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on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Yalcintas, Altug |
| Abstract: | In this essay, I quantitatively analyze the significance of scholarship in economic philosophy since the 1960s. In order to do so, I examine, through the number of publications and citations, the evolution of the main trends in economic philosophy over a fifty years period. This paper will develop a better conception of how the pathways of major debates, in particular rhetoric of economics (RoE) versus realism in economics (RiE), helped economic philosophy achieve its present status in economics. Viewed through this lens, it is clear that the main trends in the recent history of the discipline have emerged out of the concerns of non-mainstream economists since the 1980s. |
| Keywords: | rhetoric of economics; realism in economics; bibliometric analysis |
| JEL: | B25 B24 B41 |
| Date: | 2013 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:44191&r=hpe |
| By: | Ulrich Witt |
| Abstract: | To assess whether and when the equation "economic growth = better life" holds, it is necessary to understand what human motivations drive the economic growth process. The preference subjectivism of canonical welfare economics is of little help here as it treats the motivations underlying individual behavior as an unexplained "black box". The present paper therefore reviews several motivational hypotheses suggested by biology, behavioral science, and cognitive psychology. They point to a strong influence of cognitive and noncognitive learning processes on the underlying motivations or, in economic terminology, the emergence and change of individual preferences. As a consequence, subjective welfare assessments tend to follow a drift process once a certain level of prosperity has been accomplished by economic growth. The normative relevance of the resulting preference relativism is argued to be particularly momentous, if the value basis of normative judgments is extended beyond the welfare criterion to justice and fairness considerations. |
| Date: | 2013–01–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esi:evopap:2012-20&r=hpe |
| By: | Marc Flandreau (Graduate Institute of International Studies) |
| Abstract: | This paper unpacks the operation of foreign debt bondholder committees before the creation of the British Corporation of Foreign Bondholders (CFB) in 1868. I argue that many ideas about this period need to be revisited. In particular, my evidence (which uses archival work to describe market microstructures) shows the importance of the London Stock Exchange as a Court of Arbitration. I show how the LSE General Purpose Committee set up a system of Collective Action Clauses, requiring majority agreement among bondholders to sanction a restructuring deal and permit market access. I argue that (unlike what research has argued thus far) this created powerful incentives for bondholders to get organized as they did. Previous models and formal analyses need to be recast. The CFB appears to have been an experiment in statutory restructurings rather than one in coordination. |
| Date: | 2013–01–30 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:gii:giihei:heidwp01-2013&r=hpe |
| By: | Poomjai Nacaskul (Bank of Thailand); Kritchaya Janjaroen (Bank of Thailand); Suparit Suwanik (Bank of Thailand) |
| Abstract: | The late-2000s global financial crisis saw increased public profiles and balance sheets of both the US and European central banks, their combined series of financial rescue measures in effect pushing the envelope of central banking modus operandi. And in general, somewhat anecdotally amongst non-crisis Asia-Pacific/emerging economies, central banks are under increased pressure to pursue growth agenda, or at least being publicly called to task as to whether strict inflation regime is all that necessary. All the while, orthodox economics appear to be bursting at the seams, as the world witnesses extreme financial-capital market events increasingly becoming the ‘new normal’, globalised banking system portending knife-edged stability dynamics consistent with high degree of epidemic, network-like systemic interconnectivities, and global catastrophe phenomena reflecting energy/ecological/environmental imbalances more and more frequently materialising as economic disequilibria. Taken together, it is only becoming more difficult to reconcile historical evolution of central banks (the institutions) and central banking (the mandate) with ever mounting stabilisation policy demands and global ‘mega-trend’ challenges over the next decades. This essay details our positive and normative analysis and posits our conceptual arguments concerning the very essence of central banks (the institutions) and central banking (the discipline). We begin with Historical Evolution, from the genesis of early ‘proto’ central banks to the emergence of modern consensus on central banking. Stylised facts and conceptual schemas drawn from that exercise then enables us to formulate the notion of Policy Space as a generalization of central bank role and responsibility. We then employ economic rationales to argue for and advocate key elements and principles in terms of Institutional Integrity as an imperative foundation for the pursuit of policy goals. The emerging evolutionary perspective also compels us to postulate a number of Paradigm Challenges facing current and future generations of central bankers. |
| Keywords: | Economic Rationales for Central Banking |
| JEL: | B52 E02 E52 E58 E61 N4 |
| Date: | 2012–10–21 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bth:wpaper:2012-04&r=hpe |