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on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Basile Clerc |
| Abstract: | This article seeks to highlight a previously overlooked theoretical continuity in François Perroux's trajectory, linking his "corporatist period" to his post-war writings. We demonstrate that a key aspect of François Perroux's critique of neoclassical economics, which persisted through his efforts to revise general equilibrium theory in the 1970s, originates from his corporatist economic model developed in the 1930s. This core idea can be summarized as follows: the concentrated nature of capitalist structures makes the economic equilibrium indeterminate, necessitating and justifying the intervention of the state to regulate both prices and wages. We argue that the convergence of Perroux's critique of neoclassical economics and his corporatist theorization reaches its peak in a text published during the Liberation of France, a time of profound intellectual transformation for the author. The theoretical elements developed on this occasion permeate the whole of his later works, which must therefore be reinterpreted in the light of his early corporatist writings. Finally, by exhuming a significant yet entirely overlooked theory, this article contributes to the development of a historical perspective on microeconomic theories of price control. |
| Keywords: | François Perroux; price control; neoclassical economics; corporatism |
| JEL: | B21 B31 E64 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:drm:wpaper:2025-12 |
| By: | Roger E Backhouse; Béatrice Cherrier (CREST - Center for Research in Extreme Scale Technologies [Bloomington] - Indiana University [Bloomington] - Indiana University System) |
| Abstract: | Towards a broader history of modern macroeconomics ✰ ✰ Introduction to the special issue of the European Economic Review on "Histories of Macroeconomics since 1970." 1 An example of a macroeconomics textbook that containing such a history is Blanchard 2017. A much more comprehensive account, centred on a similar narrative, is De Vroey 2016. |
| Date: | 2023–10 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04379141 |
| By: | Jonung, Lars (Department of Economics, Lund University); Laidler, David (Department of Economics, University of Western Ontario) |
| Abstract: | It is widely believed that Friedrich von Hayek’s first encounter with Gunnar Myrdal involved the latter’s last-minute contribution, as a replacement for Erik Lindahl, to a Sammelband edited by the former in 1933, and that Hayek was lukewarm towards Myrdal and his ideas from the very beginning. Correspondence between the two shows that, in fact Myrdal was among Hayek’s original invitees, and that their relationship was co-operative and cordial for two years prior to the publication of this collection. We suggest that the content, and perhaps even more, the tone of Myrdal’s paper, originally intended for the Journal of Political Economy, alienated Hayek, who nevertheless treated Myrdal’s work with academic propriety thereafter. The origin of Myrdal’s famous ex post – ex ante terminology is also revealed. |
| Keywords: | Hayek; Myrdal; Stockholm School; ex ante – ex post |
| JEL: | B20 B30 E10 E20 E30 |
| Date: | 2025–02–18 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2025_001 |
| By: | Azam, Jean-Paul |
| Abstract: | Confession was made compulsory in 1215 at the Lateran Council. Confessors became a kind of regulators, providing advice and inflicting fines, called “restitutions”. Peter Olivi created price theory in 1295 to show that their concepts of ‘just price’ and ‘usury’ were misconceived and harmful for the ‘common good’. The paper uses Olivi’s own words, duly translated into English, to bring out his path-breaking contributions using the tools of elementary microeconomics to take stock of his achievements. His theoretical framework is presented step-by-step, culminating with capital-asset pricing and long-distance trade. The paper then briefly highlights the salient thinkers that kept his legacy alive across about three centuries. |
| Date: | 2025–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:tse:wpaper:130346 |
| By: | Ghosh Roy, Kaustav Mr. (University of Delhi) |
| Abstract: | This article examines Sarat Chandra Roy's groundbreaking work in establishing "Nationalist Anthropology" in India. It describes how Roy, who started out as a lawyer, became the first Indian anthropologist to operate in tribal populations, especially the Mundas, through ethnographic fieldwork. Roy's research was firmly anchored in his dedication to justice for underprivileged tribes, in contrast to European scholars who were motivated by administrative or missionary goals. By fusing Western methods with an Indian viewpoint, his groundbreaking work, ‘The Mundas and Their Country’ (1912), established a standard for anthropological research in India. The purpose of this article is to investigate how nationalism influenced Indian anthropology, a field previously dominated by colonial narratives. By situating Roy's work within the larger theoretical frameworks of evolutionism, diffusionism, and functionalism, the article highlights his methodological innovations and efforts to develop an indigenous anthropological perspective. His work helped to establish anthropology as an academic discipline in India, resulting in the founding of Man in India, the country's second professional anthropology journal. The study seeks to shed light on Roy's ethnographic methods and nationalist vision, which contributed to a distinct Indian anthropological tradition. His approach emphasized the importance of situating tribal communities in a larger socio-historical context, challenging the widely held notion of isolated "primitive" societies. Finally, Roy's contributions are significant because of his ability to bridge Western anthropological theories with Indian intellectual traditions, thereby fostering a nationalist framework in the discipline. His legacy continues to shape modern Indian anthropology, demonstrating how indigenous scholarship can challenge colonial epistemologies and contribute to nation-building. |
| Date: | 2025–02–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:osf:osfxxx:akhx5_v1 |
| By: | Lutz Bornmann; Klaus Wohlrabe |
| Abstract: | This study examines how tripartite phrases in academic paper titles affect citation counts. Tripartite phrases consist of three interconnected elements separated by commas and conjunctions such as pattern, perception, and performance. Analyzing comprehensive datasets from economics (235, 330 articles) and medicine and life sciences (93, 713 articles), we found that papers with titles including tripartite phrases receive significantly more citations. Papers with tripartite phrases receive on average 3.5 additional citations in economics and 32 additional citations in medicine and life sciences compared to those without, controlling for paper characteristics, journal characteristics, and publication timing. For medical and life sciences papers, this effect persists when controlling for expert-assessed paper quality. The relative share of tripartite titles among the titles of all papers was stable over time at approximately 9% in economics and 4% in medicine and life sciences, suggesting an established stylistic convention. |
| Keywords: | tripartite phrases, academic writing, bibliometrics, citation analysis, paper titles |
| JEL: | A10 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11671 |
| By: | François Pacquement (AFD - Agence française de développement) |
| Abstract: | The former French President of the Council (Prime minister) formulated directly or indirectly an original vision of development, woven more by a method than by a doctrine, which still makes it actual. It is based on two political moments. The first was the Bretton Woods Conference in June 1944. Very early on, convinced of the importance of the role of the international public service, after Bretton Woods, he devoted more than twelve years to responsibilities as a representative of France, with simultaneous mandates that would no longer be possible today. Pierre Mendès-France considers that development is not the business of individual states, but rather of collective processes. Second moment, the conclusion of the Geneva agreements, and shortly after the Carthage Speech where he recognizes the internal autonomy of Tunisia. Without being very committed to independence, Pierre Mendès-France knew that one cannot force a country to remain in a situation of dependence which he considers unbearable and wishes to get rid of. These two political moments constitute the basis of recommendations, which were concretely formulated through the responsibilities taken by the first circle of his entourage. Transmitted and continued by concrete practise as well as intellectual debate, these principles are still pertinent today, when the international sustainable development policy is changing in depth. This article proposes to: i/ describe how, after these two political moments, the vision of the development of Pierre Mendès-France embodied itself in the actions of the members of its entourage and ii/ show how this vision finds a renewed actuality today. |
| Abstract: | L'ancien Président du Conseil a formulé directement ou indirectement une vision originale du développement, tissée davantage par une méthode que par une doctrine, ce qui en fait la force aujourd'hui encore. Elle repose sur deux moments politiques. Le premier est la Conférence de Bretton Woods en juin 1944. Très tôt, convaincu de l'importance du rôle de la fonction publique internationale, il consacre, après Bretton Woods, plus de douze ans à des responsabilités de représentant de la France , avec des mandats simultanés qui ne seraient plus possibles aujourd'hui . Pierre Mendès-France considère que le développement n'est pas l'affaire des Etats pris individuellement, mais plutôt de processus collectifs. Second moment, la conclusion des accords de Genève, et peu après le Discours de Carthage où il reconnaît l'autonomie interne à la Tunisie. Sans être a priori engagé pour les indépendances, Pierre Mendès-France savait que l'on ne peut forcer un pays à rester dans une situation d'asservissement lorsqu'il la considère comme insupportable et de souhaiter s'en affranchir. Ces deux moments politiques se sont ensuite déclinés en thèmes plus précis, à travers les responsabilités prises par le premier cercle de son entourage, et de positions formulées par les uns et les autres, amorçant par la pratique et le débat un mouvement de transmission, par lequel s'est jouée la diffusion des principes qui sous-tendaient la vision de Pierre Mendès-France. Ceux-ci, et les thèmes plus concrets par lesquels ils se sont exprimés, se retrouvent dans une actualité récente où se joue la mutation d'une politique à l'importance croissante. Cet article se propose de : i/ décrire comment, après ces deux moments politiques, la vision du développement de Pierre Mendès-France s'est incarnée dans les actions des membres de son entourage et ii/ montrer comment cette vision trouve aujourd'hui une actualité renouvelée. |
| Date: | 2023–11–09 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-04356807 |
| By: | Klaus, Hendrik |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the genesis of the German monetary framework between 1866 and 1876, with a specific focus on the 1875 Banking Act. The Banking Act constituted the final piece within the legislation that established Germany's post- unification monetary order, regulated bank note issuance across the Reich, and established the Reichsbank as Germany's first central bank. The Banking Act has rarely featured prominently in the literature, and it has often been regarded as a subordinate aspect of Germany's adoption of a gold currency. Drawing on a broad range of primary sources, this study argues that the Banking Act was in fact the most complicated and politicised element of the monetary reform. The debates on the centralisation of note issuance and banking functions are a fascinating window into how late nineteenth-century monetary management developed within the political imperatives of the time. As a case study, the historical perspective on the development of Germany's monetary framework is relevant in a broader context. It offers insight into the dynamics that have shaped political economies past and present, and it enables us to reflect critically on outcomes and alternatives for specific forms of monetary governance |
| Keywords: | Bankgesetz, Banking Act, Reichsbank, Ludwig Bamberger, Otto Michaelis, financial history, central bank history, free banking |
| JEL: | N13 N23 B15 B17 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ibfpps:311086 |
| By: | Broadberry, Stephen (Nuffield College, Oxford, CAGE and CEPR); Harrison, Mark (CAGE and Department of Economics, University of Warwick, and CEPR) |
| Abstract: | We draw lessons from three centuries of economic warfare and sanctions. Establishing cause and effect is difficult because much else was typically changing during periods of conflict. Unintended consequences were everywhere. Impact was followed (and sometimes preceded) by adaptation so that countermeasures blunted the effectiveness of economic warfare measures and sanctions. This does not mean that the original measures were unimportant, because countermeasures were costly to the target country. Civilian lives and interests were collateral damage. Economic warfare and sanctions worked most effectively when complemented by fighting power either engaged in conventional warfare or credibly threatening war as a deterrent, and they were ineffective in its absence. |
| Keywords: | complementary force, conventional warfare, displacement effect, economic warfare, economic sanctions JEL Classification: H56, N4 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cge:wacage:747 |