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on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Alain Béraud (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS : UMR8184 - Université de Cergy Pontoise) |
| Abstract: | Cet article étudie la crise qui, en 1825, tacha l'économie anglaise et les travaux que John Stuart Mill, Thomas Tooke et John Ramsay McCulloch consacrèrent à son analyse. Alors que McCulloch s'appuyait, pour comprendre, la crise sur la tradition ricardienne, Mill et Tooke s'en écartent et sans doute celui-là plus que celui-ci. McCulloch et Tooke soutiennent que l'organisation du système bancaire anglais a joué, sinon dans l'origine du moins dans le développement de la crise, un rôle remarquable. Mill, au contraire, pense que la crise est l'effet de spéculations hasardeuses et qu'elle se serait tout aussi bien développée dans un système où la monnaie aurait consisté en espèces. Il avance des idées qui seront reprises et développées par la Banking School. |
| Keywords: | Mill, Tooke, McCulloch, crise, spéculation, overtrading, Banking School |
| Date: | 2009–05–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00387078_v1&r=hpe |
| By: | Hugo Eduardo da Gama Cerqueira (Cedeplar-UFMG) |
| Abstract: | This article presents an outline of the biography of David Riazanov. The article discusses Riazanov’s participation in the political and intellectual life of Russia, and his role in the discovery and the publication of the literary legacy of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, which culminated in the first attempt to edit the Marx Engels Gesamtausgabe (MEGA). |
| Keywords: | David (Borisovich Goldendach) Riazanov; Karl Marx; Friedrich Engels; MEGA |
| JEL: | B31 B24 A31 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td352&r=hpe |
| By: | Julien Chevallier (EconomiX - CNRS : UMR7166 - Université de Paris X - Nanterre) |
| Abstract: | This article provides a critical appraisal of the concept of sustainable development in light of climate change. As the latest climate change science indicates strong effects of anthropogenic activity on global warming, we review the pros and the cons of prioritizing development over environmental protection. The methodology used consists in critically discussing the arguments of scientists and academic researchers in the environmental economics field to put a greater emphasis on the preservation of the environment vs. urging development issues. We show that the debate over prioritization does not make sense insomuch as the wider consequences of climate change are envisioned, i.e. it does not appear conceptually appropriate to think about environment and development issues in separate spheres. Our main contribution consists in embracing a holistic approach to discuss sustainable development issues within the new international framework of climate change policy and anthropogenic global warming concerns. |
| Keywords: | climate change policy, sustainable development, prioritization, development, environmental protection, global warming |
| Date: | 2009–05–26 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:wpaper:halshs-00388069_v1&r=hpe |
| By: | Steven D. Levitt; John A. List |
| Abstract: | The “Hawthorne effect,†a concept familiar to all students of social science, has had a profound influence both on the direction and design of research over the past 75 years. The Hawthorne effect is named after a landmark set of studies conducted at the Hawthorne plant in the 1920s. The first and most influential of these studies is known as the “Illumination Experiment.†Both academics and popular writers commonly summarize the results as showing that every change in light, even those that made the room dimmer, had the effect of increasing productivity. The data from the illumination experiments, however, were never formally analyzed and were thought to have been destroyed. Our research has uncovered these data. We find that existing descriptions of supposedly remarkable data patterns prove to be entirely fictional. There are, however, hints of more subtle manifestations of a Hawthorne effect in the original data. |
| JEL: | A0 C91 C92 C93 L22 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:15016&r=hpe |
| By: | Redding, Stephen J |
| Abstract: | Although a rich and extensive body of theoretical research on new economic geography has emerged, empirical research remains comparatively less well developed. This paper reviews the existing empirical literature on the predictions of new economic geography models for the distribution of income and production across space. The discussion highlights connections with other research in regional and urban economics, identification issues, potential alternative explanations and possible areas for further research. |
| Keywords: | Industrial Location; Market Access; Multiple Equilibria; New Economic Geography |
| JEL: | F12 F14 O10 |
| Date: | 2009–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:7307&r=hpe |
| By: | Cahit Guven |
| Abstract: | This paper presents evidence on causal influence of happiness on social capital and trust using German Socio-Economic Panel. Exploiting the unexplained cross-sectional variation in individual happiness (residuals) in 1984 to eliminate the endogeneity problem, the paper nds that happier people trust others more, and importantly, help create more social capital. Specifically, they have a higher desire to vote, perform more volunteer work, and more frequently participate in public activities. They also have a higher respect for law and order, hold more association memberships, are more attached to their neighborhood, and extend more help to others. Residual happiness appears to be an indicator of optimism, and has an inverse U-shaped relationship with social capital measures. The findings also suggest that the relationship between happiness and social capital strengthened in the world in the last decade. |
| Keywords: | happiness, trust, social capital, optimism. |
| JEL: | Z13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:dkn:econwp:eco_2009_4&r=hpe |