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on History and Philosophy of Economics |
| By: | Widmer, Elisabeth Theresia |
| Abstract: | Unlike Johann Benjamin Erhard’s views on art, right, revolution, and structural misrecognition, his discussion of economic injustice, here understood as the lawful economic oppression of one’s end-setting human nature, has garnered little attention. To begin filling this gap, I focus on central passages from his 1795 book On the Right of the People to a Revolution wherein Erhard discusses two cases of economic injustice. By reconstructing these claims within his Kantian perfectionist framework, I pursue two goals. First, I seek to demonstrate that his fundamental ‘duty to oneself’ lays out a comprehensive framework for duties grounding moral obligations to remedy economic practices. My second aim is to utilize this framework to explain how he defends a natural law position that views the legal system as both a remedy for and an ideological tool of economic oppression. I argue that this twofold perspective is a strength of Erhard’s theory as it allows for the detection of oppressive economic structures without letting go of a principle of external freedom from where coercive juridical laws can be derived. |
| Keywords: | perfectionism; perfect and imperfect duties; capitalism; Marxism |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2025–02–20 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127477 |
| By: | Jean Cartelier (EconomiX - EconomiX - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) |
| Abstract: | This essay takes seriously the commonplace idea that money is the language of economics. A critical examination of what the scholarly political economy of money can shed light on this notion. The nominal nature of money has not been taken into account by theories of value that presuppose only goods—real analysis—nor its corollary, namely that wealth in our societies is a nominal magnitude. An ancient tradition, called monetary analysis or nominal analysis, has made money its fundamental postulate. It is exemplified in the modern era by Keynes and deserves to be rehabilitated. The fact that money is nominal and that payments record nominal quantities in accounting suggests the hypothesis that it is part of human language. This is what is demonstrated in this essay, with the immediate and important consequence that rehabilitated nominal analysis finds itself quite naturally inserted into the social sciences. Multidisciplinarity finds a transdisciplinary theoretical foundation in the thesis that money is one of the many manifestations of the unique capacity of the human species. Certain consequences are drawn from this new paradigm concerning both the "imaginary institution of society" and the way in which we can conceive of the relationships our societies maintain with their environment. |
| Abstract: | Il s'agit de prendre au sérieux l'idée banale selon laquelle la monnaie est le langage de l'économie. L'examen critique de ce que l'économie politique savante de la monnaie permet d'en éclairer la notion. Le caractère nominal de la monnaie n'a pas été pris en compte par les théories de la valeur qui présupposent seulement des biens – l'analyse réelle – ni son corollaire, à savoir que la richesse est dans nos sociétés une grandeur nominale. Une tradition ancienne, appelée analyse monétaire ou analyse nominale, a fait de la monnaie son postulat fondamental. Elle est illustrée à l'époque moderne par Keynes et mérite d'être réhabilitée. Que la monnaie soit nominale et que les paiements inscrivent des grandeurs nominales dans les comptabilités suggère l'hypothèse qu'elle relève du langage humain. C'est ce qui est montré dans cet essai avec la conséquence immédiate et importante que l'analyse nominale réhabilitée se trouve tout naturellement insérée dans les sciences sociales. La pluridisciplinarité trouve dans la thèse de la monnaie comme étant l'une des nombreuses manifestations de la capacité particulière de l'espèce humaine un fondement théorique transdisciplinaire. Certaines conséquences sont tirées de ce nouveau paradigme concernant tant « l'institution imaginaire de la société » que la façon dont on peut concevoir les relations que nos sociétés entretiennent avec leur environnement. |
| Date: | 2025–04–08 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-05024728 |
| By: | Jonathan D. Rose |
| Keywords: | Federal Reserve; discount window; lender of last resort |
| JEL: | G21 N12 |
| Date: | 2025–05–02 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fip:fedlwp:99925 |
| By: | Stanley, Isaac |
| Abstract: | This paper, building on recent contributions from Cesaratto and Di Bucchianico, explores the possibilities offered by an ‘anthropological economics’. De L’Estoile has highlighted economic anthropology’s problematic tendency to self-define in opposition to the study of ‘modern’ economy, and the risks of depoliticisation engendered by a reliance on the category of the ‘economic’. As an alternative, he proposes an anthropology of oikonomia — the practices and imaginaries through which people ‘govern the house’ (oikos), and strive for a ‘good life’. But does grappling with oikonomia require moving beyond the ‘economic’ altogether? An ‘anthropological economics’ approach may provide a pathway through these problems. Synthesising elements of substantivism and the classical surplus approach, ‘anthropological economics’ aims to illuminate the ways in which political, social and moral practices and ideas shape distribution. At its heart, then, is an inquiry into the relationship of oikonomia and production — of oikos and surplus. For illustration, the paper considers applications of an anthropological economics approach to two important topics: capitalist penetration in (post)colonial contexts, and crises of social reproduction in post-industrial societies. It concludes by considering the relevance of anthropological economics to the broader struggle for a ‘human economy’, directed towards human wellbeing rather than merely material abundance. |
| Keywords: | economic anthropology; surplus approach; Sraffa; capitalist penetration; social reproduction |
| JEL: | B51 B54 F54 Z13 |
| Date: | 2025–02–24 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127135 |
| By: | Cooper, Luke |
| Abstract: | This article returns to Stuart Hall’s account of Thatcherism to consider the interaction between consent-based hegemonic devices and the structural compulsions that emanate from political-economic transitions. It argues that Hall’s method of articulation offers a middle position in analysing contemporary authoritarian trends, which recognises the role of structural constraints and logics, as well as the discursive construction of ideology in enabling (and inhibiting) hegemony seeking efforts. Building on existing work that has highlighted the distinction between classical neoliberal arguments regarding economic individualism and the trend towards ‘protectionist’ discourses today, where the state is cast as a protector of the in-group against threats, real and imagined, the article outlines how the method of articulation can aid us in making sense of the complexity and non-linearity of the post-neoliberal transition. This framework is then applied to the case study of the British Conservative Party’s trajectory after the 2016 Brexit referendum. |
| Keywords: | articulation; authoritarianism; neoliberalism; political-economy; Stuart Hall; REF fund |
| JEL: | J1 |
| Date: | 2025–03–04 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:127497 |
| By: | Take, Gunnar |
| Abstract: | The purpose of this paper is to revive the historical research on the GDR's savings banks. It argues that socialist banks were interesting intermediary organizations which have so far been largely overlooked by financial, economic, and social historians. Hence, sources produced by the socialist banking apparatus have not received enough attention in comparison to their potential. The main part comprises six chapters which give extensive suggestions about topics worthy of future research regarding 1) personnel and organization of savings banks, 2) their role as part of the dictatorial regime, 3) saving and hoarding, 4) lending, 5) international contacts and comparisons, and 6) deviant behavior and self-portrayals. These ideas include the contributions of savings banks towards socialist state building and crisis management, the temporary existence of anonymous accounts in an apparent contradiction to Socialist propaganda, the use of lending as an instrument to influence consumption patterns and many more. In each case, an outline of the relevant state of research is given and archive collections or published sources are recommended. Part III contains a survey of German archives from the federal to the local level which contain relevant source material, particularly the historical archives of the East German savings banks and of their association. |
| Keywords: | Bank History, History of Financial Institutions, Socialism, Savings Banks, GDR, Archives, Sources |
| JEL: | E21 G21 N24 P21 P34 |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:ibfpps:316697 |
| By: | Sebastian Edwards |
| Abstract: | In this essay, I analyze the nationalization of large copper mines during Salvador Allende’s socialist government in Chile in the 1970s. This is one of the earliest cases “nationalization without compensation.” Chile’s legal argument was based on the novel idea that “adequate” payment should be calculated as book value minus “excessive profits.” In turn, excessive profits were defined, for every year, as profits above 12% of book value. I analyze the economic arguments that led to nationalization, and I deconstruct and critically evaluate the methodology used to calculate “excessive profits” and “adequate compensation.” I analyze the US and multinationals’ response to Chile’s nationalization policies. |
| JEL: | K41 N51 O13 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33572 |
| By: | Donna K. Ginther; Shulamit Kahn; Daria Milakhina |
| Abstract: | Using data from Academic Analytics 2009-2022 linked to publications and multiple approaches of identifying race, we examine gender and racial/ethnicity differentials in promotion of economists in economics and non-economics departments. Results are mixed. The share of Black economists remains at 3%. Huge gender penalties in promotion to both associate and full not explained by productivity continue in economics departments. There are no gender penalties in promotion to associate for economists in non-economics departments, although some in promotion to full. There are hardly any significant racial penalties in promotion to either rank, although statistical significance is difficult with such small samples. |
| JEL: | J15 J16 J4 |
| Date: | 2025–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:33538 |
| By: | Ellis Scharfenaker; Bruno Theodosio; Duncan K. Foley |
| Abstract: | Adam Smith's inquiry into the emergence and stability of the self-organization of the division of labor in commodity exchange is considered using statistical equilibrium methods from statistical physics. We develop a statistical equilibrium model of the distribution of independent direct producers in a hub-and-spoke framework that predicts both the center of gravity of producers across lines of production as well as the endogenous fluctuations between lines of production that arise from Smith's concept of "perfect liberty". The ergodic distribution of producers implies a long-run balancing of "advantages to disadvantages" across lines of employment and gravitation of market prices around Smith's natural prices. |
| Keywords: | Competition, Hub-and-spoke, Value theory, Classical Political Economy, Statistical equilibrium JEL Classification: |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uta:papers:2024-04 |
| By: | Takagi, Shinji |
| Abstract: | The paper explores Japanese monetary policy under the classical gold standard (1897-1914), while providing a succinct exposition of the distinguishing features of the Japanese gold standard regime. The paper, explaining how the Bank of Japan conducted monetary policy, finds that, as a general practice, (i) it used fiduciary issues to offset movements in monetary gold so as to stabilize the supply of currency; (ii) it moved the discount rate in the same direction as the government moved the extra issue tax rate; and (iii) it raised the discount rate in response to an increase in gold outflows. The rules-of-the-game-like behavior of discount rate policy, motivated by the central bank's mandate to preserve gold convertibility, was robust and consistent, challenging the semi-consensual view that violations of the rules were frequent and pervasive under the classical gold standard. |
| Keywords: | classical gold standard, rules of the game, Japanese monetary policy, Japan under the classical gold standard, Bank of Japan discount rate policy |
| JEL: | F33 F55 E42 E58 |
| Date: | 2024–11 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:agi:wpaper:02000096 |