nep-pke New Economics Papers
on Post Keynesian Economics
Issue of 2012‒01‒25
four papers chosen by
Karl Petrick
University of the West Indies

  1. Beyond Keynesianism : global infrastructure investments in times of crisis By Lin, Justin Yifu; Doemeland, Doerte
  2. Warrant Economics, Call-Put Policy Options and the Fallacies of Economic Theory By Hatgioannides, John; Karanassou, Marika
  3. Enabling Local Green Growth: Addressing Climate Change Effects on Employment and Local Development By Gabriela Miranda; Graham Larcombe
  4. Ecological analysis of world trade By Leonardo Ermann; Dima L. Shepelyansky

  1. By: Lin, Justin Yifu; Doemeland, Doerte
    Abstract: As the world recovers only slowly from the 2008 financial crisis and Europe is facing a looming debt crisis, concerns have increased that the"new normal"-- a period of high unemployment, low returns on investment, high risks, and low growth -- may become protracted in advanced economies. If growth remains weak, unemployment rates and debt levels will be slow to recede. Consequently, the global recovery may continue to be fragile for years to come. What the world needs now is a growth-lifting strategy. This strategy could take the form of a global infrastructure initiative. Since debt levels are high, governments in the United States and Europe could increase demand and support growth through investments in bottleneck-releasing infrastructure projects that are self-financing. An infrastructure initiative should, however, go beyond the borders of advanced countries and include developing countries. Economic and social returns to infrastructure investments tend to be high in developing countries, which have become increasingly important drivers of global growth. At the same time, infrastructure investments require capital goods, most of which are produced in high-income countries. Scaling up infrastructure investment in developing countries could therefore help generate a virtuous cycle in support of a global recovery.
    Keywords: Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Debt Markets,Banks&Banking Reform,Emerging Markets,Access to Finance
    Date: 2012–01–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:5940&r=pke
  2. By: Hatgioannides, John (City University London); Karanassou, Marika (University of London)
    Abstract: In this paper we aim to trace the roots of the ongoing economic mayhem and to unmask the chorus of the tragedy which plays on the world stage. The main thesis of our work is that, despite the triumphant rhetoric praising the merits of perfect competition, the global fields of the dysfunctional market system have mushroomed in what we call Warrant Economics for the Free-Market Aristocracy. Warrant Economics unfolds in two symbiotic tenets that constitute the subtle architecture of the neoliberal edifice: (i) the systemic creation and preservation of inequality via Call-Put policy options, and (ii) the systemic exploitation of inequality via novel and toxic forms of securitisation. In effect, the power structure of insiders’ capitalism that we describe, trough the costless appropriation of an intricate cobweb of Call-Put structures, has distorted competition and accelerated economic concentration. We view the income distribution effect, which favours the top 1%, and the business concentration effect, which gravitates competition towards oligopolistic/monopolistic industries, as the two sides of the Warrant Economics coin. We argue that the Warrant Economics state of capitalism has been legitimised by a degenerating research programme blossomed under the fallacy that economics is the “physics of society”. In this faculty of thought, we perceive the Great Recession as a symptom of Warrant Economics, rather than as a tsunami-like event.
    Keywords: income distribution, monopoly, securitisation, Call-Put policy options, Warrant Economics, Great Recession, sovereign debt
    JEL: E66 G01 G10
    Date: 2011–12
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp6251&r=pke
  3. By: Gabriela Miranda; Graham Larcombe
    Abstract: The transition to a green economy will not necessarily mean job losses, but there are some barriers that need to be overcome in order to ensure a successful transition. The need to align local and national strategies towards green growth, build strong partnerships, identify transferable skills, better target up-skilling programmes, support green entrepreneurship, and leverage the role of public authorities in supporting green growth activities are some of the recommendations emanating from a report just released by the LEED Programme, on Enabling Local Green Growth: Addressing Climate Change Effects on Employment and Local Development. The recommendations are illustrated by good practice models identified from across the globe.
    Date: 2012–01–11
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:cfeaaa:2012/1-en&r=pke
  4. By: Leonardo Ermann; Dima L. Shepelyansky
    Abstract: Ecological systems have a high level of complexity combined with stability and rich biodiversity. Recently, the analysis of their properties and evolution has been pushed forward on a basis of concept of mutualistic networks that provides a detailed understanding of their features being linked to a high nestedness of these networks. It was shown that the nestedness architecture of mutualistic networks of plants and their pollinators minimizes competition and increases biodiversity. Here, using the United Nations COMTRADE database for years 1962 - 2009, we show that a similar ecological analysis gives a valuable description of the world trade. In fact the countries and trade products are analogous to plants and pollinators, and the whole trade network is characterized by a low nestedness temperature which is typical for the ecological networks. This approach provides new mutualistic features of the world trade highlighting new significance of countries and trade products for the world trade.
    Date: 2012–01
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:1201.3584&r=pke

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