nep-hpe New Economics Papers
on History and Philosophy of Economics
Issue of 2022‒07‒11
three papers chosen by
Erik Thomson
University of Manitoba
  1. The Rise and Fall and Rise (?) of Economic History in Australia By Andrew Seltzer; Martin Shanahan; Claire Wright
  2. Un imaginaire fossilisé ? Les représentations économiques de l'énergie au défi de la transition bas-carbone By Antoine Missemer
  3. The triumph of injustice. Wealth, tax evasion and democracy By Benoît Walraevens
  1. By: Andrew Seltzer; Martin Shanahan; Claire Wright
    Abstract: In this paper we examine the history of the economic history discipline in Australia. While the discipline’s main focus over time has been Australia, we trace its evolution from its English-influenced roots through its concern with colonial development, and dalliance with business history to its later incorporation of cliometrics, comparative studies and more recently Asian topics. The origins of the discipline date back to the early-1900s. After the Second World War, there was a rapid expansion, with free-standing economic history departments established in several leading Australian universities. From the beginnings, quantitative economic history was relatively strong in Australia, largely because of excellent colonial and post-Federation records. However, from the 1980’s, a more corporatist approach to university management led to a decline in Australian economic history and particularly cliometric work. In the 1990s and early-2000s, the free-standing departments were all closed, and the hiring of economic historians virtually ceased. In the past decade, there has been something of a revival, with economic history increasingly seen as a core subject in both history and economics departments. In addition to examining the history of the discipline, we also look at some challenges for the future, focussing on the collection of still unextracted historical data and its usefulness in addressing various topics.
    Date: 2022–06
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:104&r=
  2. By: Antoine Missemer (CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CIRED - Centre International de Recherche sur l'Environnement et le Développement - Cirad - Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AgroParisTech - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - Université Paris-Saclay - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
    Abstract: The energy transition towards a low-carbon regime is a critical challenge for the 21st century. It is not only a matter of techniques, but also of social organization and cultural representations. This article explores how the ordinary economic representations of energy have been developed since the 19th century, and how they have influenced public decision-making. Through the examples of forecasting and of the distinction renewable vs. exhaustible resources, this article suggests that path dependencies still weight upon those views. When thinking about the low-carbon transition, getting out of these dependencies seems essential.
    Abstract: La transition d'un régime énergétique fossile vers un régime bas-carbone est l'un des grands défis du XXIe siècle. Le sujet n'est pas seulement technique, mais aussi organisationnel et culturel, touchant aux représentations et aux usages de l'énergie. Cet article revient sur la façon dont se sont construites les représentations économiques conventionnelles de l'énergie depuis le XIXe siècle, influençant ici et là la décision publique. À travers les exemples de la prospective et de la distinction renouvelables vs. épuisables, cet article suggère que des dépendances au sentier pèsent toujours sur ces représentations, et qu'à l'heure de penser la transition bas-carbone, sortir de ces dépendances semble essentiel.
    Keywords: energy,history of economic thought,forecasting,energy transition,path dependency,performativity,énergie,histoire de la pensée économique,prospective,transition énergétique,dépendance au sentier,performativité
    Date: 2022
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03657637&r=
  3. By: Benoît Walraevens (CREM - Centre de recherche en économie et management - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UR1 - Université de Rennes 1 - UNIV-RENNES - Université de Rennes - UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université)
    Date: 2021
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03554121&r=
This nep-hpe issue is ©2022 by Erik Thomson. It is provided as is without any express or implied warranty. It may be freely redistributed in whole or in part for any purpose. If distributed in part, please include this notice.
General information on the NEP project can be found at http://nep.repec.org. For comments please write to the director of NEP, Marco Novarese at <director@nep.repec.org>. Put “NEP” in the subject, otherwise your mail may be rejected.
NEP’s infrastructure is sponsored by the School of Economics and Finance of Massey University in New Zealand.
This page is being maintained by Thomas Krichel. It was last updated on 2023‒07‒08 at 15:18.