Ricardo on machinery: an analysis of Ricardo's examples

The examples that are reported in the famous chapter “On Machinery” added by Ricardo in the third edition of his Principles are reconstructed and analyzed. Two sets of assumptions that rationalize the examples presented by Ricardo are identified: a) the innovation concerns an agricultural commodity and does affect neither which land is marginal nor the technology applied on the marginal land; b) the innovation concerns a non-basic commodity. Ricardo was aware of these two facts and he seems to have used them respectively in the first and second of his examples.     

Top executives' perceptions of the inclusion of corporate social responsibility in quality management

Exercise of global responsibility is critical to the future of quality practices in business, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) is relevant to the quality movement. However, not much is known about management perceptions of CSR in the specific context of quality management. This paper examines top executives' views on CSR and quality management implemented through the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) framework. We report the results of a survey of executives in a multinational corporation operating in the outsourcing and technology services industry. The main factors influencing managerial perceptions were value generation, industry forces, institutional and stakeholder pressures, and organizational values and beliefs. In contrast to previous studies, we found limited evidence supporting the influence of shareholder pressures, competition, or the business case for CSR. We concluded that company lifecycle, changes in ownership structure, and owners' orientation toward CSR influenced its potential for adoption through implementation of the EFQM quality framework.     

Existence of optimal strategies in linear multisector models with several consumption goods

In this paper, we give a sufficient and almost necessary condition for the existence of optimal strategies in linear multisector models when time is continuous.     

Removing an ‘insuperable obstacle’ in the way of an objectivist analysis: Sraffa's attempts at fixed capital *

Abstract

The paper discusses Sraffa's consecutive attempts in the late 1920s and early 1940s to tackle a problem which endangered his objectivist, surplus-based approach to the theory of value and distribution aimed at reviving the standpoint of the classical economists. Whilst with circulating capital the value transfer to the product and the physical ‘destruction’ of the input are one and the same thing, with fixed capital this is not so. Sraffa eventually overcame the difficulty in terms of the joint products-method. This allowed him to explain relative prices and the rate of profits strictly in ‘material terms’.     

Building entrepreneurial tie portfolios through strategic homophily: The role of narrative identity work in venture creation and early growth

In this article, we present the results of a case study of an entrepreneur who successfully founded and grew a venture underpinned by a portfolio of strongly homophilous, dyadic ties. Building on our case, we discuss how the entrepreneur strategically constructed these ties through a form of narrative identity work, explore the shared identity narratives that he used to do so, and highlight the heterogeneous nature of the resulting tie portfolio. We go on to explore the factors that motivated the entrepreneur to purposefully construct an entrepreneurial tie portfolio in this way. Building on our findings, we discuss the nature of narrative identity work and its role in creating homophilous ties, explore the connection between the resulting shared identity narratives and trust, and discuss the central role of values in strategic homophily.     

A Linear Multisector Model of “Endogenous” Growth and the Problem of Capital

In this paper a linear multisector model of “endogenous” growth with heterogeneous capital goods is elaborated. The purpose of this exercise is to show that this kind of model is exempt from the capital theory critique put forward against the conventional long-period neoclassical growth model á la Solow. This confirms previous claims that at least some of the “new” growth models are somewhat extraneous to neoclassical analysis and actually exhibit the logical structure of classical theory. In addition it is shown that the use of an intertemporal analysis to establish a correct long-period position is not necessary and that the use of the long-period method may speed up the elaboration of new scientific results.     

Maximum entropy distributions inferred from option portfolios on an asset

We obtain the maximum entropy distribution for an asset from call and digital option prices. A rigorous mathematical proof of its existence and exponential form is given, which can also be applied to legitimise a formal derivation by Buchen and Kelly (J. Financ. Quant. Anal. 31:143–159, 1996). We give a simple and robust algorithm for our method and compare our results to theirs. We present numerical results which show that our approach implies very realistic volatility surfaces even when calibrating only to at-the-money options. Finally, we apply our approach to options on the S&P 500 index.     

'Classical' Roots of Input-Output Analysis: A Short Account of its Long Prehistory

This paper discusses the roots of input-output analysis in 'classical' economics. The authors considered include Petty and Cantillon; Quesnay, the physiocrats and their critic Isnard; Smith, Ricardo, Torrens and Dmitriev; Marx, von Bortkiewicz and von Charasoff; Leontief; and Remak. It is argued that, in terms of method and content, input-output analysis is akin to the classical approach to the theory of production, distribution and relative prices in that (i) it requires all magnitudes to be observable and (ii) starts essentially from the same set of data. It is shown that many important modern concepts have been anticipated by the earlier authors. The prehistory of input-output analysis is also meant to provide new perspectives on potential future developments of the field.