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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2026–09–07
seven papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Tiziano Distefano; Luigi Reatti; Mario Biggeri; Cristina Vaquero-Piñeiro |
| Abstract: | This paper, considering regional disparities in climate change and policy impacts, highlights the need for a multi-regional level modelling that accounts for non-identical socio-economic and environmental dynamics at the sub-national level. Through a systematic literature review, we aim to identify and summarise heterogeneous approaches and research’s focus from existing literature concerning multi-level and multi-regional models used to address sustainability issues. We identify the most relevant themes, trends and topics investigated by the papers for which multi-level models have been used. While environmental and ecological issues are frequently addressed by these models, social dynamics are not particularly investigated and little to no interest is devoted to regional-national links. From the methodological perspective, most of the computational models employed utilise static systems (primarily Input-Output and CGE) and dynamic Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs). The paper provides a welcome basis for how multi-level models can contribute to addressing sustainability issues in economic research. Indeed, national areas deal with non-identical climate shocks and are characterised by inconsistent socio- economic dynamics. Through an analysis of the current literature, of relevant papers concerning multi-level and multi-regional models, and of analyses spanning across multidisciplinary subjects, the most relevant themes, trends and topics are shown. This examination shows how social dynamics are not particularly investigated in the considered papers, and little to no interest is devoted to regional-national links. Moreover, this literature exploration highlights that most computational models employed utilise IAMs and static systems (primarily Input-Output and CGE) and that the interest concerning ecological economics related issues, has been growing in the past years. |
| Keywords: | Sustainability; Energy Transition; Environment; Multi-level; Multi-regional; Climate Policy; IAMs, I-O; CGE; Ecological Economics |
| JEL: | C6 Q5 Q4 R1 D6 O1 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:frz:wpaper:wp2026_06.rdf |
| By: | Kalff, Yannick (HTW Berlin University of Applied Sciences) |
| Abstract: | Bioplastics have emerged as a beacon of hope for sustainable alternatives to conventional, petroleum-based plastics. They promise sustainability by technically addressing the issues associated with plastics – waste burden, emissions, and dependence on oil. This makes them a ‘technological fix, ’ recommending simple technical solutions to complex challenges but overlooking the intricate reality. The article empirically demonstrates that the disappointments with bioplastics are not solely due to technical reasons but stem from neglected societal, social, economic, or ecological factors. These factors range from the material properties of early bioplastics, monocultures and land competition for the use of renewable resources, to their economic competitiveness. From the technological promise of sustainability and the dashed hopes for bioplastics, it follows that the technological fix fails because it is tied to the path dependencies of fossil plastics. Without social innovations in societal use of plastics, departing from these paths is difficult. |
| Date: | 2026–08–14 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:socarx:zemf6_v2 |
| By: | Grugni, Elisa; Bazzana, Davide; Guerini, Mattia |
| Abstract: | Carbon farming comprises land-use practices that enhance carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving soil quality and long-term agricultural sustainability. Despite its potential as a naturebased solution to climate change, its large-scale adoption is hindered by high upfront costs, monitoring challenges, and carbon permanence risks. This paper develops an agent-based model to study the adoption dynamics of carbon farming under alternative policy designs. Farmers allocate land across different agricultural practices, including conventional farming, crop rotation, and afforestation, each characterized by distinct economic and environmental implications. The model is used as a laboratory to study the agricultural transition under different incentive mechanisms: action-based subsidies, result-based payments linked to carbon sequestration, and hybrid mechanisms. Simulation results highlight important trade-offs. Action-based subsidies promote rapid adoption but may increase policy costs and threaten food production. Result-based schemes ensure economic sustainability but generate weaker environmental improvements. The paper provides policy-relevant insights into how incentive design shapes the diffusion and effectiveness of carbon farming, contributing to the debate on climate policy within the EU agricultural sector. |
| Keywords: | Climate Change, Environmental Economics and Policy, Land Economics/Use, Resource/Energy Economics and Policy, Sustainability |
| Date: | 2026–09–01 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:feemwp:410239 |
| By: | Raape, Leander |
| Abstract: | International Financial Subordination (IFS) places major external constraints to developmentalist policy space in Global South countries and shapes their domestic political economy. An analysis of the relatively successful neodevelopmentalist period of 2002-2014 in Brazil, when some external constraints to development were loosened during the commodity boom, reveals that the very factors that advanced the interests of the dominant social bloc and drove growth contributions also diminished policy space. Because of this misalignment, the neodevelopmentalist government missed opportunities for policy space expansion, and its existing attempts were thwarted. Developmentalist literature has argued that in Latin America, developmentalist policies are opposed by some sectors of the domestic capitalist class, rendering favourable and stable coalitions unfeasible. An examination of the relationship between dominant social blocs and growth regimes however reveals that the interests of households, poor as well as upper-middle class, also need to be addressed to achieve sustainable development. The Brazilian experience shows the importance of structural power: Governments that seek to implement developmentalist projects should confront domestic interests that thwart ambitions to counter IFS and strengthen like minded groups such as industrial capital, industry trade unions, and poor peasants. |
| Keywords: | International Financial Subordination, developmentalism, policy space, international political economy |
| JEL: | E11 E12 F54 O20 O54 |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:343107 |
| By: | Do, Thi Thanh Duong; Nguyen, Thi Thiem; Luu, Van Duy; Nguyen, Thanh Phong |
| Abstract: | Macadamia has recently emerged as a high-value tree nut crop in tropical and subtropical mountain regions, particularly in the Northwest of Vietnam (including Dien Bien, Son La and Lai Chau province). In Dien Bien province, where agriculture is dominated by smallholder and ethnic minority farming systems, macadamia development is increasingly promoted as a pathway for income diversification, ecological restoration, and climate resilience. However, the rapid expansion of this crop also raises critical sustainability concerns that require systematic assessment. This study evaluates the opportunities and risks associated with sustainable macadamia production in mountain food systems, using a comprehensive analytical framework that integrates environmental, economic, and social dimensions. The research draws on field surveys, stakeholder interviews, and secondary data to assess production performance, livelihood impacts, and ecological implications in Dien Bien province. Key indicators include income generation, land-use efficiency, soil conservation capacity, market integration, and institutional support mechanisms. The findings indicate that macadamia cultivation offers significant opportunities for improving household incomes, particularly when integrated with agroforestry systems. It contributes to soil protection, enhances carbon sequestration potential, and supports the transition toward more climate-resilient farming systems. In addition, the development of value chains and market linkages has begun to create new economic opportunities for local communities. Nevertheless, the study also identifies several major risks. These include market price volatility, limited technical knowledge among farmers, insufficient access to quality planting materials, and weak extension services. Social challenges such as land tenure insecurity and unequal benefit distribution may further constrain sustainable outcomes. From an environmental perspective, inappropriate land conversion and monocropping practices could undermine biodiversity and long-term ecosystem stability. The paper concludes that achieving sustainable macadamia production in mountainous Northwest Vietnam requires integrated policy interventions, strengthened cooperative models, and the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices. Enhancing technical capacity, improving market governance, and ensuring inclusive participation of ethnic minority communities are essential to balance economic benefits with environmental integrity and social equity in the region’s evolving mountain food systems. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:nccc26:409070 |
| By: | Brüggemann, Kai |
| Abstract: | This article argues that Keynes's inquiry into probability constitutes a theory of rational choice under uncertainty that is distinct from the subjective probability approach. Ramsey's theoretical treatment, in contrast to Keynes's, anticipates the mathematization of economic theory by introducing the possibility of numerically precise expressions of expectations under uncertainty. His essay reveals how this approach relies on idealized formalizations, most notably illustrated through the analogy between decision-making and betting. In doing so, Ramsey's account aims to provide a descriptive analysis of human behaviour under uncertainty. Both analyses indicate the limits to the mathematical inquiry of decisions under uncertainty by exposing the limits of induction. While this issue remains largely absent from Ramsey's analysis, it is constitutive of Keynes's account. Thus, although both approaches seek to develop concepts of rational choice under conditions of incomplete knowledge, the normative issues arising from the epistemic conception of uncertainty central to Keynes's analysis remain excluded from Ramsey's inquiry. Contrasting the two accounts reveals how distinct analyses of the economy can be traced back to different epistemic standpoints on uncertainty in decision-making. |
| Date: | 2026 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:cessdp:343056 |
| By: | Hinh T. Dinh |
| Abstract: | This paper provides a structural assessment of India’s services-led development trajectory, and its integration into global value chains (GVCs) between 2012 and 2022. Applying an analytical framework that categorizes services into knowledge (KS), enabling (ES), and local (LS) sectors, the study utilizes sixteen OECD indicators to move beyond the narrative of India as a ‘services champion’ and reveal a more complex economic reality. The analysis identifies three central structural patterns, beginning with the ‘enclave’ nature of the flagship IT export sector (J62–63), which maintains productivity levels comparable to high-income benchmarks, but is shallowly linked to the domestic economy, with a labor-income share that plummeted from 26% to 11% over the decade. Second, a stark absorption arithmetic reveals a productivity-absorption tradeoff in which the most productive sectors employ the fewest workers. Consequently, with an agricultural workforce still near 248 million, IT expansion alone cannot fulfill for India the labor-reallocation function traditionally performed by manufacturing. Finally, the paper identifies a constraint-driven posture in which India’s manufacturing share has stalled at post-industrial levels (16% of GDP) despite aggressive policy interventions such as ‘Make in India’. This trajectory is framed not as a choice, but as the ‘path left available’ because of the global capital intensification of manufacturing, which has significantly weakened its labor-absorption capacity. The paper concludes that while India’s services-led path is viable, it requires a ‘Big-Push’ policy characterized by the public coordination of investments that the market alone will not align. Aggregate convergence depends on scaling knowledge services beyond IT, and upgrading the productivity of ‘absorbing’ LS through AI-enabled tools. Ultimately, India’s convergence challenge is harder than that of comparable manufacturing-led economies because services are more heterogeneous in terms of productivity and employment generation, and the country’s immense scale magnifies the difficulty of the absorption arithmetic. |
| Date: | 2026–07 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ocp:rpaeco:rp11_26 |