|
on Post Keynesian Economics |
| By: | Paschalis Arvanitidis |
| Abstract: | The paper develops a theoretical framework of socioeconomic organisation to enrich understanding of the complex interrelation between economy and institutional environment. To achieve this, key elements from both new and old institutional economics are combined and integrated under the philosophical platform of critical realism. Institutionalist research can be, and has been, informed by a range of philosophical positions and analytical standpoints. Critical realism, in turn, has certain advantages, over the other philosophical perspectives, in discussing the institutional organisation of urban socioeconomy. These mainly stem from its ontological arguments that allow the dissociation of institutional structure from human agency, and acknowledge the separate identity and causal powers of institutions without undermining their agent-dependent nature. This is important because it enables a neat identification and analysis of the institutional qualities, mechanisms, causal powers and relations that characterise the socioeconomic fabric. Moreover, the fact that the realist ontology is compatible with a variety of economic theories renders its fusion with institutionalism on the whole both valid and feasible. The paper starts delineating the philosophical tenets of critical realism, which provide the basis for the development of a stratified ontological framework discussing the institutional organisation of the urban socioeconomy. In particular, a three-layer, interlocked reality is identified describing the complexity, multidimensionality, and dynamic character of the socioeconomic world. It is argued that deeper tendencies, capacities, ‘instincts’ and qualities of the human essence (understood as ‘creativity’, ‘emulation’ and ‘culture’) condition the institutional environment (differentiated in economic, political, legal, and social terms), which in turn constitutes the terrain upon which organisational arrangements are manifested and socioeconomic events are actualised. In these terms, institutions are defined as ingrained regularities or established rules of human life that mould and determine agents’ perception, expectations and behaviour, providing order, stability and certainty in social interaction and economic organisation. The paper closes summarising the epistemological and methodological position espoused to establish a generic analytical framework that can be used to investigate the institutional texture of the urban/regional socioeconomic environment. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p575&r=pke |
| By: | Paschalis Arvanitidis |
| Abstract: | Over the last years the issue of property market efficiency has attracted increasing attention in both academic and professional research. Yet, the concept of property market efficiency is poorly developed and inadequately theorised. The conventional approaches (i.e. ‘allocative efficiency’ and ‘efficient market hypothesis’) provide flawed and ambiguous judgements as they assess efficiency with reference to idealised benchmarks, they do not take into account the intrinsic characteristics and dynamic process of the property market and they are artificially dissociated from important operational issues. In turn, institutionalist attempts to articulate more refined and pragmatic conceptualisations of property market efficiency, while they have provided useful insights, remain methodologically underdeveloped and incomplete. Building on the latter approaches the current paper explores a possible way to evaluate the effectiveness of the property market in delivering a combination of outcomes that will generate and/or sustain urban economic development. This provides the basis for the development of the idea of a ‘purpose efficient property market’. To achieve this, two theoretical devices are developed: ‘institutional uncertainty’ and ‘institutionalised variety’. Institutional uncertainty assesses the quality of the wider (urban) institutional arrangements and reflects how effectively the urban socioeconomy adapts to pressures and provides a secure economic environment. Institutionalised variety evaluates particular institutions, in this case the property market, in terms of diversity in institutions, organisations, and products provided. Such a micro-level variety is deemed necessary both for the system to reproduce itself through time and for macro dynamics to be successfully sustained. In that sense, macroeconomic order and relative stability are reinforced alongside, and arise upon, variety and diversity at the micro-level. Putting the arguments together, the property market purpose efficiency is understood with reference to the market’s ability to match ‘institutionalised variety’ to the level of ‘institutional uncertainty’ that the wider urban institutional environment exhibits. In that sense, a purpose efficient property market allocates optimal resources to institutionalised variety, given the level of uncertainty the wider institutional environment carries, and thereby delivers the property products that the economy requires at the prevailing price. |
| Date: | 2006–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wiw:wiwrsa:ersa06p567&r=pke |
| By: | Khalil, Elias |
| Abstract: | In his 2005 book, Understanding the Process of Economic Change, North offers a rough account of economic change that can be called “culturalist economics.” In his account, he attributes the change of well being of individuals to, besides technology and demographics, cultural heritage or cultural beliefs. Using this basis, he then attributes "the mystery of the unique evolution of western Europe" to a causative view that combines "Christian dogma" and English "individualism." This combinatory belief assures property rights, and hence explains the success of Western Europe and the US and the failure of Islam and Latin America in terms of their respective economic development. But North’s culturalist economics faces a roadblock: it does not explain the origin of beliefs, and it neglects the role of rational choice in manufacturing beliefs. Specifically, it ignores the roles of agency, revolutionary change, and the dynamics of empire. |
| Keywords: | cultural economics vs. culturalist economics; reification of culture; Christian dogma; individualism; mystery of rise of Europe; Islam. |
| JEL: | Z1 N01 B52 N0 B40 |
| Date: | 2006–12–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:1045&r=pke |
| By: | Cedrini Mario |
| Abstract: | L'attività di sostegno alle arti che John Maynard Keynes ha svolto e teorizzato nel corso della sua vita dipende in modo pregnante, anche se non esclusivo, dal recepimento della concezione filosofica di Moore, cosi come dalla condivisione delle idee e dell'esperienza di Bloomsbury. L'originalità del pensiero di Keynes consiste, in particolare, da un lato nell'inquadrare le arti all'interno di quell'enjoyment of life cui potrà finalmente dedicarsi l'uomo liberato dall'ossessione della scarsità e dal "problema economico"; dall'altro per la soluzione offerta ai complessi rapporti tra arte, stato e mercato, preservando il carattere di libertà e le potenzialità di coesione sociale che qualificano le arti, e delineando con sufficiente chiarezza i ruoli dell' autorità pubblica e della libera iniziativa privata nel sostegno a queste ultime. Ne discende, per la società dell' avvenire e per quella del presente, una concezione non esclusivamente materialistica del welfare state. Il movimento verso la risoluzione del problema economico giustifica le attività intraprese dallo stato per realizzare le precondizioni del vero benessere, dunque non solo di quello materiale. Lo stato potrà abbandonare i criteri di spesa utilitaristici e sostenere le most public arts. Inoltre, attraverso il suo esempio e l'aiuto a istituzioni semipubbliche di promozione delle arti, sosterrà lo sforzo dei cittadini nel favorire forme di enjoyment of lìfe altrimenti sacrificate alla considerazione dell' economia come problema permanente dell'umanità. Il "paradiso ritrovato" di Keynes è qui prospettato come possibile alternativa al modello di welfare state materialistico del secondo dopoguerra: giudicato fallimentare dal punto di vista dell' efficienza economica, e tuttavia sconfitto in primo luogo dalla sua incapacità di attrazione culturale, la società del "paradiso perduto" non contemplerà il sostegno alle arti tra le sue responsabilità. |
| Date: | 2006–11–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:uto:cesmep:200601&r=pke |