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on Post Keynesian Economics |
| By: | Biermann, Marcus |
| Abstract: | In this paper, new facts are documented on the racial distribution of seminar speakers in economics. From a sample of 270 institutions, I determined that before the COVID-19 pandemic, 82.5% of seminars were given by White speakers, 13.9% of seminars were given by Asian speakers, and 3.6% by speakers with a Hispanic-Latino or Black background. The racial distribution of speakers did not change globally. However, the share of speakers from underrepresented minorities in the United States almost doubled with the introduction of virtual seminars during the COVID-19 pandemic. |
| Keywords: | COVID-19; economics seminars; racial inequality |
| JEL: | F3 G3 J1 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:lserod:128118 |
| By: | Vanberg, Viktor |
| Abstract: | This paper contrasts two kinds of political economy, represented by welfare economics and social choice theory on the one hand and James M. Buchanan's constitutional political economy on the other hand. It posits that the difference between the two kinds has its roots in the different normative premises on which they are based, premises that I refer to as utility- or preference-individualism and choice-individualism respectively. And I show that, because of their different normative starting points, the two kinds of political economy pursue fundamentally different research agendas. |
| Date: | 2025 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:aluord:319640 |
| By: | Takahiro Suzuki; Michele Aleandri; Stefano Moretti |
| Abstract: | In his book entitled ''A System of Logic, Ratiocinative and Inductive'' (1843), John Stuart Mill proposed principles of inductive reasoning in the form of five canons. To date, these canons are classic methods for causal reasoning: they are intended to single out the circumstances that are connected to the phenomenon under focus. The present paper reinterprets Mill's canons in the modern theory of social ranking solutions, which aims to estimate the power of individuals based on teams' performances. We first apply Mill's canons to determine the key success factors in cooperative performances and then characterize plurality using a strong version of Mill's first canon. Plurality is also compatible with most other canons. Thus, our results demonstrated a hidden link between classical causal reasoning and the theory of social ranking solutions. |
| Date: | 2025–05 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:arx:papers:2505.10187 |
| By: | Alexis Litvine (University of Cambridge); Stanley Hinton (University of Cambridge) |
| Abstract: | This paper presents a subsectoral analysis of historical occupational data. The approach employs compositional data analysis and new metrics derived from properties of ternary plots, and it offers a more detailed and complex and dynamic image of the relationship between economic growth and structural change. As a result of this, it highlights a series of core sub-sectoral patterns, which were until now often overlooked by traditional sectoral analysis or invisible due to higher levels of data aggregation. We find that longer historical series confirm Rodrik’s pattern of ‘premature deindustrialisation’ (Rodrik 2016), including the rapid movement towards tertiary subsectors for later developers and the diminishing gender gaps in structural change. We develop a typology to identify which subsectors are most correlated to economic growth, and discuss what that may indicate in terms of theories of structural change. The empirical examination of economic development presented in this chapter will add historical depth to ongoing academic and policy-oriented discussions on the nature and contribution of structural changes to economic development. |
| JEL: | N33 O14 |
| Date: | 2024–07–03 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cmh:wpaper:36 |
| By: | Lunanga, Elie; Stoop, Nik; Verpoorten, Marijke; Desbureaux, Sébastien |
| Abstract: | Four in five people without access to electricity live in Sub-Saharan Africa, where minigrids are seen as a key solution to closing the energy access gap. Yet investment in minigrids remains constrained by low and unpredictable demand, especially in fragile and conflict-affected settings. We study electricity demand in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of Congo – a region marked by conflict and institutional fragility. Drawing on census data from five localities, we track connection rates and electricity consumption over a six-year period. In addition, a detailed pre-connection survey allows us to link household and firm characteristics to actual connection uptake and electricity consumption. We find that demand is highly heterogeneous, and only weakly associated with pre-grid data. This makes planning and sizing of mini-grids particularly difficult and risky. We then examine how the local mini-grid operator, Virunga Energies, has addressed this challenge through an integrated development strategy that includes supporting industrial clients, providing micro-credit, promoting electric cooking, and leveraging temporary anchor loads. The case highlights how mini-grid viability in fragile settings may depend less on improved demand forecasting and more on the capacity to build and coordinate demand alongside infrastructure. This has implications for electrification policy, investment design, and the role of public and donor support in overcoming coordination failures. |
| Keywords: | Kivu, DRC, DRCongo, mmini-grid, electricity, energy |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iob:wpaper:2025.09 |
| By: | Milovanska-Farrington, Stefani (The University of Tampa); LaForge, Olivier (University of Nebraska Omaha); Burton, Jennifer (University of Tampa) |
| Abstract: | Analogies can simplify complex new material by relating it to ideas students already know. Making cross-disciplinary connections also makes the material more engaging, accessible and memorable. In this study, we perform a controlled empirical test to examine whether providing cross-discipline analogy examples enhances students’ learning. We find strong evidence of an increase in students’ self-reported understanding of the material and actual performance after exposure to analogies. Students who are less familiar with the concepts prior to the class benefit from the analogy examples the most. About 40% of the students report that examples that cross-reference their major facilitate learning the most, followed by about 25% of the students who find everyday examples the most useful. The findings have implications for the importance of designing a curriculum that prioritizes a cross-disciplinary, holistic approach that allows students to recognize analogies between various fields of study and helps them apply basic principles in various contexts in the future. |
| Keywords: | analogy, teaching economics, controlled experiment, empirical test, introductory economics, finance, teaching finance |
| JEL: | A20 A22 I21 |
| Date: | 2025–06 |
| URL: | https://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17946 |