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on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Vanessa MICHEL(OLTRA) |
| Abstract: | Modern economic approaches of empathy and sympathy aim at adding an altruistic dimension to the standard economic decision theory. The purpose of the introduction of another regarding dimension, in addition to the sole personal interest, is to try to explain prosocial preferences or behaviours. In this article, we show how and why the economic literature tries to grasp those concepts, but in a way that is very far from the original Smithian sympathy developed in his Theory of Moral Sentiments (TSM). We argue that, by remaining in the framework of methodological individualism and instrumental rationality, economic approaches, particularly in the field of experimental and behavioural economics, tend to reduce and to intrumentalize the concepts of sympathy and empathy. Such approaches seem to us not consistent with the Smithian social philosophy of human nature and interpersonal relationships. |
| Keywords: | Smithian sympathy, Empathy, Theory of moral snetiments, behavioural economics |
| JEL: | B12 |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:grt:bdxewp:2022-03&r= |
| By: | Schefold, Bertram (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat) |
| Abstract: | The debate on capital theory is not any more on the discussions about the historical formation of neoclassical ideas in their original, most abstract form, but about the tools – certainly influenced by those ideas – which are used in teaching all over the world in applied economics. One focus still is on the macroeconomic aggregate production function, almost seventy years after Joan Robinson attacked this concept. It has turned out that reswitching is rare – once the most effective argument against the production function – and that an approximate surrogate production function can be constructed, using the approach of random matrices. This seems to weaken the critique, but a new one has emerged, which shows that the number of effective techniques on the envelope is small and that the possibilities of substitution between capital and labour are quite restricted in the relevant range of the rate of profit. This new turn in the debates on the critique of capital theory has recently come under attack by Fabio Petri of the University of Siena. The present paper constitutes the reply. It deals with the methodological difference between a fundamental critique, which was primarily directed against the logic of the pure late 19th century neoclassical theory and one attacking the applied uses of that theory in the form of the macroeconomic production function. It asks why the valid criticisms of the neoclassical conception of capital as a homogeneous factor seem to have had a lesser impact than the reswitching argument. It discusses reswitching and reverse capital deepening as relevant but, as far as basic commodities are concerned, rare phenomena. It assesses the usefulness of empirical input-output research in this area, mentions some results and concludes with a reflection on the recent ‘zero-substitution’ proposition. |
| Keywords: | Capital theory; production function; reswitching; Sraffa; employment |
| JEL: | B24 C62 C67 D57 |
| Date: | 2022–03–23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ris:sraffa:0053&r= |
| By: | Nicolas Piluso (CERTOP - Centre d'Etude et de Recherche Travail Organisation Pouvoir - UT3 - Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier - Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UT2J - Université Toulouse - Jean Jaurès); Edouard Cottin-Euziol (LEGO - Laboratoire d'Economie et de Gestion de l'Ouest - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IMT Atlantique - IMT Atlantique Bretagne-Pays de la Loire - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris] - IBSHS - Institut Brestois des Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société - UBO - Université de Brest - UBS - Université de Bretagne Sud - UBL - Université Bretagne Loire - UBO - Université de Brest) |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this article is to highlight the added value of Jean Cartelier's monetary theory as set out in his 2018 book, in the continuity of work that began in the early 1980s. The interest of Cartelier's monetary approach in relation to traditional theories of value can be broken down into three themes: the coordination of economic agents' decisions in a market society that is by definition decentralized; the highlighting of a plurality of economic relations, through the introduction of asymmetric relations between active and non-active individuals; the problem of viability, which seems more relevant for analyzing economic dynamics. |
| Abstract: | L'objet de cet article est de mettre en lumière la valeur ajoutée de la théorie monétaire de Jean Cartelier telle qu'elle est exposée dans son ouvrage de 2018, dans la continuité de travaux qui ont débuté dès le début des années 80. L'intérêt de l'approche monétaire de Cartelier par rapport aux théories traditionnelles de la valeur se décline en trois thèmes : la coordination des décisions des agents économiques dans une société marchande par définition décentralisée ; la mise en évidence d'une pluralité de relations économiques, par l'introduction de relations asymétriques entre individus actifs et non-actifs ; la problématique de la viabilité qui semble plus pertinente pour analyser la dynamique économique. Mots-clés : coordination. monnaie. déséquilibre. |
| Keywords: | unemployment,sustainability,disequilibrium,money,coordination |
| Date: | 2021 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03559713&r= |
| By: | Levy, Daniel; Mayer, Tamir; Raviv, Alon |
| Abstract: | We study the economics and finance scholars’ reaction to the 2008 financial crisis using machine learning language analyses methods of Latent Dirichlet Allocation and dynamic topic modelling algorithms, to analyze the texts of 14,270 NBER working papers covering the 1999–2016 period. We find that academic scholars as a group were insufficiently engaged in crises’ studies before 2008. As the crisis unraveled, however, they switched their focus to studying the crisis, its causes, and consequences. Thus, the scholars were “slow-to-see,” but they were “fast-to-act.” Their initial response to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis is consistent with these conclusions. |
| Keywords: | 2008 Financial Crisis; Financial Crises; Economic Crisis; Great Recession; Textual Analysis; LDA Topic Modeling; Dynamic Topic Modeling; Machine Learning; Securitization; Repo; Sudden Stop |
| JEL: | A11 C38 C55 E32 E44 E52 E58 F30 G01 G20 G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2022–02–13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:112008&r= |
| By: | Roland Bénabou (Princeton University); Armin Falk (University of Bonn); Jean Tirole (University of Toulouse Capitole) |
| Abstract: | We study the production and circulation of arguments justifying actions on the basis of morality. By downplaying externalities, exculpatory narratives allow people to maintain a positive image while acting selfishly. Conversely, responsibilizing narratives raise both direct and reputational stakes, fostering prosocial behavior. These rationales diffuse along a linear network, through both costly signaling and strategic disclosure. The norms that emerge reflect local correlation in agents’ incentives (reputation versus influence concerns), with low mixing generating both a polarization of beliefs across groups and less moral behavior on average. Imperatives (general precepts) constitute an alternative mode of moral influence. We analyze their costs and benefits relative to those of narratives, and when the two will be used as substitutes or complements. |
| Keywords: | Moral behavior, narratives, imperatives, rules, excuses, responsibility, networks, viral transmission, influence, reputation, disclosure, communication, social norms |
| JEL: | D62 D64 D78 D83 D85 D91 H41 K42 L14 Z13 |
| Date: | 2020–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pri:econom:2020-49&r= |