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on Post Keynesian Economics |
| By: | David B. McMillon |
| Abstract: | Drawing on work spanning economics, public health, education, sociology, and law, I formalize theoretically what makes systemic discrimination "systemic." Injustices do not occur in isolation, but within a complex system of interdependent factors; and their effects may amplify as a consequence. I develop a taxonomy of these amplification mechanisms, connecting them to well-understood concepts in economics that are precise, testable and policy-oriented. This framework reveals that these amplification mechanisms can either be directly disrupted, or exploited to amplify the effects of equity-focused interventions instead. In other words, it shows how to use the machinery of systemic discrimination against itself. Real-world examples discussed include but are not limited to reparations for slavery and Jim Crow, vouchers or place-based neighborhood interventions, police shootings, affirmative action, and Covid-19. |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2403.11028&r=pke |
| By: | Nardy Antunes, Davi José; Tunes Mazon, Marilia; Cardoso de Mello, João Manuel |
| Abstract: | The extraordinary technological progress in recent decades rekindles the questions raised by John M. Keynes in Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren, especially about its emancipatory potential. Economic development has rendered work almost irrelevant for social reproduction and wealth generation in the 21st century, by reducing its necessity to produce our existence. It has also made human emancipation possible, expanding freedom and leisure time, creating room for a good life – as Keynes had envisioned through the lens of the ancient Greeks – rich in love, friendship, beauty, and the pursuit of truth. However, overcoming the economic problem seems distant politically. This paper discusses two central issues. The first is the corporate restructuring that has taken place in recent decades, characterized by de-conglomeration and rentism, which has shaped a new international division of labor. Under the logic of “shareholder value”, large corporations have focused on their core business, reduced their productive investments, and prioritized the financial appreciation of their stocks and dividend distribution. Technological monopolization and its private appropriation have led to material abundance for only a small portion of the wealthy and their associates, driven by consumerism and waste, especially in affluent countries. The second issue is related to the impact of the development of productive forces on the rich countries’ labor markets, leading to the exclusion of increasingly larger segments of the population, subject to structural unemployment and deteriorating living conditions. In a neoliberal political order, technological advancement has pushed growing portions of the population into serving the wealthy, the only remaining activity that expands job opportunities while exacerbating social inequality. |
| Keywords: | technological progress; business restructuring; labor market |
| JEL: | O14 |
| Date: | 2023–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120397&r=pke |
| By: | Benjamin Enke |
| Abstract: | This article calls for a greater integration of moral psychology and political economy. While these disciplines were initially deeply intertwined, cross-disciplinary exchange became rare throughout the 20th century. More recently, the tide has shifted again – social scientists of different backgrounds recognized that morality and politico-economic outcomes influence each other in rich bi-directional ways. Because psychologists and economists possess distinct and complementary skill sets, part of this movement consists of productive ‘economic imperialism’ – economists leveraging their empirical toolkit to test and substantiate theories from moral psychology at scale or in the wild. To illustrate this, I present two case studies of recent economics research on prominent ideas in moral psychology. First, the theory that morality is ultimately economically functional – that it evolved as a form of ‘psychological and biological police’ to enforce cooperation in economic production and exchange. Second, that the structure of morality shapes political views and polarization, including on economic issues such as taxation and redistribution. I conclude from these case studies that economists have much to gain from integrating more ideas from moral psychology, and that moral psychologists will be able to make an even more compelling case that morality and politico-economic outcomes influence each other if they engage with research in economics. |
| JEL: | D01 D70 |
| Date: | 2024–03 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:32279&r=pke |
| By: | Khan, Haider |
| Abstract: | The main purpose of this paper is to explore African Development Strategy as part of a non-neocolonial Global South. For this purpose, I propose a fairly comprehensive strategy for development as freedom for Africa. Accordingly, I try to find a way to integrate useful markets with the key characteristics of the Enabling Developmental State for the 21st Century in order to build a growing ecologically sustainable economy with equity in terms of capabilities. This is both for theoretical clarification and for aiding the strategies of popular democratic movements. A few tentative steps are taken here to serve this dual purpose. Proceeding from a critical capabilities perspective that is fully grounded in social reality of deepening structural and ecological crises of the World Capitalist System, we discover that such a perspective leads to the need to include among the characteristics of the Enabling Developmental State for the 21st Century its capacity to build an ecologically sustainable egalitarian development strategy from the beginning. The specific theoretical approach I follow has been developed during the last few decades by ecological scientists and social scientists. My own particular version can be called Evolutionary Ecological Global Political Economy or EEGPE for short.In addition, democracy must be deepened from the beginning. For Africa in particular, a new cooperative community of African nations following their own rhythm to reach their own dynamic trajectories towards development as freedom will be possible if they cooperate regionally on the basis of equal sovereignty and mutual respect. One precondition is to pragmatically unite for a common economic strategy. For this a decolonization of the African mind is also necessary. I conclude with some further thoughts on extending the model to an information theoretic based fractal model of development.A mathematical model of integrated financial and real sectors on abstract function space is presented in the appendix that can be extended for this purpose. |
| Keywords: | Non-neocolonial Global South, Enabling Developmental State for Africa, Egalitarianism in Afrian Development, Ecological Crisis in Africa, World Capitalist System, Counterhegemonic movements, Nonlinearities, Multiple equilibria, Entropy and Information Theory |
| JEL: | O2 O5 O55 |
| Date: | 2024–02–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:120309&r=pke |
| By: | John List; Lina Ramirez; Julia Seither; Jaime Unda; Beatriz Vallejo |
| Abstract: | Misinformation represents a vital threat to the societal fabric of modern economies. While the supply side of the misinformation market has begun to receive increased scrutiny, the demand side has received scant attention. We explore the demand for misinformation through the lens of augmenting critical thinking skills in a field experiment during the 2022 Presidential election in Colombia. Data from roughly 2.000 individual suggest that our treatments enhance critical thinking, causing subjects to more carefully consider the truthfulness of potential misinformation. We furthermore provide evidence that reducing the demand of fake news can deliver on the dual goal of reducing the spread of fake news by encouraging reporting of misinformation. |
| Date: | 2024 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:feb:framed:00786&r=pke |