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on Heterodox Microeconomics |
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Issue of 2025–06–09
fifteen papers chosen by Carlo D’Ippoliti, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza” |
| By: | Tsoulfidis, Lefteris |
| Abstract: | Smith's theory of value and distribution, which emphasizes labor time as the determinant of prices, has been widely misunderstood. Ricardo misinterpreted it as relevant only to primitive societies, while Marx mistakenly aligned it with his own labor theory of value. In reality, Smith’s perspective oscillates between a labor-based and a labor-commanded approach to relative prices, intended for modern economies. Neoclassical economists further distorted Smith’s views by incorporating utility theory. Moreover, while Smith is often linked to the theory of a falling rate of profit due to competition, he actually attributed it to rising capital intensity. Contrary to the belief that Smith was a staunch advocate of free markets, he supported reasonable government intervention. |
| Keywords: | Labor theory of value, falling rate of profit, labor commanded, capital intensity |
| JEL: | B00 B31 B51 N00 |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:124796 |
| By: | Andini, Corrado |
| Abstract: | This paper proposes a theory of the mark-up that is embedded in a circuit model of the capitalist mode of production. The model and the theory are built on Keynes's principle of effective demand, Graziani's monetary theory of production and Pivetti's monetary theory of distribution. The price- setting mechanism is conceived as driven by a Kaleckian rule. The rate of interest on bank loans and the propensities to save of different macro-players are shown to affect the level of the mark-up, thus contributing to explain "labour exploitation" as measured by the average gap between worker's pay and productivity. In other words, "labour exploitation" is seen as being in part originated by monetary phenomena, such as the rentability of bank credit and the macro-players' propensities to accumulate money in a bank account. |
| Keywords: | Profit, Wage, Money, Finance, Capitalism |
| JEL: | B22 E11 E12 E40 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:glodps:1610 |
| By: | Ron Boschma |
| Abstract: | The paper reviews how the concept of institutional complementarities has been approached in the Varieties of Capitalism and Policy Mix literatures. Based on a critical review, we propose instead an evolutionary framework to analyze institutional complementarities that is inspired by the principle of relatedness. We discuss promising future applications in economic geography, such as how complementarities across institutions may promote regional diversification in regions, how this institutional complementarity framework may shed light on the question what is feasible when implementing institutional change in specific territorial contexts, and how it may contribute to understand better how regional innovation policy may become effective in particular institutional contexts. |
| Keywords: | institutions, institutional complementarities, institutional relatedness, institutional change, institutional space, varieties of capitalism, policy mix, policy space, regional diversification, Evolutionary Economic Geography |
| JEL: | B15 B52 P51 R11 R58 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2514 |
| By: | Yannis Dafermos (Department of Economics, SOAS University of London); Andrew McConnel (Pollination Group); Maria Nikolaidi (School of Accounting, Finance and Economics, University of Greenwich); Servaas Storm (Delft University of Technology); Boyan Yanovski (Dr. Roolfs Vent Solaire GmbH) |
| Abstract: | Recent years have seen an increasing use of environmental dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (E-DSGE) models for analyzing the macroeconomic effects of the climate crisis. This paper explores to what extent these models are fit for purpose. We identify the limitations of the benchmark E-DSGE framework and explain how these limitations restrict the ability of this framework to meaningfully capture the macroeconomics of the climate crisis. We then explain how the assumptions behind these limitations can be relaxed, but argue that simply relaxing some of these assumptions in isolation is insufficient to address the problem. We therefore call for a broader use of other macroeconomic models, such as ecological stock-flow consistent (E-SFC) and ecological agent-based (E-AB) models, that address these limitations simultaneously. We explain how these models do not suffer from the pitfalls of the E-DSGE framework and outline how they need to improve to increase their usefulness as tools that can inform macroeconomic policy making in the Anthropocene. |
| Keywords: | climate crisis, DSGE modeling, stock-flow consistent modeling, agent-based modeling, green macroeconomic policies, green finance |
| JEL: | E10 E20 E40 E50 E60 |
| Date: | 2024–10–12 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp229 |
| By: | Blees, Philip |
| Abstract: | Scrutinizing post-Keynesian theory of endogenous technical progress and Régulation Theory, this paper examines productivity growth and its variation within capitalist economies. The aim is to identify how institutions steer productivity growth. Based on the vast literature demonstrating that institutions not only have a direct impact on the innovative environment but also affect productivity growth by changing distribution and demand, an analytical framework that distinguishes between these direct and indirect effects is derived. Applying this method to Germany and the US from 1991 to 2022, we find that Germany was characterized by a laborled productivity regime, while the US exhibited a state-led productivity regime. This finding explains the more substantial decline in productivity growth in Germany - which was due to changes in the wage-labor nexus -, as compared to the US, where public investment stabilized productivity growth. |
| Keywords: | Endogenous technical progress, growth regimes, institutions, Kaleckian models, Régulation Theory, Germany, US |
| JEL: | E11 O43 O47 P52 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ipewps:319063 |
| By: | Aslanidis, Panagiotis-Stavros; Halkou, Panagiota; Halkos, George |
| Abstract: | The aim of the review is to investigate the critical role of psychological and sociocultural factors in sustainable development. Unlike traditional approaches that prioritize mainly on technical and economic solutions, the novelty of this work lies in its reframing of sustainability through a deeply social and ethical lens. The paper introduces a multidimensional perspective on sustainable transformation through an extensive synthesis of behavioural theories, climatic-oriented psychological elements (e.g., eco-anxiety), and cultural practices (e.g., biomimicry). The three review’s objectives are to: (i) incorporate psychological and sociocultural dimensions into sustainable development agenda; (ii) demonstrate how values, norms, and perceptions shape pro-environmental behaviours; and (iii) call for an ethical consensus across societal sectors. Essentially, this integrative approach seeks to build more inclusive, resilient, and ethically grounded pathways to sustainable development, as sustainable development is not only a techno-economic challenge, but also a deeply socio-ethical endeavour. |
| Keywords: | environmental psychology; environmental sociology; environmental economics; sustainable consumer behaviour; sustainable employee behaviour; sustainable development; ethics. |
| JEL: | D64 M14 Q01 Q5 Q50 Q59 Z1 |
| Date: | 2025–05–30 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:124903 |
| By: | Anah\'i Rodr\'iguez-Mart\'inez; Silvia Bartolucci; Francesco Caravelli; Victoria Landaberry; Pierpaolo Vivo; Fabio Caccioli |
| Abstract: | Understanding how credit flows through inter-firm networks is critical for assessing financial stability and systemic risk. In this study, we introduce DebtStreamness, a novel metric inspired by trophic levels in ecological food webs, to quantify the position of firms within credit chains. By viewing credit as the ``primary energy source'' of the economy, we measure how far credit travels through inter-firm relationships before reaching its final borrowers. Applying this framework to Uruguay's inter-firm credit network, using survey data from the Central Bank, we find that credit chains are generally short, with a tiered structure in which some firms act as intermediaries, lending to others further along the chain. We also find that local network motifs such as loops can substantially increase a firm's DebtStreamness, even when its direct borrowing from banks remains the same. Comparing our results with standard economic classifications based on input-output linkages, we find that DebtStreamness captures distinct financial structures not visible through production data. We further validate our approach using two maximum-entropy network reconstruction methods, demonstrating the robustness of DebtStreamness in capturing systemic credit structures. These results suggest that DebtStreamness offers a complementary ecological perspective on systemic credit risk and highlights the role of hidden financial intermediation in firm networks. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2505.01326 |
| By: | Abdu, Aishat; Malapit, Hazel J.; Go, Ara |
| Abstract: | Agricultural programs targeting women may increase women’s work burdens and shift the distribution of work between productive and reproductive tasks. Complementary information on women’s sense of control over their time highlights additional benefits of agricultural programs beyond changes in women’s workloads. Despite program interventions, gender norms often persist, affecting how communities perceive work intensity and division of responsibilities between men and women. The relationship between women’s time use and nutrition is complex and interacts with mediating factors, requiring a multifaceted approach to program design and evaluation. Evidence linking time use data to nonfarm work is lacking, highlighting the need to leverage WEAI time use data to fill this critical gap. |
| Keywords: | women; agriculture; gender; female labour; division of labour |
| Date: | 2025–05–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fpr:anress:174463 |
| By: | Basile Clerc |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the relevance of the incomes policy advocated by Claude Gruson in the 1960s to address the inflationary pressures characteristic of the crisis of the "Fordist regime" in France. To this end, we draw on the unprecedented study of the Gruson report submitted to Georges Pompidou in 1964. Despite its theoretical coherence, this policy was rejected by Pompidou, who ordered the physical destruction of the report copies due to its "sensitive" nature. Rooted in the perspective of the regulation theory and enriched by neo-realist political economy, this study demonstrates how Gruson’s proposal, based on a “proto-regulationist” analysis of inflation, could have acted as an institutional stabilizer by limiting distributive conflicts at the heart of the crisis. Pompidou’s decision, emblematic of the realignments taking place in the 1960s, marks a step towards a neoliberal regulatory framework. The article thus highlights the interactions between structural transformations and political decisions, underscoring how the abandonment of incomes policy reflects the shifts within the "dominant social bloc" in 1960s France. |
| Keywords: | incomes policy; crisis of Fordism; regulation theory |
| JEL: | E64 N00 E31 M48 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2025-26 |
| By: | Benyounes Rahouti (Université Mohammed Premier [Oujda] = Université Mohammed Ier) |
| Abstract: | This article proposes to present a reflection on theapprehension of uncertainty in a particular and unprecedented environment, such as that of the 2020 health crisis. Today, with multidisciplinary, theoretical and intellectual proliferation has made the concept of uncertainty particularly polysemic and a source of confusion. The attribution of a precise and universal definition remains very problematic. Attempts to define uncertainty in different historicalcontexts have come up against epistemological approaches, methods of analysis, and even specific and very disparate intervention languages, creating a rich but sometimes controversial conceptual landscape. On this basis, this article attempts to explore in depth the meaning of the concept given the hostile and unpredictable context of the Covid-19 pandemic period. The interest of such a perspective is to provide contextual and interpretative insight into this test of apprehension uncertainty. The line of argument developed in this paper reveals the value of apprehending the concept's full complexity through the lens of an ignorance continuum, spanning near-certainty to absolute ignorance. Transcending traditional dichotomous boundaries of uncertainty (measurable vs. immeasurable), this progressive and gradual vision makes it possible to visualize the variety of unknowns that range from the partially controllable to utterly unpredictable unknown. |
| Abstract: | Cet article propose de restituer une réflexion portant sur l'appréhension de l'incertitude dans un environnement particulier et inédit, tel que celui de la crise sanitaire de 2020.Aujourd'hui, avec la pluridisciplinarité, le foisonnement théorique et intellectuel a rendu le concept d'incertitude particulièrement polysémique et source de confusion. L'attribution d'une définition précise et universelle demeure très problématique. Les tentatives de cerner l'incertitude, au travers de différents contextes historiques, se sont heurtées à des approches épistémologiques, des méthodes d'analyse, voire des langages d'intervention spécifiques et très disparates, créant un paysage conceptuel riche, mais parfois controversé. Sur ce fondement, le présent article tente d'explorer en profondeur le sens du concept compte tenu du contexte hostile et imprévisible qu'a revêtu la période pandémiquedeCovid-19.L'enjeu d'une telle perspective est d'apporter un éclairage contextuel et interprétatif à cette épreuve d'appréhension de l'incertitude. L'argumentaire déployé dans ce papier révèle l'intérêt de saisir toute la complexité du concept à travers l'optique du continuum d'inconnaissance, oscillant entre la quasi-certitude et l'ignorance totale. Transcendant les frontières dichotomiques traditionnelles de l'incertitude (mesurable vs. non mesurable), cette vision progressive et graduelle permet de visualiser la variété d'inconnues qui s'étend de l'inconnu partiellement maîtrisable à celui qui demeure hors de contrôle et de toute possibilité de prévision. |
| Keywords: | Uncertainty, risk, Covid-19, black swan, continuum of unknowing, Incertitude, risque, cygne noir, continuum d'inconnaissance |
| Date: | 2025–04–21 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05043795 |
| By: | Heng-fu Zou |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a continuous-time mean field game model of capital accumulation with heterogeneous agents facing idiosyncratic stochastic productivity. Agents optimize infinite-horizon consumption under linear production and quadratic utility. The model yields a coupled Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman and Fokker-Planck system, whose stationary solution ex hibits a Pareto-tailed wealth distribution. We derive the Pareto exponent analytically and show it depends on productivity and volatility. Numerical simulations confirm that realistic parameter values generate Gini coeffcients exceeding 0.7, consistent with empirical inequality. We evaluate the effectiveness of wealth taxation, consumption subsidies, and productivity equalization, finding these policies have limited long-run impact. Inequal ity emerges as a structural property of decentralized optimization under uncertainty, offering a micro-founded explanation for persistent wealth Concentration in capitalist economies. |
| Keywords: | Mean field games, wealth inequality, capital accumulation, Pareto distribution, stochastic dynamics, policy robustness |
| Date: | 2025–05–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cuf:wpaper:758 |
| By: | Heng-fu Zou |
| Abstract: | This paper develops a dynamic model of power accumulation and inequality using the framework of mean field games. Agents optimize intertemporally over consumption while accumulating power as a capital stock, subject to idiosyncratic productivity shocks. Power yields direct utility and enhances future accumulation. In equilibrium, the joint distribution of power and productivity evolves endogenously via a coupled Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman and Fokker-Planck system. We prove that - even absent initial heterogeneity-persistent inequality and elite dominance emerge as stable outcomes. The stationary distribution exhibits fat tails and high Gini coefficients, consistent with empirical observations of power concentration in historical empires and modern regimes. The model offers a structural explanation for the recurrent emergence of dominant elites under decentralized, rational decision-making. |
| Keywords: | power accumulation, inequality, mean field games, elite dominance, stochastic dynamics |
| Date: | 2025–05–15 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cuf:wpaper:759 |
| By: | Tymoigne, Eric |
| Abstract: | A monetary approach that combines Chartalism, Nominalism, and Command origins of monetary systems is often deemed to have emerged only recently, while the Aristotelian approach (Commodity, Metallism, and Market origins of monetary systems) is the only one that existed until the end of the eighteenth/early-nineteenth century. In the major studies of the history of monetary thought, the Chartalism-Nominalism-Command approach is mostly left unmentioned, or at best reduced to an incoherent banality. The paper shows that this approach has a long and rich intellectual history among uropean monetary thinkers. In Europe, Plato was its first exponent, albeit in a very rudimentary way, and so one may call it the “Platonic approach.” It is developed by Roman legists (such as Javolenus, Paulus, and Ulpian) and Medieval legists (such as Du Moulin, Hotman, and Butigella) who note that coins are similar to securities and that debts are serviced when nominal sums are paid rather than specific coins tendered. During the Renaissance and early modern period, a series of scholars and financial practitioners (such as Law, Dutot, Thomas Smith, and James Taylor) emphasize the financial logic behind monetary mechanics and the similarity of coins and notes. In the twentieth century, authors such as Innes, Knapp, Keynes, and Commons build onto the groundwork provided by these past scholars. In China, the Chartalism-Nominalism-Command approach develops independently and dominates from the beginning under Confucian and Legist thoughts. They emphasize the statecraft origins of monetary systems, the role of tax redemption, and the irrelevance of the material used to make monetary instruments. Clay, lead, paper, iron, copper, and tin are normal and convenient means to make monetary instruments, they are not special/emergency materials. The essence of a monetary instrument is not defined by its materiality but rather by its chartality, that is, by the promise it embeds. The Platonic approach rejects the categories and conceptualizations used by the Aristotelian approach and develops new ones, which leads to a different set of inquiries and understanding of monetary phenomena, problems, and history. |
| Keywords: | History of monetary thoughts, monetary theory, Chartalism, Nominalism, asset pricing, redemption |
| JEL: | B10 B11 B20 B26 E42 E62 G12 H30 K12 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:124797 |
| By: | Kirstin Munro (Department of Economics, New School For Social Research, USA) |
| Abstract: | A body of literature in conventional labor economics contends with multiple endogeneity concerns inexamining the impact of purportedly labor-saving home appliances on married women’s labor force participation. However, this literature largely overlooks insights from feminist research. Using 1991-2010 microdata for Brazil, I question the way earlier studies have interpreted the relationship between household appliance ownership and female labor force participation. My results for Brazil are similar in magnitude to those using 1960-1970 microdata for the United States. However, I obtain this same result when televisions — not straightforwardly a “labor-saving appliance” — are substituted for clothes washing machines in the model. A result with a stronger causal interpretation, relying on variations in the proportion of women employed in household services, suggests a negative relationship between washing machines and women’s labor force participation. I conclude there is not sufficient evidence to claim home appliances cause increases in married women’s labor force participation. |
| Keywords: | Women’s labor force participation, household technology, domestic labor, Brazil |
| JEL: | B54 D13 J22 |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:new:wpaper:2509 |
| By: | Sergio Palomeque |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the processes of generating new technical knowledge, aim- ing to contribute to an understanding of how less developed economies can diversify their knowledge base to support economic development. We study the structure of relatedness of required knowledge between technologies at a global level, conceived as a network where technologies are connected according to the intensity with which they co-occur in the inventors’ portfolios. Based on this, topological characteristics of the network are studied using node-level metrics to propose diversification strate- gies that alleviate the lock-in effects suffered by less developed economies. The paper contributes to the literature by proposing two indicators that can be used to analyse relevant dimensions of the innovation system of cities in less developed regions. One of the indicators enables us to compare the levels of stability of the technologies that comprise the knowledge base of the cities. The second provides a measure of the level of alternatives available to the city for each diversification decision. The results, based on the analysis of Latin American cities, show that the stability of the technologies present in a city, as well as the alternatives available to choose its diversification path, are relevant to designing diversification strategies that could contribute to overcoming the constraints generated by the characteristics of the knowledge base of those cities. |
| Keywords: | relatedness; innovation systems; patents; cities; Latin America; Evolu- tionary Economic Geography |
| JEL: | B52 D85 O31 O32 O34 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:egu:wpaper:2515 |