|
on Heterodox Microeconomics |
|
Issue of 2024‒10‒28
fourteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Waitkus, Nora; Savage, Mike; Toft, Maren |
| Abstract: | Wealth inequalities are increasingly prominent in contemporary societies but they have not been systematically addressed by sociological class analysis. However, class analysis should have a lot to offer: in the literature on wealth inequality, wealth is often approached as a unidimensional distribution – a quantity one can possess more or less of, crystallized in notions of the Top 1%. In this theoretical intervention, we discuss ways in which class analysis can address the gravity of wealth inequality by returning to the origins in the thinking of Marx and Weber, where capital accumulation and property organization were given central stage. Drawing on more recent contributions from Bourdieu, and integrating insights from political economy, theories of racial capitalism and feminist perspectives, we outline ways to enrich class theory through attention to housing, finance, business and debt. Our intervention allows class analysis to embrace accumulation, exploitation, closure and exclusion; making it fit for purpose to address 21st-century social changes. |
| Keywords: | capitalism; class; theory; wealth |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2024–06–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:124534 |
| By: | Viktor Zinchenko (Institute of Higher Education of the National Academy of Educational Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv-city, Ukraine); Mykhailo Boichenko (Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) |
| Abstract: | Ecological approach gives new meaning to the original concept of economic rationality that was created by representatives of the Ukrainian school of physical economy – Serhii Podolinskyi (1850-1891), Volodymyr Vernadskyi (1863-1945) and Mykola Rudenko (1920-2004). It propose a theory of the sustainable development of mankind, which included an original version of thermodynamics, in which labor energy is the result of the transformation of solar energy. Humanity is gradually taking control of the changes in the balance of energy exchange between humanity and the rest of nature, and physical economics is a tool for discovering the limits of such control. The cycles of global energy transformation include cosmic, biological, social and spiritual stages, and the economy acts as the material basis and the place of concentration of these transformations. The threat of technogenic self-destruction of humanity actualizes the need to establish a dynamic and harmonious self-reproduction by humanity of these cycles. |
| Keywords: | Ukrainian philosophy of physical economy, Ecological approach, Global energy transformation, Energy balance in the economy, Economic rationality |
| Date: | 2024–09–16 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04698733 |
| By: | Samuel Wiese; Jagoda Kaszowska-Mojsa; Joel Dyer; Jose Moran; Marco Pangallo; Francois Lafond; John Muellbauer; Anisoara Calinescu; J. Doyne Farmer |
| Abstract: | In the last few years, economic agent-based models have made the transition from qualitative models calibrated to match stylised facts to quantitative models for time series forecasting, and in some cases, their predictions have performed as well or better than those of standard models (see, e.g. Poledna et al. (2023a); Hommes et al. (2022); Pichler et al. (2022)). Here, we build on the model of Poledna et al., adding several new features such as housing markets, realistic synthetic populations of individuals with income, wealth and consumption heterogeneity, enhanced behavioural rules and market mechanisms, and an enhanced credit market. We calibrate our model for all 38 OECD member countries using state-of-the-art approximate Bayesian inference methods and test it by making out-of-sample forecasts. It outperforms both the Poledna and AR(1) time series models by a highly statistically significant margin. Our model is built within a platform we have developed, making it easy to build, run, and evaluate alternative models, which we hope will encourage future work in this area. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2409.18760 |
| By: | Fei Cao |
| Abstract: | In several recent works on infinite-dimensional systems of ODEs \cite{cao_derivation_2021, cao_explicit_2021, cao_iterative_2024, cao_sticky_2024}, which arise from the mean-field limit of agent-based models in economics and social sciences and model the evolution of probability distributions (on the set of non-negative integers), it is often shown that the Gini index serves as a natural Lyapunov functional along the solution to a given system. Furthermore, the Gini index converges to that of the equilibrium distribution. However, it is not immediately clear whether this convergence at the level of the Gini index implies convergence in the sense of probability distributions or even stronger notions of convergence. In this paper, we prove several results in this direction, highlighting the interplay between the Gini index and other popular metrics, such as the Wasserstein distance and the usual $\ell^p$ distance, which are used to quantify the closeness of probability distributions. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2409.15225 |
| By: | Ellis Scharfenaker; Bruno Theodosio; Duncan K. Foley |
| Abstract: | Adam Smith's inquiry into the emergence and stability of the self-organization of the division of labor in commodity production and exchange is considered using statistical equilibrium methods from statistical physics. We develop a statistical equilibrium model of the distribution of independent direct producers in a hub-and-spoke framework that predicts both the center of gravity of producers across lines of production as well as the endogenous fluctuations between lines of production that arise from Smith's concept of "perfect liberty". The ergodic distribution of producers implies a long-run balancing of "advantages to disadvantages" across lines of employment and gravitation of market prices around Smith's natural prices. |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2409.10402 |
| By: | Corentin Lobet; Patrick Llerena; André Lorentz |
| Abstract: | We propose a disaggregated representation of production using an agent-based fund-flow model that emphasizes inefficiencies, such as factor idleness and production instability, and allows us to explore their emergence through simulations. The model incorporates productivity dynamics (learning and depreciation) and is extended with time-saving process innovations. Specifically, we assume workers possess inherent creativity that flourishes during idle periods. The firm, rather than laying off idle workers, is assumed to harness this potential by involving them in the innovation process. Results show that a firm's organizational and managerial decisions, the temporal structure of the production system, the degree of workers' learning and forgetting, and the pace of innovation are critical factors influencing production efficiency in both the short and long term. The co-evolution of production and innovation processes emerges in our model through the two-sided effects of idleness: the loss of skills through forgetting and the deflection of time from the production of goods to the production of ideas giving birth to idleness-driven innovations. In doing so, it allows us to question the status of labour as an adjustment variable in a productive organisation. The paper concludes by discussing potential solutions to this issue and suggesting avenues for future research. |
| Keywords: | Production Theory; Firm Theory; Agent-based model; Idleness; Innovation; Fund-flow |
| Date: | 2024–10–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ssa:lemwps:2024/27 |
| By: | Lucrezia Fanti (Dipartimento di Politica Economica, DISCE, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano, Italy); Marcelo C. Pereira (Institute of Economics, University of Campinas, Campinas, Brazil); Maria Enrica Virgillito (Institute of Economics, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Pisa, Italy) |
| Abstract: | How to conceive industrial policies as development instruments distinct from trade or fiscal-deduction interventions? How can we model and study the role of State-owned enterprises (SOEs) as agents of industrial policy? How can we model their main attributes and architectures? Drawing on the labour-augmented K+S Agent-Based Model (ABM) in a two-country configuration, we propose an ABM aimed at analysing how SOEs may affect technological and industrial development, fostering economic growth and international competitiveness, in the context of a North-South, leader-laggard type of dynamics. Our objective is not simply to study the ex post outcomes of industrial policies, but rather to model SOEs as explicit economic agents potentially capable to drive industrial dynamics, institutional build-up, and, ultimately, growth. The results indicate that SOEs are a relevant policymaking instrument for these purposes. |
| Keywords: | Industrial Policy, State-Owned Enterprises, Technology Gap, Agent-Based Model |
| JEL: | C63 J3 E24 O1 |
| Date: | 2024–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ctc:serie5:dipe0041 |
| By: | Franck Aggeri (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Promoted as a sustainable alternative to the linear economy, the circular economy is generating a lot of enthusiasm. Yet its results are disappointing. Unless there is strong circularity, based on the principles of sobriety, longer product lifetimes and the design of industrial and agro-ecological systems inspired by natural symbioses. |
| Abstract: | Promue comme alternative durable à l'économie linéaire, l'économie circulaire suscite un vif engouement. Ses résultats se révèlent pourtant décevants. À moins d'une circularité forte, fondée sur des principes de sobriété, d'allongement de la durée de vie des produits et de conception de systèmes industriels et agroécologiques inspirés des symbioses naturelles. |
| Keywords: | économie circulaire, Circularité, économie circulaire forte, sobriété |
| Date: | 2024–09–19 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04703000 |
| By: | Davis, John B. (Department of Economics Marquette University; Department of Economics Marquette University) |
| Abstract: | This chapter discusses how philosophy could influence economists in the future. It emphasizes factors affecting economists’ willingness to incorporate philosophical ideas in economics, and distinguishes a weak case and a strong case for them doing so. Both are tied to behavioral welfare economics’ ‘reconciliation problem’ regarding the relationship between positive and normative economics. The weak case concerns the nature of individual identity in connection with how present bias and weakness of will potentially pit today’s and tomorrow’s selves against one another. The strong case concerns the normative scope of economic policy and expanding policy recommendation beyond its current welfare-only basis. The weak case imposes adjustment on positive economics; the strong case imposes it on normative economics. The paper closes with brief comments on how historically different sciences and fields draw on one another over time. |
| Keywords: | economics, philosophy, reconciliation problem, present bias, individual identity, justice, Rawls, institutions, interdisciplinarity |
| JEL: | A12 A33 B41 D03 |
| Date: | 2024–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:mrq:wpaper:2024-04 |
| By: | Serena Sordi; Ahmad Naimzada; Marwil J. Dávila-Fernández |
| Abstract: | The global recession triggered by the great financial crisis and the response to the COVID-19 emergency have renewed the interest in connecting business cycle dynamics to financial conditions. This paper proposes a simple macro-dynamic behavioural model of the interaction between the stock market (SM) and the economy’s real sector (RS). We innovate by studying the interaction between two alternative sources of persistent fluctuations related to two different types of heterogeneity. The SM is modelled as a market with two heterogeneous speculators – chartists and fundamentalists. On the other hand, the RS is formalised as a simplified discrete-time version of Goodwin’s growth cycle model, distinguishing between labour and capital incomes. The interaction between the RS and the SM is the result of two assumptions: (i ) investment decisions depend on both profits and the stock price; (ii ) the fundamental value of the latter which is used by speculators in their demand functions is proportional to national output. The overlap between financial and real dynamics results in a novel source of economic fluctuations. We show that the dynamics generated by the resulting 2D map depend crucially on the sensitivity of investment to the stock price and a parameter entering the relation between the fundamental value of the stock price and national output. |
| Keywords: | Persistent fluctuations; Heterogeneous agents; Nonlinear dynamics; Stock market; Real-financial interactions |
| JEL: | C02 D84 E32 G12 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usi:wpaper:906 |
| By: | Laurence Scialom; Gaëtan Le Quang; Thomas Lagoarde Segot |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the implications of ecosystemic macroprudential regulations on sustainability in an ecological PK-SFC framework. We first discuss the link between banks and global warming; and present the case for connecting prudential regulation with planetary boundaries. We then report a set of simulations suggesting that in the short run, such ecosystemic prudential regulations could effectively green banks’ balance sheets, credit flows, and curtail brown investment, at the cost, however, of significant short-run losses. In the longer run, the induced green transition appears to set the economy on a more sustainable pathway, to decrease inflationary pressures, and to maintain real GDP at the baseline level, with distributional effects favourable to wage-earners. These results highlight the relevance of ecosystemic prudential regulation to tackle climate change and call for adopting a holistic approach to sustainability policies. |
| Keywords: | ecological finance, SFC modelling |
| JEL: | G00 G28 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2024-28 |
| By: | Marie Claire Villeval (GATE Lyon Saint-Étienne - Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique Lyon - Saint-Etienne - UL2 - Université Lumière - Lyon 2 - UJM - Université Jean Monnet - Saint-Étienne - EM - EMLyon Business School - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This review explores the social determinants of unethical behavior through a review of the recent experimental literature. It examines how decision-making environments, encompassing institutional frameworks, organizational structures, incentive schemes, peer influences, and social norms, affect unethical behaviors such as lying, corruption, tax evasion, or asset destruction. Key areas include the cultural roots of unethical behavior, the influence of markets and organizational cultures on moral values, the impact of competitive and cooperative incentive schemes, and the role of peer effects and social norms, social image and guilt. By analyzing the interaction between social determinants and individual behavior, the chapter highlights the complex dynamics that lead to unethical actions and suggests ways to harness these determinants to foster ethical conduct. The chapter concludes on interventions aimed at promoting ethical behavior, such as moral appeals and norm nudges. |
| Keywords: | Unethical behavior, dishonesty, moral values, social norms, experiments |
| Date: | 2024–07–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04706356 |
| By: | Franck Aggeri (CGS i3 - Centre de Gestion Scientifique i3 - Mines Paris - PSL (École nationale supérieure des mines de Paris) - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - I3 - Institut interdisciplinaire de l’innovation - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | Google has seen its CO2 emissions jump by 48% in 5 years with its development of AI. While innovation is constantly celebrated, and the illusion of "green" growth based on high-tech perpetuates economic dogma, how can we innovate differently? Two avenues can be explored: projective responsibility, such as integrating ecological and human capital into financial accounting; and, at the same time, deepening the path of sufficiency. |
| Abstract: | Google a vu ses émissions de CO2 bondir de 48 % en 5 ans avec son développement de l'IA. Alors que l'innovation est constamment célébrée, que l'illusion de croissance « verte » fondée sur le high-tech perpétue le dogme économique, comment innover autrement ? Deux pistes : responsabilisation projective, comme intégrer les capitaux écologiques et humains dans la comptabilité financière ; et parallèlement approfondir la voie de la sobriété. |
| Keywords: | Innovation, Innovation responsable, innovation projective, croissance verte, sobriété |
| Date: | 2024–08–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04703009 |
| By: | Claire Estagnasié (UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal, UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, GREDEG - Groupe de Recherche en Droit, Economie et Gestion - UNS - Université Nice Sophia Antipolis (1965 - 2019) - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UniCA - Université Côte d'Azur, LabCMO - Laboratoire de communication médiatisée par ordinateur - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal, CIRST - Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie - UdeM - Université de Montréal - UQAM - Université du Québec à Montréal = University of Québec in Montréal, RECOR - Groupe de recherche sur la Communication Organisante) |
| Abstract: | With the recent development of remote work, the question of "working together" arises: how do individuals manage to collaborate and, beyond that, create a work collective when there is no longer a common workplace? This methodological reflection examines the understanding of a digital phenomenon dislocated in space and time, such as the phenomenon of work from anywhere (WFA), which allows employees to work from anywhere. This short communication discusses a qualitative methodology inspired by shadowing (following organizational actors), multisite organizational ethnography, sensory and affective ethnography. This methodological bricolage allows for the examination of bodily practices and the lived experiences of remote workers. Initial fieldwork feedback reveals the necessary methodological adjustments to follow these individuals in various contexts and the necessary adaptation of the researcher. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of work practices and organizational dynamics in a digital context, proposing to understand shadowing as being articulated both online and offline, in a longitudinal and embodied manner. |
| Abstract: | Avec le récent développement du travail à distance, se pose la question du « travailler ensemble » : comment les individus parviennent-ils à collaborer et, au-delà, à créer un collectif de travail lorsqu'il n'y a plus de lieu de travail commun ? Cette réflexion méthodologique s'interroge sur la compréhension d'un phénomène numérique disloqué dans l'espace et le temps, tel que le phénomène du work from anywhere (WFA), qui consiste, pour des personnes salariées, à pouvoir travailler depuis n'importe où. Cette courte communication discute d'une méthodologie qualitative s'inspirant du shadowing (suivi des actant.es organisationnel.les), de l'ethnographie organisationnelle multisite, sensorielle et affective. Ce bricolage méthodologique permet d'examiner les pratiques corporelles et l'expérience vécue des personnes travaillant à distance. Les premiers retours du terrain révèlent les ajustements méthodologiques nécessaires pour suivre ces personnes dans divers contextes et l'adaptation nécessaire de la chercheuse. Cette recherche contribue à une compréhension approfondie des pratiques de travail et des dynamiques organisationnelles en contexte numérique, en proposant de comprendre le shadowing comme s'articulant à la fois en ligne et hors ligne, de manière longitudinale et incarnée. |
| Keywords: | Shadowing, organizational ethnography, remote work, spatiotemporal dislocation, ethnographie organisationnelle, pratiques incorporées, travail à distance, embodied practices, Communication |
| Date: | 2023–05–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04701726 |