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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2026–03–09
seventeen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Stephan Puehringer (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Lukas Baeuerle (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | The paper introduces the SETER framework, a conceptual tool for analyzing the interplay between Socio-Ecological Transformation (SET) and Economic Reasoning (ER). In the context of global crises and the contested nature of sustainability discourses, the framework identifies nine key categories – ranging from economic goals and the role of the state to transformative dynamics and agency – to systematically compare diverse SET narratives and their basic underlying economic assumptions. Drawing on insights from Social Studies of Economics (SSE) and Sustainability Transitions Research (STR), the framework highlights how ER shapes SET discourses and potential pathways, influencing both the diagnosis of socio-ecological crises and its proposed solutions. The paper applies the framework for two contrasting cases: the EU Green Deal, which exemplifies a market-driven “green growth” narrative, and Kohei Saito’s Degrowth Manifesto, which advocates for commons-based, sufficiency-oriented transformation. These cases illustrate the framework’s ability to map competing visions of SET, revealing the systemic dependencies between ER categories and their manifestations. The SETER framework also enables a typification of antagonistic narratives opposing SET, such as techno-libertarian or fossil-modernization discourses. While the framework provides a useful tool for categorizing and comparing SET narratives, its integration with power-focused analytical tools is necessary to assess the performative influence of these narratives. By offering a flexible, cross-sectoral, and longitudinal approach, the SETER framework provides a robust methodology for navigating the complexities of SET-related discourses, fostering critical reflection on economic imaginaries, and envisioning equitable and sustainable pathways for transformation. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:set:wpaper:1 |
| By: | Pietro Daniel Omodeo (Ca’ Foscari University of Venice) |
| Abstract: | This essay critically explores the connection between epistemology, political ecology, economy, and technological developments in the Anthropocene, understood as the epoch in which humankind has become a major force of geological transformation. It addresses the Anthropocene as a discourse and as a reality, bringing together epistemological reflexivity, ideology critique, and political economy-cum-ecology. The essay begins with an overview of the genesis and development of the Anthropocene concept—an often-repeated history which I reconsider from the viewpoint of historiographic developments in the history and philosophy of science. Since the Anthropocene hypothesis makes the history of knowledge, technological advancement, and socioeconomic structures fundamental factors in the Earth's history, I point to the necessity of revising our reality-conceptions to account for the development of a world in which epistemic, economic, and political histories intersect with physics, geology, and biology. As a reappraisal of the historico-materialist approaches to science studies, I propose to expand the 'externalist' understanding of the socio-economic roots and social functions of science by including, in the geoanthropological paradigm to come, considerations of social metabolism and ecology. This proposal is also meant to serve as a basis for new forms of cross-disciplinary economic thinking that must comprise cultural and environmental perspectives. These considerations are the background of my criticism of the ideological aberrations in the debate on Anthropocene politics, which I term 'dark ecologies'. I especially refer to Bruno Latour's adherence to Malthusian and social-Darwinian ideas. In the last part, I discuss eco-socialist alternatives to the ecological impasse and advocate for the defence of the commons against their alienation as a premise of future prosperity. |
| Keywords: | Political ecology, geoanthropology, technological alienation, Latour, Malthusianism, tragedy of the commons, eco-socialism |
| JEL: | F64 J10 O14 O44 Q01 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ven:wpaper:2026:05 |
| By: | Louis-Antoine Saïsset (UMR MoISA - Montpellier Interdisciplinary center on Sustainable Agri-food systems (Social and nutritional sciences) - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - CIHEAM-IAMM - Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier - CIHEAM - Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement - Institut Agro Montpellier - Institut Agro - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement) |
| Abstract: | In order to answer this question, the chapter is organized in four parts: first, we expose our theoretical framework; second, we detail the qualitative methodology based on four case studies; third, we analyse these cases; and fourth, we synthetize and conclude. Theoretical framework: democratic and innovative governanceWe based our theoretical framework on the concepts of democracy, governance, and innovation in corporate governance, applied to cooperatives, more particularly in the agricultural sector. In the following pages, we will define and develop these concepts, showing that a few studies deal with them and their interactions, proposing a conceptual framework to deal with drivers of governance innovation in terms of democracy. Democracy and governance: from capitalistic firms to cooperativesCompany is an organization with many faces that has been approached in different ways. From the neoclassical conception, according to which the company was considered as a "black box", to the company seen as a system, it is still difficult to grasp its complex reality (Tosi, 2009). Organization theory studies all types of organizations with very diverse points of view, as underlined by Tosi ( 2009): rational/natural models, closed/open system approaches, and considering single-or double-way relationships between environment and structure.According to Pfeffer (1991), this research field frequently took the individual and its behaviour as the unique unit of analysis and did not really consider social structure as relevant, denying the effects of social and mutual interactions among individuals on the firm's management. On the contrary, for Pfeffer (1991, p 801), "organizations are social settings". Social relations are therefore essential and can influence the firm's performance. Some authors went further and considered organization as an open system model where structure and environment are linked, sometimes following an interactive process, dealing with institutions and ecology, and leading to open system natural models (Tosi, 2009).In this perspective, the pervasive power of shareholders, stressed by Jensen and Meckling (1976), is counterbalanced or, at least, influenced by the open system of interactions between internal and external stakeholders, taking into account the commitment to society of the firm, analysed by the stakeholder theory (ST; Freeman, 1984). Democracy is also more concerned, directly or indirectly, considering the firm as an institution where democracy gains ground thanks to increasing openness, activist shareholders (Gomez, 2001) and citizen requirements (Grandori, 2017). This phenomenon led Andreani (1994, p 184) to state, "it is much more difficult to initiate democracy in a party than in a firm". In fact, behind stakeholder and democratic issues, governance is at the heart of operations.Democratic governance (Cornforth, 2004) concerns the essence of agricultural cooperatives as social economy organizations. Since their origin, they have been |
| Date: | 2026–02–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05525593 |
| By: | Hendrik Theine (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences); Carlotta Verità (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | Socio-ecological transformations are long-term reconfigurations of socio-technical and socio-economic provisioning systems, contested through struggles over pathways, timelines, and distributive consequences. Because these struggles are fought through public sense-making as well as policy and investment, transformation research increasingly turns to large text corpora. Yet a dilemma persists: computational text analysis scales but often remains descriptive, while qualitative, interpretative methods explain power and meaning in context but is typically limited to small samples. This paper develops a critical realist mixedmethods strategy that integrates Structural Topic Modeling (STM) and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). Drawing on critical methodological pluralism, STM is treated as an extensive mapping device that identifies candidate demi-regularities without reifying them as causal laws. CDA then supplies the intensive interpretation needed to situate these patterns, reconstruct their argumentative and ideological work, and support retroductive reasoning about generative mechanisms in open, stratified systems. Thus, by integrating those methods, we enhance both the explanatory power and critical depth of transformation research. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:set:wpaper:2 |
| By: | Theresa Hager (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Interdisciplinary Commodity Studies Lab, Linz Institute for Transformative Change, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Laura Porak (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Stephan Pühringer (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Carlotta Terhorst (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | Despite widespread acknowledgment of the climate crisis, ambitious climate action remains constrained by competing visions of socio-ecological transformation (SET). Drawing on critical state theory, which conceptualizes the state as a "strategic terrain" where social forces struggle over hegemonic visions, this paper analyzes how transformative imaginaries shape political opportunity structures for climate policy in Austria's corporatist setting. We address two critical gaps in the SET literature: existing research discusses transformation visions abstractly without linking them to concrete policy-relevant actors, and the economic reasoning underlying these imaginaries remains largely unexamined. Using the SETER framework, we conduct a mixed-methods analysis combining discourse analysis with social network analysis to identify actor coalitions among Austria's major political parties and organized interest groups. Our findings reveal three distinct coalitions: Market-Driven Transition (emphasizing markets and innovation), Just Transition (prioritizing state intervention and distributional justice), and Ecological Modernization (emphasizing urgency and international cooperation). Despite differences in transformation pace and quality, substantial hegemonic consensus exists across actors – particularly regarding market-state tandems, techno-optimism, and growth orientation. This consensus reflects deep path dependencies and explains Austria's shift from environmental leader to climate laggard, demonstrating how economic reasoning and material interests constrain the political opportunity space for transformative climate action. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ico:wpaper:175 |
| By: | Henrekson, Magnus (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)); Sandström, Christian (Linneaus University, Växjö, Sweden); Stenkula, Mikael (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | Green Deals have been introduced across Western economies as large-scale, mission-oriented innovation policies (MOIPs) intended to combine economic growth with environmental sustainability. Rooted in the concept of an “entrepreneurial state, ” these initiatives reflect renewed confidence in governments’ ability to direct technological and industrial transformation. However, their outcomes have frequently diverged from expectations. This volume examines the theoretical foundations and empirical results of Green Deals, highlighting the institutional, economic, and behavioral factors that contribute to their shortcomings. Drawing on perspectives from evolutionary economics, public choice theory, and behavioral political economy, the contributors analyze a wide range of cases, including Germany’s Energiewende, Italy’s Superbonus, and the European Union’s hydrogen and battery programs. Across these examples, recurring challenges such as rent-seeking, mission capture, optimism bias, and distorted incentives are identified. The findings indicate that while Green Deals have advanced ambitious sustainability goals, they often undermine competitiveness and fiscal stability while generating limited environmental benefits. The volume concludes by outlining alternative pathways that emphasize incremental, technology-neutral, and institutionally grounded approaches to sustainability—approaches that align more closely with long-term economic resilience and effective environmental policy. |
| Keywords: | Entrepreneurship policy; Green deals; Green transition; Innovation policy; Moonshot policies; Public choice |
| JEL: | H50 L26 L52 O33 O38 P16 |
| Date: | 2026–02–25 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1553 |
| By: | Hendrik Theine (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences); Carlotta Verità (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria) |
| Abstract: | This contribution provides a first comprehensive mapping of the socio-ecological transformation (SET) landscape within the Austrian media (2015–2022). Utilizing a multi-layered mixed-methods framework that integrates Named Entity Recognition (NER), Structural Topic Modeling (STM), and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), we examine the “geography of voice” and the competing future-visions that define the mediated transformations. Our analysis reveals a landscape characterized by a dense institutional core where politicians and corporations command over 20% of total visibility, while civil society and international organizations remain less represented. This imbalance mirrors the thematic distribution of discourses, where structurally anchored themes like Nature/Biodiversity and Global Politics are increasingly backgrounded by sector-specific categories like Labour Market & Regulatory Policy. The Market-driven transition imaginary, driven by institutional and corporate actors, dominates material discourses like energy and mobility through techno-optimist framing. Conversely, Contested Disruptions pushed by civil society are frequently marginalized or relegated to cultural niches. By identifying significant silences regarding radical redistribution and the Majority World, we argue that the Austrian media landscape delineates the boundaries of the possible in the ecological crisis. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ico:wpaper:176 |
| By: | Gilles Paché (CERGAM - Centre d'Études et de Recherche en Gestion d'Aix-Marseille - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - UTLN - Université de Toulon) |
| Abstract: | As online retail hardens into a global liturgy of convenience, it consolidates algorithmic power, normalizes exploitation, and deepens ecological collapse, demanding a radical rethinking of consumption beyond the dogma of productivist capitalism. |
| Keywords: | Behavioral automation, Digital ritual, Ethical shopping, Material consequences, Algorithmic consumption |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05526037 |
| By: | Imen Bouhlel (ESSEC Business School, France); Nathalie Lazaric (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France); Paolo Zeppini (Université Côte d'Azur, CNRS, GREDEG, France) |
| Abstract: | Climate change calls for a transition to a more sustainable economy. Incumbent technologies pose a barrier to the diffusion of innovative solutions. Furthermore, the benefits of novel sustainable practices, such as recycling, can be offset by the adoption of obsolete polluting technologies. Understanding the mechanism of competitive diffusion is crucial for designing policies that favour promising but underdeveloped technologies. We propose an agent-based model where adoption occurs in a social network by word-of-mouth, in a percolation framework. We study how learning affects competitive diffusion and find that small differences in technologies' costs lead to large differences in their diffusion sizes. In addition, increasing the number of early adopters can back-fire and hinder overall diffusion. We calibrate the model to data on plastic waste recycling, where alternative solutions such as mechanical and physical/chemical technologies compete for a new market. Green public procurement, tax exemption and R&D boost are implemented for triggering sustainable transitions. The direction of technical change is discussed, as well as the role of policymakers in creating a shift in the plastic value chain. |
| Keywords: | Agent-based modeling; Learning curves; Mission-oriented policies; Networks; Percolation |
| JEL: | O33 Q55 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gre:wpaper:2026-04 |
| By: | Hugo Bailly (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Deloitte Economic Advisory) |
| Abstract: | The transition to a low-carbon economy requires substantial investment to replace the production technologies and infrastructure reliant on fossil fuels. In addition to regulation and carbon pricing, a range of financial policies has been proposed to accelerate green investment. This article evaluates the implications of three of them - direct green investment subsidies, green public guarantees, and capital market deepening - in terms of emission reduction, economic activity, and public debt. The analysis relies on a stock-flow consistent, input-output model of the EU economy, which explicitly incorporates industries' marginal abatement costs, intersectoral input-output linkages, and investment financing channels. Model simulations reveal that direct subsidies are the most effective tool for achieving significant emission reductions; however, they also result in substantial increases in the debt-to-GDP ratio. In contrast, public guarantees and equity market development tend to strengthen public finances and economic activity but yield only moderate emission cuts. The results further suggest that combining policies can effectively balance emission mitigation and economic activity without compromising public finance sustainability. |
| Keywords: | Energy transition, Green financial policies, Ecological macroeconomics, Stock-flow consistent modelling, Input-output modelling |
| Date: | 2026–02–22 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:cesptp:hal-05522653 |
| By: | Nicolas Langren\'e; Rui Liu; Xiangqin Wu; Tianhao Zhi |
| Abstract: | This paper synthesises the existing research on the dynamics of innovation diffusion, with a focus on Bass-type models and their extensions. The theoretical foundation of innovation diffusion proposed by Rogers (1962) and the seminal work of Bass (1969) serve as a starting point for the analysis. We identify and examine various generalizations and stochastic extensions of the Bass model, including counting processes, diffusion processes, and uncertain processes, as well as parameter estimation techniques, from classical statistical techniques to more advanced techniques such as Bayesian filtering and metaheuristic optimisation. We finally explore alternative models of innovation diffusion, with a particular focus on agent-based models. This overview of the evolution of Bass-type models illustrates the progress made in innovation diffusion research over the past decades. |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2602.19488 |
| By: | Hendrik Theine (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences); Alexander Stäudelmayr (Institute for Comprehensive Analysis of the Economy, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria; Socio-Ecological Transformation Lab, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria); Magdalena Maad (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria); Andrea Grisold (Department of Economics, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Vienna, Austria); Moritz Gartiser (Institute for Socioeconomics, University of Duisburg-Essen, Duisburg, Germany) |
| Abstract: | Rising wealth inequality is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century, threatening both equal opportunity and the foundations of democratic governance. Yet calls for taxing wealth remain limited, even though such measures could help curb inequality. Recognising the central role of media in shaping public opinion, this article investigates how narratives around wealth taxation are constructed and circulated in the media. Focusing on German-speaking countries—where wealth inequality is particularly pronounced—we employ a mixed-methods approach that combines structural topic modeling with qualitative narrative analysis. Our study identifies ten distinct economic narratives. Anti-tax narratives dominate public discourse, often questioning the feasibility of wealth taxation or framing pro-tax arguments as ideologically driven. In contrast, pro-tax narratives appear less frequently and are primarily oriented around principles of fairness and the need for systemic reform. The findings highlight notable differences in the prevalence and evolution of these narratives across countries and over time, but overall, a skewed perspective on wealth-based taxation. |
| Date: | 2026–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ico:wpaper:177 |
| By: | Joyce P. Jacobsen (Department of Economics, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Wesleyan University) |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wes:weswpa:2026-003 |
| By: | McMahon, James |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the timing of labour strikes in Hollywood. The occurrence of strikes, such as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023, can make sense when we have the hindsight to piece together the historical details of what created rifts between labour and management. But why do strikes in Hollywood occur when they do? Are there periods of time when it is more likely that contract negotiations will break down and unions in Hollywood will go on strike? This paper uses multiple sources of empirical data to analyse the historical trends of strikes in Hollywood between 1950 and 2023. Strikes in Hollywood - particularly by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA - have common political economic roots. They tend to occur when the profits of major Hollywood studios are in a type of danger zone: when the differential profits of Hollywood are stagnating or declining. Differential profit is a relative measure of performance. Differential profit can be found in any situation where a firm or set of firms holds a better stream of income than what others hold. For example, differential gains still occur when a firm loses profit at a slower rate than others. In the case of the Hollywood studios, differential profit is measured against Dominant Capital, which is our proxy for the S&P 500. The paper argues that danger zones of differential accumulation hurt Hollywood labour because Hollywood's major studios often rely on stagflation to differentially profit. As a combination of unemployment and inflation, stagflation is antagonistic to union demands for increased employment, job security, or higher wages. In Hollywood, strikes tend to occur during periods when film production is stagnating. The longest absence of strikes was from 1990 to 2000, when Hollywood reversed its stagflation strategy and released films at a level that was not seen in decades. Stagflation also has an influence on the management-artist hierarchy in Hollywood. While standard artist contracts in Hollywood construct a hierarchical structure that effectively prevents artists from exercising moral rights in opposition to aesthetic changes by management, increases of stagflation in Hollywood increase the employment size of management, both absolutely and relative to the collective employment size of actors, directors, producers, and writers. |
| Keywords: | differential accumulation, dominant capital, Hollywood, labour power, profit, stagflation, strikes |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:capwps:337455 |
| By: | Stenkula, Mikael (Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN)) |
| Abstract: | This essay examines the rise of “Green Deals” as large-scale state-sponsored active industrial policies to accelerate a transition toward climate neutrality. Building on the concept of mission-oriented innovation policy (MOIP), it documents how environmental and active industrial policies have converged across advanced economies, reshaping the policy toolkit toward direct public investment and publicly supported investment. The essay provides detailed accounts of the European Union’s Green Deal and the U.S. counterpart, situating them in the broader political economy of climate policy. It also highlights initiatives in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, which additionally illustrate Grean Deal initiatives and how the latter national strategies adapt EU-level frameworks and institutional constraints. A comparative analysis underscores key differences between the EU’s fragmented, case-by-case approach and the more streamlined but fiscally uncertain U.S. model. The essay concludes by stressing the need for greater scrutiny of these policies, including their economic efficiency and fiscal sustainability. |
| Keywords: | Climate neutrality; Climate policy; Green Deal; Mission-oriented innovation policy; Industrial policy |
| JEL: | H23 O38 P18 Q58 |
| Date: | 2026–02–26 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:iuiwop:1554 |
| By: | Carlos Cortes Zéa (CEI - Collège d'Etudes Interdisciplinaires - UP11 - Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11); Vincent Pradier Goeting (GREGOR - Groupe de Recherche en Gestion des Organisations - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - IAE Paris - Sorbonne Business School) |
| Abstract: | None of the Sustainable Development Goals will be met by 2030: persistent poverty, growing inequalities and inadequate financial resources attest to this collective failure. Even as ODA declines, the costs of eradicating extreme poverty remain within reach. The emergence of a ‘post-ODA world' reveals a crisis of purpose, two competing visions of what is needed: ‘improve' the aid architecture we have or ‘reinvent' it, breaking with the colonial or hierarchical underpinnings. Western NGOs, faced with a double imperative – decolonial and environmental - must re-think their economic models, power structures and partnerships to contribute to a new order of international cooperation |
| Abstract: | En 2030, aucun Objectif de développement durable ne sera atteint : la pauvreté persistante, les inégalités accrues et le financement insuffisant marquent cet échec collectif. Alors que l'Aide publique au développement (APD) décline, les coûts de l'éradication de l'extrême pauvreté demeurent accessibles. L'émergence d'un « monde post-APD » révèle une crise de finalité où s'affrontent deux visions : « améliorer » l'existant ou « réinventer » l'architecture du développement en rompant avec ses logiques coloniales et hiérarchiques. Confrontées à une double injonction décoloniale et environnementale, les ONG occidentales doivent repenser les modèles économiques, les structures de pouvoir et les partenariats afin de contribuer à un nouvel ordre de coopération internationale |
| Keywords: | ONG, APD, Cooperation internationale, Decolonial |
| Date: | 2026–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05524244 |
| By: | L. Randall Wray |
| Abstract: | The over-hyped Dot.com revolution bubbled and crashed at the end of the 1990s, leaving a largely unused physical and virtual infrastructure that eventually supported the rise of social media that did--indeed--transform life. Not necessarily in a good way. As Robert Gordon famously claimed, you can see the evidence of the digital revolution everywhere except in the data. Still, many billionaires were minted. After nearly a quarter century of growth, it seemed to have run its course until digital tech moved into the payments system promising another revolution based on cryptocurrencies. That, too, was over-hyped until Trump's reelection loosened rules to allow crypto to infect the financial system, targeting in particular the accumulated retirement savings of Americans. More billionaires minted. As P.T. Barnum (purportedly) proclaimed, "there's a sucker born every minute" and they add up but the number is still finite. The latest revolution is AI and it has generated the biggest bubble, by far. We are still in the early stages, but not only is AI almost single-handedly driving the stock market, it is also driving the "real" economy with its investments in data centers. One-hundred and three American billionaires were created since 2024, many of those owing to AI-related stock prices and investments. This paper will look in detail at the claims made for AI, the financial arrangements that are supporting its growth, and the dangers it poses for the US (and global) economies. While some argue that the current bubble looks little like the Dot.com bubble, that is true, but beside the point. The fragile financing of the AI bubble looks much more like the financial shenanigans that crashed into the Global Financial Crisis, and--unlike the Dot.com bubble that left us with a physical infrastructure that would eventually prove useful--the AI bubble will leave behind waste and destruction. |
| Keywords: | Artificial Intelligence; financial fragility, AI bubble; tech billionaires; financial fraud; technological revolution; Dot.com bubble; Global Financial Crisis; fraud; innovation; labor displacement by robots |
| JEL: | B52 E22 E32 O11 O16 O31 O38 O43 P17 |
| Date: | 2026–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_1107 |