|
on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Ivan Sternick (CEDEPLAR/UFMG) |
| Abstract: | This paper defends the hypothesis that Smith’s theory of sympathy and the impartial spectator was developed as a response to the problem of the moral status of sociability founded on self-love, as bequeathed by the selfish anthropology advocated by Mandeville and denounced by Rousseau. Differently from those who see complete opposition in the relationship between Smith and Rousseau, this means that the former agrees with the latter’s criticism of Mandeville’s anthropology. Nevertheless, it is argued that, in Smith’s view, Rousseau was wrong to incorporate a Mandevillian-inspired psychology into his description of the workings of modern society, since it does not correctly explain human behavior and interaction. In this sense, the often emphasized sympathies of Smith for Rousseau’s criticisms of commercial society should be mitigated, inasmuch as the latter are founded on a mostly mistaken view of the principle of sociability based on self-love. |
| Keywords: | Adam Smith; Sociability; Self-love; Commerce; Jean-Jacques Rousseau; Bernard Mandeville. |
| JEL: | B10 B11 B12 |
| Date: | 2022–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td643&r= |
| By: | Alain Marciano (MRE - Montpellier Recherche en Economie - UM - Université de Montpellier, UM - Université de Montpellier) |
| Abstract: | Written by James Buchanan in the early 1970s, "The Samaritan's Dilemma" is a pessimistic essay, marked by his author's negative views about the situation in Western societies at that time. Yet, the situation described in this essay also fits into Buchanan's approach of cooperation and free-riding. Put differently, it is perfectly with Buchanan's views in public economics. This is what we aim at showing in this short article. Our demonstration develops in two parts. First, we show that Buchanan's main argument about cooperation in the provision of public goods or removal of externalities necessarily leads to situations such as the one described in the Samaritan's dilemma. Second, we show that Buchanan did not take the situation seriously until the end of the 1960s, a few years before he wrote his essay on the dilemma. |
| Keywords: | Buchanan,samaritan's dilemma,cooperation,exploitation,numbers,public goods,externalities |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03683855&r= |
| By: | Richard S.J. Tol (Department of Economics, University of Sussex, BN1 9SL Falmer, United Kingdom) |
| Abstract: | It is unclear whether the hierarchy in the economics profession is the result of the agglomeration of excellence or of nepotism. I construct the professor-student network for laureates of and candidates for the Nobel Prize in Economics. I study the effect of proximity to previous Nobelists on winning the Nobel Prize. Conditional on being Nobel-worthy, students and grandstudents of Nobel laureates are not significantly more or less likely to win. Professors of Nobel Prize winners, however, are significantly more likely to win. |
| Keywords: | network formation, research training, Nobel prize |
| JEL: | A14 D85 Z13 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sus:susewp:0322&r= |
| By: | Jean-Luc Moriceau (IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris], LITEM - Laboratoire en Innovation, Technologies, Economie et Management (EA 7363) - UEVE - Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - Université Paris-Saclay - IMT-BS - Institut Mines-Télécom Business School - IMT - Institut Mines-Télécom [Paris]) |
| Abstract: | Authoritarian liberalism that goes through the teaching of management Abstract : Grégoire Chamayou's book, La Société ingouvernable, can only leave us intranquil. We read it as an invitation to realize that, in what we write and transmit, there are many ideas and arguments of neoliberalism that we must learn to decipher. This was well known for theories such as the agency theory or financial optimization, but more troublingly, the book uncovers them at work, for example, in the dialogue with stakeholders. The consequences of such authoritarian liberalism act far beyond the economic domain: they imprint subjectivities and forms of life, they increase inequalities and inequities. Let's not underestimate these effects. Let's ask ourselves what we can do to prevent them from passing through us. |
| Abstract: | Le livre de Grégoire Chamayou, La Société ingouvernable, ne peut que laisser intranquille. Nous le lisons comme une invitation à nous rendre compte que, dans ce que nous écrivons et transmettons, se glissent incognito nombre idées et arguments du néolibéralisme. Il nous faut apprendre à les décrypter. On le savait pour des théories comme celles de l'agence ou liées à l'optimisation financière mais, plus troublant, le livre les montre à la manœuvre par exemple dans le dialogue avec les parties-prenantes. Les conséquences d'un tel libéralisme autoritaire agissent bien au-delà de la sphère économique : elles impriment les subjectivités et les formes de vie, elles accroissent inégalités et iniquités. Ne sous-estimons pas ces effets. Demandons-nous que faire pour qu'il ne passe pas par nous. |
| Keywords: | Authoritarian liberalism,neoliberalism,management education,stakeholder theory,Libéralisme autoritaire,Néolibéralisme,Enseignement de la gestion,Théorie des parties-prenantes |
| Date: | 2022–07–20 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03736848&r= |
| By: | van Basshuysen, Philippe |
| Abstract: | Where economists previously viewed the market as arising from a ‘spontaneous order’, antithetical to design, they now design markets to achieve specific purposes. This paper reconstructs how this change in what markets are and can do came about and considers some consequences. Two decisive developments in economic theory are identified: first, Hurwicz’s view of institutions as mechanisms, which should be designed to align incentives with social goals; and second, the notion of marketplaces – consisting of infrastructure and algorithms – which should be designed to exhibit stable properties. These developments have empowered economists to create marketplaces for specific purposes, by designing appropriate algorithms. I argue that this power to create marketplaces requires a shift in ethical reasoning, from whether markets should reach into certain spheres of life, to how market algorithms should be designed. I exemplify this shift, focusing on bias, and arguing that transparency should become a goal of market design. |
| Keywords: | markets; algorithms; market design; bias; transparency; T&F deal |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2022–08–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:115694&r= |
| By: | Ludovic Jeanne (Métis Lab EM Normandie - EM Normandie - École de Management de Normandie) |
| Abstract: | The article aims to bring together three fields of different nature and origins: the epistemological field of geoethics, the philosophical field of moral philosophy and the praxeological field of "economic intelligence" and its territorial implementations.Indeed, the French School of Economic Intelligence, particularly the stream of "territorial economic intelligence", has an ethical dimension that can be highlighted, although it has remained largely latent. This is undoubtedly one of the originalities of the French approach.By linking the modes of categorization derived from geoethics and moral philosophy, it is proposed to redefine territorial EI -on a praxeological level -as a prescriptive geoethics. The aim is to contribute to the effort undertaken by other authors and actors to give meaning to EI/EIT/IT to a plurality of economic actors, from businesses to citizens to communities and the state. It is through this construction of meaning that the EIT/IT could become a more shared praxeology. |
| Abstract: | L'article a pour objectif de faire se rencontrer trois champs de nature et d'origines différentes: le champ épistémologique de la géoéthique, le champ philosophique de la philosophie morale et le champ praxéologique de l'intelligence économique et de ses déclinaisons territoriales. En effet l'Ecole française d'intelligence économique, notamment le courant de l'«intelligence économique territoriale», a un contenu éthique qui peut être mis en évidence, bien qu'il soit resté largement tacite. C'est pourtant sans doute l'une des originalités de l'approche française. En mettant en relation les modes de catégorisation issus de la géoéthique et de la philosophie morale, il est proposé d'envisager l'IE territoriale -sur un plan praxéologique -comme une géoéthique prescriptive. Il s'agit de contribuer à l'effort entrepris par d'autres auteurs et d'autres acteurs pour donner sens àl'intelligence économique/intelligence économique territoriale/intelligence territoriale (IE/IET/IT) pour une pluralité d'acteurs économiques, allant des entreprises aux citoyens en passant par les collectivités et l'État. C'est par cette construction de sens que l'intelligence économique territoriale/intelligence territoriale pourrait devenir une praxéologie mieux partagée. |
| Keywords: | Territorial economic intelligence,Geoethics,Economic decision,Values,Economic citizenship,Intelligence économique territoriale,Géoéthique,Décision économique,Valeurs,Citoyenneté économique. |
| Date: | 2022–03–24 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03735853&r= |
| By: | Ferreira, Francisco H. G. |
| Abstract: | This paper assesses the evolution of thinking, analysis, and discourse about inequality in the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund since their inception in 1944, on the basis of bibliometric analysis, a reading of the literature, and personal experience. Whereas the Fund was largely unconcerned with economic inequality until the 2000s but has shown a rapidly growing interest since then, the Bank’s approach has been characterized by ebbs and flows, with five different phases being apparent. The degree of interest in inequality in the two institutions appears to be largely determined by the prevailing intellectual profile of the topic in academic research, particularly in economics, and by ideological shifts in major shareholder countries, propagated downward internally by senior management. Data availability, albeit partly endogenous, also plays a role. Looking ahead, Bank and Fund researchers continue to have an important role to play, despite a much more crowded field in inequality research. I suggest that this role involves holding firm to an emphasis on inequality “at the bottom” and highlight four themes that may deserve special attention. |
| Keywords: | inequality; World Bank; IMF; Bretton Woods institutions |
| JEL: | B29 D30 O19 |
| Date: | 2022–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:116018&r= |
| By: | Muriel Gilardone (UNICAEN - Université de Caen Normandie - NU - Normandie Université) |
| Abstract: | Dans cette contribution, je discute des implications du recours au concept de capabilité en économie normative tel que Sen l'a proposé dans les années 1980 – après avoir introduit ce concept dans le cadre d'une discussion de philosophie morale relative à l'espace pertinent où rechercher l'égalité. De façon assez standard, la capabilité renvoie désormais à l'ensemble d'opportunités des agents – ou « puissance de choix » – appliquée aux styles de vie ou, pour reprendre le terme originel de Sen, aux fonctionnements humains. Je montre cependant que si la capabilité représente un matériau de la justice, au sens d'une base d'information pertinente pour évaluer les situations personnelles, l'approche de Sen ne permet pas d'en faire une métrique de la justice – pouvant être intégrée de façon systématique aux évaluations des états sociaux cherchant à promouvoir la liberté réelle des personnes. Autrement dit, la capabilité peut difficilement être utilisée directement dans une mesure d'inégalité ou une fonction de bien-être social comme représentation de l'avantage personnel alternative aux ressources ou aux préférences. Pour différentes raisons, le cadre formel de l'économie dite « du bien-être » peut être un outil de l'approche par les capabilités, mais l'inverse n'est pas vrai (le concept de capabilité n'est pas un outil directement opérationnel pour les théoriciens de l'économie normative). Mais surtout, j'ouvre une nouvelle piste d'exploration autour du concept de capabilité défini cette fois comme « puissance d'agir », et non comme « puissance de choix ». Il s'agit – pour l'économiste que je suis – de poser les bases d'une nouvelle anthropologie du sujet (pensé comme un être de valeurs inscrit dans des relations de pouvoir et de responsabilité, et non seulement un être de besoins). Il s'agit aussi de réorienter la discussion en matière de justice sociale en sortant du "welfarisme" – pour reprendre un néologisme de ma discipline qui vise à critiquer les travaux d'économie du bien-être centrés sur deux préoccupations majeures : l'évaluation du bien-être individuel, et la façon dont on peut comparer et agréger ces évaluations de bien-être pour en tirer des préconisation politiques. En effet, cette deuxième définition possible de la capabilité – comme puissance d'agir – non seulement n'est pas une métrique de la justice mais elle n'est même plus une représentation de l'avantage personnel puisque, nous le verrons, elle inclut d'emblée des questions de responsabilité et d'obligation morale. Si je montre que l'on peut identifier chez Sen deux définitions distinctes de la capabilité, il me semble cependant important de préciser que les deux peuvent être utiles pour envisager les questions de justice sociale, qu'elles ne s'annulent pas nécessairement l'une l'autre mais nous amènent à penser l'action publique différemment, notamment en ce qui concerne le handicap. |
| Keywords: | Capabilités,handicap,Amartya Sen,puissance de choix,puissance d'agir,agentivité,théories de la justice,welfarisme,anthropologie économique |
| Date: | 2020–10–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-03700166&r= |
| By: | Michele Bee (CEDEPLAR/UFMG); Ivan Sternick (CEDEPLAR/UFMG) |
| Abstract: | The Scottish Enlighteners saw in Pufendorf the idea of a pre-government need-based sociability. This idea stemmed from a picture of the human condition as naturally destitute and powerless. Sociability therefore arose from the perception of the advantages given by cooperation and mutual assistance in overcoming this natural inability to provide for one’s own needs. Human beings became sociable through their self-love, understood as the interest in self-preservation. The idea of a principle of sociability independent of government was also crucial to Adam Smith’s conception of society. However, Smith sought to revise Pufendorf’s premises on human nature. Following Hutcheson, he considered them too close to Hobbes’ selfish system. As this article intends to show, for Smith sociability did not arise from need for the assistance of others, as it is often said, but from the desire for deserved esteem. |
| Keywords: | Sociability; Division of Labour; Needs; Adam Smith; Samuel Pufendorf |
| JEL: | B10 B11 B12 |
| Date: | 2022–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdp:texdis:td644&r= |
| By: | Gael M. Martin; David T. Frazier; Christian P. Robert |
| Abstract: | This paper takes the reader on a journey through the history of Bayesian computation, from the 18th century to the present day. Beginning with the one-dimensional integral first confronted by Bayes in 1763, we highlight the key contributions of: Laplace, Metropolis (and, importantly, his coauthors!), Hammersley and Handscomb, and Hastings, all of which set the foundations for the computational revolution in the late 20th century -- led, primarily, by Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms. A very short outline of 21st century computational methods -- including pseudo-marginal MCMC, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, sequential Monte Carlo, and the various `approximate' methods -- completes the paper. |
| Keywords: | History of Bayesian computation, Laplace approximation, Metropolis-Hastings algorithm, importance sampling, Markov chain Monte Carlo, pseudo-marginal methods, Hamiltonian Monte Carlo, sequential Monte Carlo, approximate Bayesian methods |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:msh:ebswps:2022-14&r= |
| By: | Jiarui Wu (Zhongke Tongfa Institute of Economic and Social Research) |
| Date: | 2022–07–19 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03727085&r= |
| By: | Braganza, Oliver |
| Abstract: | Modern societies, almost unequivocally, pursue the goal of economic growth. The central normative reason for this has recently been called the 'consumerist claim', namely the standard economic claim that increases in consumption (i.e. growth), by and large entail welfare increases. However, the consumerist claim does not take account of behavioral economics. Specifically, it disregards that consumption increases can also be achieved by nudging, as practiced e.g. in marketing or advertising. Remarkably, proponents of the consumerist claim are often vocal critics of governmental nudging, which is decried as manipulative and paternalistic, but are simultaneously dismissive or apologetic about market-derived nudging. Here we argue, that in light of behavioral economics Adam Smiths 'invisible hand' will often produce outcomes as if it belonged to an 'invisible paternalist', who systematically and efficiently nudges individuals towards ever increasing consumption. Specifically, we develop the notion of 'market paternalism' (MP), based on a synthesis of behavioral and evolutionary economic reasoning. MP entails three central properties: First, unregulated markets naturally give rise to pervasive nudges, modifying our behavior, preferences and beliefs in ways beyond our conscious awareness and control. Second, these nudges will coalesce towards an emergent system-level end, that cannot be derived from any coherent notion of individual preferences. Third, MP operates in part by a cultural evolutionary mechanism, implying that it will occur with computational and coordinative power far beyond any individual (or government). To assess the potential practical relevance of MP, we survey the literature, finding clear evidence that MP drives or exacerbates numerous pressing societal problems, including rampant obesity, mass surveillance and the climate crisis. It does so by covertly and incessantly nudging not only our behavior, but also our preferences, values and beliefs towards the single goal of increasing consumption. The surprising consequence is that, in light of behavioral economics, unregulated markets should be expected to systematically subvert individual autonomy and rationality, the very values typically invoked to defend the consumerist claim. |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ifsowp:23&r= |
| By: | Mohamed Ech-Chebany (Université Ibn Zohr [Agadir]); Anas Hattabou (Université Ibn Zohr [Agadir]); Adil Ouatat (USMS - Université Sultan Moulay Slimane) |
| Abstract: | A history of research on governance would show that the first theoretical works on this concept were developed in the early 1930s, essentially within Anglo-Saxon managerial firms. It follows then that governance, since its appearance in the theoretical literature, is part of a perspective of regulation of the behavior of leaders and the definition of the rules of the managerial game. However, the findings of Berle and Means (1932) only confirmed older literature, widely answered in political science, which deals with the governance of political leaders. Thus, whether it is a question of addressing the relationship between the rulers and the people (public governance) or between the leaders and the shareholders (private governance), the problem always falls within the field of governance. In reality, these interdisciplinary connections are not surprising since governance itself is defined as being a system of regulation of the managerial game which implicitly induces an institutional dimension, natural in political science, law and sociology, and which in economics has experienced a real revival of interest with the emergence of the neo-institutionalist current, in particular the approach of (North, 1990a). It is indeed this intertwining that constitutes what governance researchers call National Systems of Governance (NGS) or "global governance" or even "culture of governance". This research aims to present the different theories of governance that make it possible to understand this intertwining between private and public governance. |
| Abstract: | Un historique des recherches sur la gouvernance montrerait que les premiers travaux théoriques sur ce concept ont été développés au début des années trente, pour l'essentiel, au sein des firmes managériales anglo-saxonnes. Il en résulte alors, que la gouvernance depuis son apparition dans la littérature théorique s'inscrit dans une perspective de régulation du comportement des dirigeants et de la définition des règles du jeu managérial. Cependant, les conclusions de Berle et Means (1932) ne faisaient que confirmer une littérature plus ancienne, largement répondue dans les sciences politiques, qui traite de la gouvernance des dirigeants politiques. Ainsi, soit qu'il s'agisse d'aborder la relation entre les gouvernants et le peuple (gouvernance publique) ou entre les dirigeants et les actionnaires (gouvernance privée), le problème relève toujours du champ de la gouvernance. En réalité, ces rapprochements interdisciplinaires ne sont pas surprenants, du moment où la gouvernance elle-même se définit comme étant un système de régulation du jeu managérial qui induit implicitement une dimension institutionnelle, naturelle en sciences politiques, en droit et en sociologie, et qui en sciences économiques a connu un réel regain d'intérêt avec l'émergence du courant néo-institutionnaliste, en particulier l'approche de (North, 1990a). C'est en effet cette imbrication qui constitue ce que les chercheurs en gouvernance appellent les Systèmes Nationaux de Gouvernance (SNG) ou bien « gouvernance globale » ou encore « culture de gouvernance ». L'objectif de cette recherche est de présenter les différentes théories de la gouvernance qui permettent d'appréhender cette imbrication qui existe entre la gouvernance privée et la gouvernance publique. |
| Keywords: | Private governance,public governance,disciplinary approach,efficiency paradigm,North's approach,Gouvernance privée,gouvernance publique,approche disciplinaire,paradigme d’efficience,approche de North |
| Date: | 2022 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03749792&r= |
| By: | Mathias Naudin (CEDAG (URP_1516) - Centre de droit des affaires et de gestion - UPCité - Université Paris Cité) |
| Abstract: | How do theories of motivation fit into a research movement that claims to be scientific? For a theory to be relevant and interesting, it must be able to give a better account of the world, to make it more intelligible and understandable, and ideally it must enable us to interact with it better. The central concept of the theory must meet the same expectations. On what elements are those theories based? What observations? What ontological, dialectical, epistemological and phenomenological foundations and postures? What doxography? What demonstrations? Have the research methods been adapted to the research object or subject? Are there tangible results that allow the founding hypotheses to be held true and justify the practical interest of these theories? Our aim is to question theories of motivation (in the sense of Husserl, 1962), i.e., in a certain way, to see what might be behind the mirror of false pretenses and fine speeches, and to better identify the historical genesis and methodical approaches on which these theories are based. Through this first part of our interrogation, we question and expose the fragility and 'scientific' flaws of motivation theories. From a scientific point of view, theories of motivation appear to be based on an empirical-formal vision without any empirical basis and an ignorance of the unconscious and of hermeneutic approaches that seek to shed light on the meaning of human behaviour; this may raise questions when we are interested in motivation. They appear to be solely projective, focusing on the instrumental transformation of an ignored life and reified individuals. In so doing, they participate fully in a social movement of freely consented submission of the working masses to the service of an economic growth with relatively unevenly distributed benefits. |
| Abstract: | De quelle manière les théories de la motivation s'inscrivent-elles dans un mouvement de recherche qui se veut scientifique ? Pour qu'une théorie soit pertinente et intéressante, elle doit permettre de mieux rendre compte du monde, de le rendre plus intelligible et compréhensible, et idéalement elle doit nous permettre de mieux interagir avec lui. Le concept central de la théorie doit répondre aux mêmes attentes. Sur quels éléments ces théories se fondent-elles ? Quelles observations ? Quels fondements et postures ontologique, dialectique, épistémologique et phénoménologique ? Quelle doxographie ? Quelles démonstrations ? Les méthodes de recherche ont-elles été adaptées à l'objet ou au sujet de recherche ? Des résultats tangibles permettent-ils de tenir pour vraies les hypothèses fondatrices et de justifier l'intérêt pratique de ces théories ? Notre propos va consister à questionner-en-retour (au sens de Husserl, 1962) les théories de la motivation, c'est-à-dire, d'une certaine manière, à aller voir ce qu'il pourrait y avoir derrière le miroir des faux semblants et beaux discours, et de mieux cerner la genèse historique et les approches méthodiques qui fondent ces théories. A travers ce premier volet d'interrogations, nous mettons au jour la fragilité et des failles « scientifiques » des théories de la motivation. D'un point de vue scientifique, les théories de la motivation s'avèrent en effet reposer sur une vision empirico-formelle sans empirie et une ignorance de l'inconscient et des approches herméneutiques qui cherchent à éclairer le sens des comportements humains; ce qui peut poser question lorsque l'on s'intéresse à la motivation. Elles apparaissent uniquement projectives, portant sur la transformation instrumentale d'une vie ignorée et d'individus réifiés. Ce faisant, elles participent pleinement à un mouvement social de soumission librement consentie des masses laborieuses au service d'une croissance économique aux bénéfices relativement inégalement répartis. |
| Keywords: | motivation,theories of motivation,Epistemology,Epistemology of management sciences,Phenomenology,Critical management studies CMS,critique des sciences de gestion,management,critique du management,Motivation,Motivation autodéterminée,Théorie de la motivation,épistémologie,épistémologie des sciences de gestion,Phénoménologie |
| Date: | 2021–06–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-03721139&r= |
| By: | Xhulia Likaj (Forum New Economy); Michael Jacobs (University of Sheffield (SPERI)); Thomas Fricke (Forum New Economy) |
| Abstract: | Arguments about the possibility and desirability of exponential economic growth have animated the environmental movement for half a century, since the publication of the Club of Rome report The Limits to Growth in 1972. The debate has been revived in recent years as the climate crisis has reached centre-stage. This paper seeks to unpick the different strands in the debate and the different kinds of arguments - philosophical, empirical, and policy-prescriptive - used by different writers and institutions. It suggests that the contemporary debate is best understood as a disagreement between political strategies, in which the character of public and academic discourse plays a key role. |
| Keywords: | economic growth, green growth, degrowth, post-growth, wellbeing, GDP |
| JEL: | O4 O44 Q56 |
| Date: | 2022–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agz:bpaper:2202&r= |
| By: | Macve, Richard |
| JEL: | M40 |
| Date: | 2021–02–17 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:108631&r= |