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on Post Keynesian Economics |
| By: | Valentín Figueroa; Vasiliki Fouka |
| Abstract: | What drives change in a society’s values? From Marx to modernization theory, scholars have identified a connection between structural transformation and social change. To understand how changes in a society’s dominant mode of production affect its dominant values, we examine the case of the movement for the abolition of slavery in the late 18th and early 19th century Britain, one of history’s most well-known campaigns for social change, which coincided temporally with the Industrial Revolution. We argue that structural transformation alters the distribution of power in society and enables groups with distinct values and weak economic interest in the status quo to mobilize for change. Using data on anti-slavery petitions, membership in abolitionist groups, MP voting behavior in Parliament and economic activity, we show that support for abolition was strongly connected to manufacturing at the aggregate and individual level. We rely on biographical data and the analysis of parliamentary speeches to show that industrialists were relatively less reliant on income from slavery and were characterized by a universalist worldview that distinguished them from established elites. Together, our findings suggest that both values and economic interest play a role in driving social change. |
| Keywords: | values, structural transformation, social change, slavery, abolition |
| JEL: | A13 N63 O14 P16 Z10 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10662&r=pke |
| By: | Anna Pettini |
| Abstract: | The intersection of Economics and Nature has long been overlooked, but recent events have shed new light on their interconnectedness. This paper explores this relationship, focusing on the impact of economic cycles and the role of GDP as a measure of economic success. The paper highlights the historically dominant role of GDP, tracing its origins from Simon Kuznets’ report in the 1930s to the present. It considers the rise of quantitative growth as a paradigm and its influence on economic policy, including the neo-liberal perspective that prioritises private market initiative. The paper concludes by exploring the potential for change in the aftermath of the syndemic crisis, and argues for a move away from GDP-centred measurements towards indicators that are fully researched and ready to use. |
| Keywords: | critical deceleration theory, nature, GDP, beyond-GDP indicators |
| JEL: | I31 O10 D00 |
| Date: | 2023 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10631&r=pke |
| By: | Eslava, Francisco; Valencia Caicedo, Felipe |
| Abstract: | How deep are the roots of Latin America's economic inequalities? In this chapter we survey both the history and the literature about the region's extreme economic disparities, focusing on the most recent academic contributions. We begin by documenting the broad patterns of national and sub-national differences in income and inequality, building on the seminal contributions of Engerman and Sokoloff (2000; 2002, 2005) and aiming to capture different dimensions of inequality. We then proceed thematically, providing empirical evidence and summarizing the key recent studies on colonial institutions, slavery, land reform, education and the role of elites. Finally, we conduct a “replication” exercise with some seminal papers in the literature, extending their economic results to include different measures of inequality as outcomes. |
| Keywords: | Elites;Inequality;Latin America;History;Colonization;Persistence;Slavery;Land Refor;Education |
| JEL: | D02 D63 I24 N10 N16 O43 Q15 |
| Date: | 2023–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:12940&r=pke |
| By: | Arash Mousavi; Reza Hafezi; Hasan Ahmadi |
| Abstract: | The psychology of science is the least developed member of the family of science studies. It is growing, however, increasingly into a promising discipline. After a very brief review of this emerging sub-field of psychology, we call for it to be invited into the collection of social sciences that constitute the interdisciplinary field of science policy. Discussing the classic issue of resource allocation, this paper tries to indicate how prolific a new psychological conceptualization of this problem would be. Further, from a psychological perspective, this research will argue in favor of a more realistic conception of science which would be a complement to the existing one in science policy. |
| Date: | 2023–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2309.09202&r=pke |