THE MARKET ECONOMY AND THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHRISTIAN GOSPEL

The reality of the market economy is not an economy in which Christian values are generally evident. Although there are many prominent Christian capitalist writers, the real world is a world of rather more materialistic values. It does not have to be like that. It is possible for people to take Christian values out into the world of business and prosper.     

Tolstoy's Georgist spiritual Political Economy (1897–1910): Anarchism and Land Reform

A bstract . Following Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy's spiritual crisis in the late 1870s many had come to regard him as a "crackpot anarchist" espousing odd ideas such as vegetarianism, nonresistance, and a doctrine of love. The death of his friend Henry George in 1897 spurred him on to renewed endeavors. Tolstoy became the world's most noteworthy exponent of the American's ideology, which integrated his previously diffuse commitments. Armed with his universal moral and religious beliefs harmoniously and gently forged with Georgist philosophy, he became the conscience of the world. It was a monumental effort to ground justice in a rational economics and spread enlightenment for the benefit of suffering people.¹     

POPULATION AND THE ECONOMY DURING THE DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSITION

The changes in population structure currently taking place in both developed and less‐developed nations are part of a very long‐term trend of demographic change that has yet to run its full course. The starting point of this trend is the complete rearrangement of demographic regimes characterised by significant declines in mortality coupled with widespread fertility control. This process started in a small group of European and non‐European societies during the nineteenth century and by the second half of the twentieth century had spread to much of the world. It has brought with it significant economic and social implications for societies affected which have differed by the timing of the transition but not in their basic thrust. Eventually the demographic transition promises to bring with it very rapid and widespread ageing and, within a few decades, world population decline. Some of the long‐term economic implications of this entire process are discussed in this article.     

Distribution of income and expenditures across nations

This paper outlines a premise that state social and economic planning in recent decades were the outgrowth of Marxist doctrine, even though Marxism as an economic system failed to materialize. The paper addresses the rise of the New Left with its doctrine of radical economics and its influence for state planning. For this purpose, the paper compares 126 countries grouped by income distribution and income inequality. The findings indicate that richer economies perform better than economies of lesser income in the distribution and equality of income.     

ADAM SMITH AND THE ROLE OF THE METAPHOR OF AN INVISIBLE HAND

Daniel Klein and Brandon Lucas's ‘In a Word or Two, Placed in the Middle: The Invisible Hand in Smith's Tomes’, following a vague hint by Peter Minowitz (2004) , offers original physical evidence that Smith ‘deliberately placed the phrase “led by an invisible hand”– at the physical centre of both his masterworks’. Further, it suggests that the invisible‐hand paragraphs are a response to Rousseau (1755 ); and that in ‘numerous and rich ways’, centrality holds ‘special and positive significance in Smith's thought’. This paper acknowledges the physical centrality of the invisible‐hand metaphor, but questions whether centrality alone gives weight to wider claims that the ‘invisible hand’ was Smith's ‘central idea’. It draws upon Smith's Rhetoric Lectures (1763), and argues that the invisible‐hand paragraphs in The Theory of Moral Sentiments and Wealth of Nations identify the actual objects of the invisible‐hand metaphor. This paper insists that Adam Smith is the most reliable source for revealing what he meant. In contrast, most modern attributions of special meaning to Adam Smith's use of the metaphor ignore Smith's teaching on the use of metaphors and, instead, make numerous, and often mutually exclusive, claims that Smith had a ‘doctrine’ of ‘an invisible‐hand’.     

The Pelagian Controversy: An Economic Analysis

A bstract .   In recent years economic theory has been used to analyze the introduction of new religious doctrines as innovations that further the objectives of religious organizations and their leaders. The present study analyzes the decision of church authorities in the early fifth century to reject the doctrine advanced by Pelagius in favor of the position taken by Augustine. Accounts of the controversy reveal two self-interested motives for the church hierarchy to reject the Pelagian doctrine: (1) the Pelagian view would have undermined the authority of the church hierarchy; and (2) by making greater demands for moral conduct, it would have raised the "cost" of being a Christian and thereby discouraged growth in church membership, particularly among the Roman upper class.     

THE ECONOMY AT A TURNING POINT

In this Forecast Release we assess the evidence from the economic indicators and the latest official statistics for the view that the economy is at a turning point. We conclude that, while last year's rapid decline in UK output is coming to an end, a broadly-based recovery of the UK economy is unlikely until the world economy starts to grow again. The business surveys suggest that the upturn in European economy is less well established than the UK recovery. It may also be delayed further by high interest rates. The world turning point is thus likely to be some months later than die UK turning point, despite the strong upswing in the US. This implies that the UK recovery could be somewhat hesitant in the coming months.     

AN INFRA-SURFER'S PARADISE: RIDING THE CREST OF THE LAND - VALUE WAVE

The author devoted his working life to adding wealth to the nation. Now, to expose the damage caused by taxes to the enterprise economy, he is an accredited Infra-surfer. And as he triangulates between deals in St Petersburg, up-state New York and the coast of Spain, he finds himself slipping into a dream-like world of virtual reality…     

THE ENTREPRENEURIAL EMPLOYEE

The business world goes around not just because of entrepreneurs, small and large, but because of entrepreneurial employees, as well. We discuss this insight and provide some illustrations.     

Situating the city and September 11th: military urban doctrine, ‘pop–up’ armies and spatial chess

An evolving body of doctrine, Military Operations in Urbanized Terrain (MOUT), has developed over the last several decades on the assumption that extensive military presence in cities in both warfare and less than war conditions will be necessary in the twenty–first century to deal with the aggression of ‘rouge’ nations, terrorism and civilian disorders. The examination of MOUT doctrine undertaken here, most basically, contributes to a recognition that urban warfare and military operations are relevant, if not normal, urban phenomena. MOUT doctrine also facilitates identifying trends in the prevention, repression and control of mass citizen political mobilizations within and among cities. Finally, this perspective situates the ‘War on Terrorism’ as a factor that is broadening and deepening, rather than causing, the increasing militarization of urban space. Au cours des dernières décennies, une partie évolutive de la doctrine, les opérations militaires en milieu urbain (MOUT), s’est développée à partir de l’idée qu’au vingt–et–unième siècle, il faudra une large présence militaire dans les villes, à la fois en temps de guerre et dans des situations non conflictuelles, afin de gérer l’agression des nations ‘rouges’, le terrorisme et les désordres civils. L’étude de la doctrine des MOUT, entreprise ici de manière très élémentaire, permet de reconnaître que les opérations urbaines militaires et combattantes sont des phénomènes urbains significatifs, voire normaux. Cette doctrine facilite également l’identification de tendances en matière de prévention, répression et contrôle des mobilisations politiques de masse des citoyens dans les villes. En conclusion, cette perspective établit la ‘guerre contre le terrorisme’ en tant que facteur qui élargit et accentue, sans en être la cause, la militarisation croissante de l’espace urbain.     

THE RISE AND FALL OF THE FIRST GLOBALISATION

This article argues that the first globalisation from the late 1840s to the First World War offers important lessons for the present era of globalisation. It is argued that the social and economic change created by the first globalisation led to increased protectionism and nationalism in France and Germany rather than the free-trade utopia envisaged by many liberal optimists. Contemporary optimists should be aware that globalisation and liberalisation are not inevitable processes; more and freer trade may induce a similar negative response from the short-term losers and those who fear a more dynamic and less predictable world.     

THE WORLD OUTLOOK

The upturn in economic activity in the world economy now looks to be rather stronger than previously expected this year and in 1995. It is the strength of recovery in Europe that gives this more optimistic tone without any signs of the added inflationary pressure that financial markets fear.     

THE WORLD OUTLOOK

The upturn in economic activity in the world economy now looks to be rather stronger than previously expected this year and in 1995. It is the strength of recovery in Europe that gives this more optimistic tone without any signs of the added inflationary pressure that financial markets fear.     

LOOKING BACK AT THE CONDENSED VERSION OF THE ROAD TO SERFDOM AFTER 60 YEARS

Hayek's The Road to Serfdom changed the world - but it may not have done so if it were not for the publication of The Reader's Digest condensed version.     

An Empirical Assessment of the Contract Based Exception to the Employment-At-Will Rule

While extensive, the existing literature on the employment-at-will doctrine and its various exceptions has been remarkably uniform. By relying on a discussion of selected court opinions on specific aspects of the doctrine, scholars have focused primarily on normative issues such as what the courts should do when deciding job security disputes, or what plaintiffs/employees and defendants/employers should argue when litigating employment disputes. Our approach and focus are different. Instead of relying on a discussion of selected cases, we rely on a more comprehensive sample of cases. Instead of focusing on normative issues, our goal is to provide a more complete picture of the state of the at-will doctrine as reflected in those cases. Our data should be of interest to legal scholars interested in understanding the characteristics and outcomes of litigated employment-at-will cases. Our data should also be relevant to the current debate among management scholars regarding conflicts that might arise due to aggressive recruitment practices which highlight long term employment opportunities and the realities associated with at-will employment.     

基于先进技术形式下我国绿色物流的思考

文章就我国绿色物流与国际先进国家物流的差距进行了分析,提出应加强物流绿色化的政策和理论体系建立的呼声。     

THE ‘WHO AND WHY’ OF LOTTERY: EMPIRICAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SEMINAL ECONOMIC LITERATURE

Lotteries operate today in many countries around the world. This type of gambling is usually run by governments and is sometimes described as regressive. Lottery is an unfair bet, so explaining the purchase of lottery tickets by risk‐averse consumers has been a challenge for economic theory. Lotteries can be analysed from either of two economic perspectives: as a source of public revenue or as a consumer commodity. In this paper the state of economic research on lotteries is reviewed, focusing on its main empirical findings.     

IS THE WORLD SHORT OF SAVINGS?

The opening up of Eastern Europe may give rise to a surge in investment as the former socialist economies move to a market-based system. The scope for modernization of the region in terms of its industrial, environmental and social capital raises the question of how the increase in demand can be accommodated. Since the Ergonomic shock of the early 1980s, most of the world's net saving has been provided by Japan and West Germany in the form of huge current account surpluses. If GMU now implies a significant drop in German savings, does this mean, as the OECD has recently suggested that there is a risk that world savings will be inadequate?     

中国顾客抱怨行为的文化成因及“疗法”研究

文化背景影响顾客抱怨行为。中国传统文化背景下的顾客在经历产品或服务失败之后,倾向于将其归因为"缘分"、运气等不可控因素,不满意程度较低;而重视面子和讲求中庸等观念使得他们往往不愿意直接向企业投诉;集体主义和人与人之间互相依赖的价值导向则使得他们可能会进行大量负面口碑宣传。因此,企业需要认真审视这些行为表现及其文化成因,采取相应措施,鼓励顾客直接向企业投诉;管理顾客负面口碑;同时,还需开发测量中国顾客满意度的新标准。     

The Talmudic Doctrine of "The Benefit of a Pleasure": Psychological Well-Being in Talmudic Literature

A bstract .   In this article, we attempt to analyze the Talmudic notion of well-being in the light of modern hedonic psychology. First, we examine the thoughts of Hebrew "wisdom" and Greek " sophia " concerning the phenomenon of happiness. We then discuss the Talmudic doctrine of "optimality," a concept similar to that of the Pareto improvement. This is followed by a discourse deemed to be of extraordinary significance—the idea of "mutual benefit," which may be described as "super optimum." Thereafter, the doctrine of the "Benefit of a Pleasure" is demonstrated to be a "pleasure-measure" of reciprocal and nonreciprocal happiness. Finally, it is argued, that although Plato, according to Professor Lowry, detailed precise "trade-offs" between degrees of pleasure, pain, and time, it was applied to "moral values" only, whereas the Talmudists posited the existence of a "psychoeconomic" category, in which pleasure itself is equated with money.