on estimates of the economic effects of ecologically motivated transformation efforts to provide applied researchers with better guidance when it comes to choosing foundational model assumptions. |
| Keywords: | input-output modeling, general equilibrium, Leontief Inverse, economic pluralism, socioecological transformation |
| JEL: | C67 C68 D57 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:328264 |
| By: | Mohsen Javdani (Simon Fraser University) |
| Abstract: | This study contributes to growing calls for greater pluralism in economics by examining how gender shapes economists' normative and epistemological orientations. Drawing on original survey data from 2, 425 economists across 19 countries, we document systematic gender differences in views on a broad range of issues. Female economists are significantly more likely to support progressive equity-oriented positions, challenge mainstream assumptions, and endorse pluralistic approaches to inquiry. We also find stark gender differences in political ideology: women are far more likely than men to identify as left-leaning—particularly far-left—while men disproportionately align with centrist or right-leaning ideologies. These ideological divides account for some of the gender differences in views, underscoring the mediating role of political ideology. However, the influence of ideology itself varies by gender: moving rightward on the ideological spectrum reduces support for some progressive positions more sharply among men than women. This suggests that gendered experiences inform distinct interpretive frameworks that persist even within shared ideological categories. Taken together, our findings highlight that gender diversity in economics is not merely demographic but epistemic—and that realizing its transformative potential requires institutional environments that value and legitimize dissenting and underrepresented perspectives. |
| Keywords: | Gender Diversity, Economics Profession, Pluralistic Diversity, Political Ideology. |
| JEL: | A11 A13 B54 J16 D63 |
| Date: | 2024–08–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp238 |
| By: | Jan Toporowski (International University College) |
| Abstract: | This paper commemorates the 70th anniversary of Kalecki's seminal lecture in Mexico on financing economic development. The first part of this paper outlines the theoretical model underlying Kalecki's view of development financing. A second part of the paper summarizes the foundations of structuralist development economics in the Prebisch-Singer approach to international trade and import-substitution development strategies. A third part of the paper examines the confrontation between Kalecki’s view of economic development strategy, and the structuralist approach, in the case of Cuba, highlighting the differences between the two approaches. A fourth part concludes with some reflections on the relevance today of structuralism and Kalecki's view of economic development. |
| Keywords: | Kalecki, structuralist economics, economic development, development finance, land reform, import substitution, Prebisch-Singer. |
| JEL: | B24 B31 F54 O11 O19 |
| Date: | 2025–06–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp234 |
| By: | Liu, Yan |
| Abstract: | This study posits that macro-social structures are not determined by macro-level laws but emerge from interactions among micro-level biological and psychological foundations of individuals. To this end, we first construct a novel micro-foundational model: the "Model of Cognition and Practice Governed by the Desire Mechanism." Drawing on methodologies from computer science, we introduce analytical frameworks of "Variation and Evolution" and "System Adaptation" to facilitate the study of systemic macro-level manifestations and their underlying causes. Building on this foundation, we demonstrate how macro-level regularities, including those empirical patterns accurately identified by Marxism, emerge and evolve from micro-level mechanisms. Ultimately, this research develops theoretical tools such as "Social Internal and External Adaptation and Their Co-adaptation" and the "Social Ripple Model, " applying them to interpret several contentious historical issues. This study aims to transcend the traditional dichotomy between reductionism and holism, establishing a mechanistic theoretical framework for sociology that is compatible with contemporary natural sciences. |
| Date: | 2025–10–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:hdb42_v1 |
| By: | Zoltan Bartha |
| Abstract: | This study aims to reveal different varieties of capitalism and to uncover new patterns of development that emerged between 2010 and 2020. A hybrid model is applied that quantifies three pillars of development (Future - F, Outside - O, Inside - I) using supply-side and demand-side indicators that measure norms, institutions, and policies. Investigating 34 OECD members, this study describes five varieties of capitalism: traditional, dualistic, government-led, open market-based, and human capital-based models. It is suggested that the most significant cut-off point in the development of OECD economies in this period was along the green growth dimension, where European countries with a tradition in coordinated markets outperform the rest. Using Israel and Estonia as an example, it is also suggested that institutional and policy changes that enhance the quality of governance and make coordination more effective are the way out of the middle-income trap. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.19416 |
| By: | Buchner, Martin; Rose, Julian; Johannesson, Magnus; Malan, Mandy; Ankel-Peters, Jörg |
| Abstract: | Consensus is crucial to authoritative science, as is replicability. Yet, in economics and the social sciences, the publication of contradictory replications often sparks fierce debates between replicators and original authors. This paper investigates whether experts can reach a consensus on a famous yet unsettled debate about the robustness of the seminal paper by Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson (AJR, 2001) following a replication by Albouy (2012). We recruited 352 experts mainly from the pool of scholars citing one of the involved or similar articles. Through a structured online questionnaire, we assess the extent to which these experts align with AJR or Albouy. Our findings indicate no consensus on whether the original results hold after Albouy's replication, although there is a slight tendency among experts to side with the replicator. Exploratory heterogeneity analysis suggests that experts with greater academic credentials are more likely to align with Albouy. Our study demonstrates a potential way to scope scientific consensus formation and navigate replication debates and contested literatures. |
| Keywords: | replication, scientific consensus, scientific credibility, expert survey, institutions and growth |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:i4rdps:270 |
| By: | Simon Cornée (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique); Damien Rousselière (Institut Agro Rennes Angers - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement, SMART - Structures et Marché Agricoles, Ressources et Territoires - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Rennes Angers - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement); Véronique Thelen (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université - UR - Université de Rennes - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses the environmental benefits of grassroots cooperation in agriculture. Specifically, it focuses on the French context, which is characterised by a heavy reliance on pesticides and by strong inter-farmer interactions structured within farm machinery sharing cooperatives (CUMAs). We theorise that these social interactions are strategically complementary in the sense that the agroecological practices of farmers involved in the CUMA network, in a given spatial unit, are influenced by the presence and actions of CUMA members in their vicinity. At the extensive margin, increased peer-to-peer interactions, driven by a higher density of CUMA members, foster sociotechnical exchanges conducive to reducing pesticide use. At the intensive margin, if members individually make greater use of their CUMA, they collectively gain access to technologically advanced machinery assets, which leads to a reduction in pesticide use through improvements in technical efficiency. Our econometric analysis, based on a dataset provided by the National Federation of CUMAs covering 5793 individual cooperatives, fully supports the extensive-margin mechanism. The intensive-margin mechanism, however, is only observed for greater use of agroecological equipment by CUMA members, suggesting a rebound effect when it comes to conventional equipment. Overall, these results point to the idea of a ‘hidden agroecological transition.' |
| Keywords: | Social interactions, Collective action, Pesticides Agriculture, Farm machinery sharing cooperatives, Cooperatives |
| Date: | 2025–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04881201 |
| By: | Eala, Samantha Julia Legaspi; Patrick, Rebecca; Capeding, Theo Prudencio Juhani; Vaughan, Cathy |
| Abstract: | As climate change exacerbates socioeconomic vulnerabilities, women, often carers, emerge as "invisible safety nets" sustaining family and community resilience. Set in a coastal town in Batangas, Philippines, the study explores how carers experience and navigate unpaid care work amid climate adaptation. Guided by feminist participatory action research, the study used photovoice, where 13 participants documented their experiences through photography and writing, then collaboratively interpreted their stories. For Filipino caregivers, climate change intensifies unpaid care work. Climate-related disruptions fracture their sense of wholeness, adding layers of grief and uncertainty to their responsibilities. They take on multifaceted roles across their family, community, and environments, as educators, providers, stewards, and leaders. In navigating intensifying care demands, they rely on community solidarity and spirituality, which serve as vital sources of strength, purpose, and hope in their collective efforts to adapt to climate change. By recognising unpaid care work in climate adaptation and providing carers with a platform to voice their lived experiences, the study hopes to advocate for climate change policies and programs that respond to unpaid care dynamics, reward women’s contribution, reduce unpaid care work, and advocate for redistribution of and male involvement in care work within families and communities. |
| Date: | 2025–10–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:8gq43_v1 |
| By: | Alberto Russo (Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy and Department of Economics, Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain) |
| Abstract: | Drawing on Peter Turchin’s structural-demographic theory, this paper provides a preliminary examination of how rising inequality and financial liberalization contribute to political instability through the interplay of mass immiseration and elite overproduction. We capture these dynamics through a simplified agent-based macroeconomic model, introducing two structural shocks – growing inequality and financial liberalization – that reflect the transformations reshaping advanced economies in recent decades, a process intertwined with political disintegration. A wealth tax on the richest households can reduce political fragmentation and improve economic performance, but lasting resilience will require embedding such measures within a broader rethinking of the policy paradigm that has prevailed since the 1980s. |
| Keywords: | growing inequality; financial liberalization; political instability; agent-based model |
| JEL: | C63 D31 E02 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:jau:wpaper:2025/07 |
| By: | Beinhocker, Eric; Bednar, Jenna |
| Abstract: | Since the first volume in this series (Anderson, Arrow & Pines, 1987), a variety of scholars have claimed that complexity economics presents a fundamentally different and more scientifically grounded way of explaining and modelling the economy than more traditional perspectives. Looking back at over thirty-five years of development in the field, this essay argues that complexity economics is not merely an alternative and advantageous set of methods for understanding the economy but could play a critical role in the construction of a new economic paradigm. Complexity economics is part of a broader interlocking set of ideas—an "ontological stack"—that has the potential to supplant the dominant economic paradigms of the twentieth century. The development of such a paradigm would have major implications for economic policy and politics. The essay concludes with a discussion of what can be done to advance the complexity economics agenda and how such a paradigm might be developed. |
| Date: | 2025–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:amz:wpaper:2025-20 |
| By: | Nicolas M. Burotto (Universidad Andres Bello) |
| Abstract: | I develop a discrete-time Keynesian D/Z model in which inflationary inertia arises from distributional conflict between firms and workers. The mechanism centers on aspiration gaps—the divergence between actual real wages and income targets—which, when combined with strong bargaining power, generate persistent inflation even after conventional macroeconomic gaps close. The model shows that equilibrium in real wages does not guarantee distributional balance, and that market mechanisms alone cannot restore stability. This underscores the need for a "social consensus" that moderates aspiration dynamics and defuses conflict-driven inflationary pressures. |
| Keywords: | inflation inertia; distributional conflict; aspiration gaps; effective demand; wage-price dynamics. |
| JEL: | E12 E25 E31 |
| Date: | 2025–06–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp235 |
| By: | Verónica Amarante; Marisa Bucheli; Tatiana Pérez |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the link between the ideological profile of Uruguayan economists and their opinions regarding inequality and discrimination. Drawing on data from an online survey of Uruguayan economists, we explore the links between their economic opinions and three dimensions of ideology: political orientation, sexist attitudes (benevolent and hostile sexism), and pro-market views. Economists' opinions encompass diagnostic assessments of inequality and discrimination, as well as views on specific policies designed to address these issues. Using ordered probit models, we find that right-wing political ideology, hostile sexism, and pro-market attitudes are associated with a lower likelihood of agreeing that income distribution in Uruguay should be more equitable and that women face barriers to full-time employment. These ideological factors are also linked to a higher likelihood of believing that there are equal gender and race opportunities in Uruguay. Benevolent sexism exhibits a more mixed relationship with opinions on inequality and discrimination. Furthermore, we show that economists' diagnoses of inequality and discrimination mediate the relationship between ideological variables and their policy preferences. Our results point to the need for greater introspection within the discipline regarding the influence of personal values and beliefs on economic analysis and policy recommendations. Our findings challenge the notion of economics as a purely objective and unbiased discipline, revealing significant associations between ideological factors, economists' perceptions of inequality and discrimination, and their support for specific policies. |
| Keywords: | ideology, sexism, inequality, discrimination |
| JEL: | A13 D63 J16 |
| Date: | 2024–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ude:wpaper:0624 |
| By: | Chenlan Wang; Jimin Han; Diana Jue-Rajasingh |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a game-theoretic model and an agent-based model to study group formation driven by resource pooling, spatial cohesion, and heterogeneity. We focus on cross-sector partnerships (CSPs) involving public, private, and nonprofit organizations, each contributing distinct resources. Group formation occurs as agents strategically optimize their choices in response to others within a competitive setting. We prove the existence of stable group equilibria and simulate formation dynamics under varying spatial and resource conditions. The results show that limited individual resources lead to groups that form mainly among nearby actors, while abundant resources allow groups to move across larger distances. Increased resource heterogeneity and spatial proximity promote the formation of larger and more diverse groups. These findings reveal key trade-offs shaping group size and composition, guiding strategies for effective cross-sector collaborations and multi-agent systems. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.18551 |
| By: | Sylvie Huet (UR LISC - Laboratoire d'ingénierie pour les systèmes complexes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Stephan Bernard (UR ETTIS - Environnement, territoires en transition, infrastructures, sociétés - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Clarisse Cazals (UR ETTIS - Environnement, territoires en transition, infrastructures, sociétés - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement); Jean-Denis Mathias (UR LISC - Laboratoire d'ingénierie pour les systèmes complexes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement) |
| Abstract: | Our agent-based model studies emerging markets from a population of producer-sellers and consumers. Sellers exhibit a tolerance d for profitability failures that corresponds to d consecutive time steps of failure. After such d time steps, they randomly choose a new strategy changing their prices and/or their raw material (extracted or recycled more or less available depending on a recycling rate). A seller should propose a good price and have enough raw material to make a deal satisfying the consumer's budget. Sellers' activity is profitable for a sufficient number of deals. Our model has two different regimes: one mainly driven by d when the parameter µ ruling the profitability threshold is low; a second one mainly driven by µ. These regimes define prices and thus the number of satisfied sellers and consumers. Parameters have strong macro impacts and recycling is successful only when sellers sufficiently change their strategy. |
| Keywords: | neutral theory, circular economy, agent-based model |
| Date: | 2025–05–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05293874 |
| By: | Yara Mohajerani |
| Abstract: | Climate risk assessment requires modelling complex interactions between spatially heterogeneous hazards and adaptive economic systems. We present a novel geospatial agent-based model that integrates climate hazard data with evolutionary learning for economic agents. Our framework combines Mesa-based spatial modelling with CLIMADA climate impact assessment, introducing adaptive learning behaviours that allow firms to evolve strategies for budget allocation, pricing, wages, and risk adaptation through fitness-based selection and mutation. We demonstrate the framework using riverine flood projections under RCP8.5 until 2100, showing that evolutionary adaptation enables firms to converge with baseline (no hazard) production levels after decades of disruption due to climate stress. Our results reveal systemic risks where even agents that are not directly exposed to floods face impacts through supply chain disruptions, with the end-of-century average price of goods 5.6% higher under RCP8.5 compared to the baseline. This open-source framework provides financial institutions and companies with tools to quantify both direct and cascading climate risks while evaluating cost-effective adaptation strategies. |
| Date: | 2025–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2509.18633 |