nep-hpe New Economics Papers
on History and Philosophy of Economics
Issue of 2024‒09‒09
six papers chosen by
Erik Thomson, University of Manitoba


  1. Celso Furtado and the Reinterpretation of the Environment By Alexandre Macchione Saes
  2. Review of Contingent Valuation of Environmental Goods: A Comprehensive Critique. Edited by Daniel McFadden and Kenneth Train (2017): An Update By John C. Whitehead
  3. On Credibility and Causality in Economics: A Critical Appraisal By Andreas Bergh; Philipp C. Wichardt; Philipp Christoph Wichardt
  4. Experimental Economics: Theory and Practice By John List
  5. La monnaie morale en Afrique subsaharienne ? Garantir l'éthique pour favoriser l'investissement durable By Kohnert, Dirk
  6. Homo Oeconomicus as the Homo Moralis’ Party Pooper: Heterogeneous Morality in Public Good Games By Thomas Eichner; Marco Runkel

  1. By: Alexandre Macchione Saes
    Abstract: With a vast bibliographic production, Celso Furtado addressed relevant themes and interdisciplinary approaches from the perspective of Economic Science. While the works that discuss the author's contributions to Latin American structuralism, regional development, and the economics of culture are traditional, it was only more recently that literature identified reflections on environmental issues in his production. This article aims to explore Furtado's work, elucidating how the environmental variable was mobilized in different ways in his interpretations throughout the 20th century. According to the article's argument, especially from the publication of The Myth of Economic Development, the environmental variable becomes a powerful instrument of critique against neoclassical economic theory.
    Keywords: Celso Furtado; environment; economic theory
    JEL: B25 B31 Q56
    Date: 2024–08–21
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:spa:wpaper:2024wpecon22
  2. By: John C. Whitehead
    Abstract: This paper updates the review of the 2017 BP-funded book critical of the contingent valuation method (McFadden and Train, 2017) that was published in the Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics (Whitehead, volume 64, number 2, pp. 710-713, 2018). In that review I noted that an expanded review, with summaries of each chapter, was available upon request. A few requests trickled in but I always responded that the expanded review was not quite ready to share. This was primarily due to a comment that I was writing on a chapter in the book and other on-going work that I wanted to include. That comment has been published and my retort to the reply was posted as a working paper in 2024. Therefore, it is high time to finish the extended review of the book. In this paper I include the original review and add two appendices. One appendix contains the short reviews of each chapter promised in 2018 and another is the 2021 proposal narrative for a forthcoming book that more fully responds to McFadden and Train (2017). Key Words:
    Date: 2024
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:apl:wpaper:24-17
  3. By: Andreas Bergh; Philipp C. Wichardt; Philipp Christoph Wichardt
    Abstract: Establishing causal relationships is a core aspect of empirical economics. Borrowing ideas from the medical sciences, we propose tentative guidelines for reliable causal inferences that cover aspects related to both the study itself and its fit with the existing background knowledge. Moreover, we argue that the current paradigm in economics (often connected to the credibility revolution) tends to put too much emphasis on internal aspects related solely to the study itself. To illustrate and substantiate this view, we discuss various excellent studies from different fields of economics, which all express causal and highly policy relevant claims. From an applied point of view, the conclusion drawn is that policy implications based on single studies are inherently uncertain, even if the respective studies are state of the art.
    Keywords: causality, empirical economics, methodology, credibility
    JEL: B41 C90 D90
    Date: 2024
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11224
  4. By: John List
    Abstract: This document is meant to introduce my forthcoming book, titled “Experimental Economics: Theory and Practice, †which is to be published in 2025 by The University of Chicago Press. The document first contains the book’s outline followed by a Preface, which summarizes my inspiration for writing the book and my goals and aspirations for choosing the content contained in the book.
    Date: 2024
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:natura:00792
  5. By: Kohnert, Dirk
    Abstract: L'argent dirige le monde. L'importance de l'argent est toutefois bien plus grande que ne le laissent entendre la théorie économique conventionnelle et ses équations héroïques. Les gens ont inventé leurs propres formes de monnaie, ils ont utilisé l'argent d'une manière qui laisse les théoriciens du marché perplexes, ils ont intégré l'argent dans les relations amicales et familiales et ont modifié le processus de dépense et d'épargne. Les individus, les familles, les gouvernements et les entreprises ont donné à l'argent une signification sociale dont les économistes ne pouvaient même pas rêver auparavant. Il y a un siècle déjà, Georg Simmel faisait référence dans sa Philosophie de l'argent à différents systèmes d'échange de biens et de services qui permettaient l'existence de systèmes de valeurs incomparables (terre, nourriture, honneur, amour, etc.), censés permettre la liberté personnelle. Plus récemment, Ariel Wilkis a fait dialoguer la sociologie du pouvoir de Pierre Bourdieu avec la sociologie de l'argent de Viviana Zelizer. Il a montré que l'argent est un symbole décisif par lequel se négocient non seulement les possessions matérielles, mais aussi les liens politiques, économiques, de classe, de genre et de génération entre les individus. La menace croissante du terrorisme international a fait prendre conscience que son existence est en soi un fait économique, puisqu'il est financé de différentes manières. Le Sommet africain sur l'argent moral, qui doit se tenir à Johannesburg, en Afrique du Sud, en novembre 2023, vise à libérer des capitaux afin de promouvoir une croissance durable en Afrique subsaharienne (ASS). Cela n'a que trop tardé si l'on considère que les multinationales en ASS polluent l'environnement depuis des décennies et que la corruption, le blanchiment d'argent, les investissements dans les diamants de la guerre, le trafic d'armes et de drogues sont très répandus. L'objectif du sommet est de répondre à des questions telles que : Quel rôle l'Afrique peut-elle jouer dans le dilemme mondial de la décarbonisation ? Comment garantir l'éthique dans les chaînes d'approvisionnement en matières premières ? Comment les investisseurs éthiques peuvent-ils éviter d'investir dans des placements dans des sociétés aux activités amorales, telles que les "diamants du sang", le trafic d'armes et de drogues ? Compte tenu du pouvoir intact des multinationales et des gestionnaires d'investissement, le résultat de tels sommets est toutefois discutable. Des analyses comparatives de la prise de conscience et des cadres ESG dans les pays africains anglophones, francophones et lusophones révèlent des différences significatives. Les trois gestionnaires d'actifs mondiaux les plus puissants, BlackRock, Vanguard et State Street, font encore preuve de "retenue rationnelle", en particulier en ce qui concerne l'activisme en matière de rendement soutenu propre à l'entreprise. Ils peuvent également utiliser leur pouvoir pour s'engager dans une "hypocrisie rationnelle", similaire à l'écoblanchiment.
    Abstract: Money rules the world. But the importance of money is far greater than conventional economic theory and its heroic equations suggest. People have invented their own forms of currency, they have used money in ways that baffle market theorists, they have incorporated money into friendship and family relationships, and they have changed the process of spending and saving. Individuals, families, governments and businesses have given money a social meaning in ways that economists could not even dream of before. A century ago, Georg Simmel, in his Philosophy of Money, pointed to various systems of exchange for goods and services that made possible the existence of incomparable value systems (land, food, honour, love, etc.) that supposedly made personal freedom possible. More recently, Ariel Wilkis brought Pierre Bourdieu's sociology of power into dialogue with Viviana Zelizer's sociology of money. He showed that money is a crucial symbol used to negotiate not only material possessions but also the political, economic, class, gender and generational ties between people. The growing threat of international terrorism has raised awareness that its existence is in itself an economic fact, as it is financed in various ways. The Moral Money Summit Africa, to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in November 2023, aims to unlock capital to promote sustainable growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This is overdue, considering that multinational companies in SSA have been polluting the environment for decades and that corruption, money laundering, investments in conflict diamonds, arms and drug trafficking are widespread. The summit aims to answer questions such as: What role can Africa play in the global decarbonisation dilemma? How can ethics be ensured in commodity supply chains? How can ethical investors avoid investing in "sin stocks" such as "blood diamonds", arms and drug trafficking? However, given the unbroken power of multinational corporations and investment managers, the outcome of such summits is questionable. Comparative analyses of ESG awareness and frameworks in Anglophone, Francophone and Lusophone African countries reveal significant differences. The most powerful three global asset managers, BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street, still show "rational restraint", especially with regard to firm-specific sustainability activism. Also they can use their power to engage in "rational hypocrisy", similar to corporate.
    Abstract: Über Ethik als Antrieb für nachhaltige Investitionen] – Geld regiert die Welt. Die Bedeutung des Geldes ist jedoch weitaus größer, als die konventionelle Wirtschaftstheorie und ihre heroischen Gleichungen vermuten lassen. Die Menschen haben ihre eigenen Währungsformen erfunden, sie haben Geld auf eine Art und Weise verwendet, die Markttheoretiker vor ein Rätsel stellt, sie haben Geld in Freundschafts- und Familienbeziehungen eingebunden und den Prozess des Ausgebens und Sparens verändert. Einzelpersonen, Familien, Regierungen und Unternehmen haben dem Geld in einer Weise eine soziale Bedeutung verliehen, von der Wirtschaftswissenschaftler bisher nicht einmal träumen konnten. Bereits vor einem Jahrhundert wies Georg Simmel in seiner Philosophie des Geldes auf verschiedene Tauschsysteme für Waren und Dienstleistungen hin, die die Existenz unvergleichlicher Wertesysteme (Land, Nahrung, Ehre, Liebe usw.) ermöglichten, die angeblich die persönliche Freiheit ermöglichten. In jüngerer Zeit brachte Ariel Wilkis die Soziologie der Macht von Pierre Bourdieu mit der Soziologie des Geldes von Viviana Zelizer in einen Dialog. Er zeigte, dass Geld ein entscheidendes Symbol ist, mit dem nicht nur materieller Besitz, sondern auch die politischen, wirtschaftlichen, klassen-, geschlechts- und generationsbedingten Bindungen zwischen Menschen verhandelt werden. Die wachsende Bedrohung durch den internationalen Terrorismus hat das Bewusstsein dafür geschärft, dass dessen Existenz an sich eine wirtschaftliche Tatsache ist, da er auf verschiedene Weise finanziert wird. Der Moral Money Summit Africa, der im November 2023 in Johannesburg, Südafrika, stattfinden soll, zielt darauf ab, Kapital freizusetzen, um nachhaltiges Wachstum in Subsahara-Afrika (SSA) zu fördern. Dies wäre überfällig, wenn man bedenkt, dass multinationale Unternehmen in SSA seit Jahrzehnten die Umwelt verschmutzen und Korruption, Geldwäsche, Investitionen in Konfliktdiamanten, Waffen- und Drogenhandel weit verbreitet sind. Ziel des Gipfels ist es, Fragen zu beantworten wie: Welche Rolle kann Afrika in dem globalen Dekarbonisierungsdilemma spielen? Wie kann die Ethik in den Rohstofflieferketten sichergestellt werden? Wie können ethische Investoren Investitionen in "Sündenaktien" wie "Blutdiamanten", Waffen- und Drogenhandel vermeiden? Angesichts der ungebrochenen Macht der multinationalen Konzerne und Investmentmanager ist das Ergebnis solcher Gipfeltreffen jedoch fraglich. Vergleichende Analysen des ESG-Bewusstseins und der ESG-Rahmenbedingungen in anglophonen, frankophonen und lusophonen afrikanischen Ländern zeigen erhebliche Unterschiede auf. Die drei mächtigsten globalen Vermögensverwalter, BlackRock, Vanguard und State Street, zeigen nach wie vor "rationale Zurückhaltung", insbesondere in Bezug auf firmenspezifischen Nachhaltigkeitsaktivismus. Auch sie können ihre Macht nutzen, um "rationale Heuchelei" zu betreiben, ähnlich wie beim Greenwashing von Unternehmen.
    Keywords: Banque éthique, ESG, Institutions financières internationales, entrepreneur de moral, banques commerciales, Afrique subsaharienne, post-colonialisme, secteur informel
    JEL: B55 D25 D64 E26 E52 F54 L26 N27 O55 P16
    Date: 2023
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:300927
  6. By: Thomas Eichner; Marco Runkel
    Abstract: The main insight of this paper is that moral behavior does not necessarily alleviate coordination problems or may even worsen them, if individuals possess different degrees of morality. We characterize heterogenous Alger-Weibull morality preferences in a canonical model of voluntary contributions to a public good. The analysis reveals a novel polarization effect which traces back to a ’preference for leadership’ and weakens (strengthens) the incentive to contribute to the public good for individuals with below (above) average morality. Equilibrium public good provision is not increased by morality, as long as there are homo oeconomicus individuals. An increase in morality of an individual may reduce total provision of the public good, if heterogeneity is large enough. Redistributive transfers are no longer neutral.
    Keywords: moral behaviour, Kantian ethics, heterogeneity, public goods
    JEL: C72 D91 H41
    Date: 2024
    URL: https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11231

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