Henry George and Classical Growth Theory: A Significant Contribution to Modeling Scale Economies

It is widely recognized that the analysis of economic growth in Henry George's Progress and Poverty was considerably influenced by the British classical tradition, especially the writings of Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and John Stuart Mill. What has been less clearly perceived is that George made significant extensions to the classical theory. This paper's aim is to provide an interpretation, and to some extent a "rational reconstruction," of George's positive analysis, largely leaving aside the striking normative lessons he drew from it. George's unsatisfactory treatment of capital is disposed of in Section I, while Section II—the core of the paper—follows George's lead in aggregating capital and labor into a single productive factor which is employed in a given natural environment. Section III adds the complication of improvement in the arts of production, and Section IV deals briefly with George's views on land speculation. Section V assesses, comparing George with his contemporary Alfred Marshall.     

Economic Analysis in Talmudic Literature: Some Ancient Studies of Value

A bstract . The Talmudic Sages displayed a remarkable understanding of economic laws and practices. A knowledge of this understanding would be useful for the development of western economic thought. Especially is this true of the insight these Jewish scholars won into the nature of value , one of the most controversial economic concepts today. The Talmud —a compilation of studies, disputations and interpretations from Palestinian and Babylonian academies from the 3rd century B.C.E. to the 5th century C.E.—contains a complex system of value concepts in which economic aspects are part of a larger set of ethical and legal doctrines. This includes "ideal" and "market value," the value of human life and its link to man's productive capacity, the derivation of present value from calculations of expected income flow from the person's labor, the nucleus of the concept of "human capital," of "free labor" as against "slave labor," subjective and objective value with the latter made subjective and the former objective, psychic value and marginal utility. The most intriguing doctrine is that of a "valueless value"; the Talmudic sages attempted the quantification of a negative value couched in positive and psycho-economic terms, an idea which, it is held, has no parallel in western economic thought. This idea, it is argued, has significance for modern welfare economics; it is a distinct category in which the valueless subject is given a positive numerical value (1) (2).     

Francois Quesnay: Interpreters and Critics Revisited

A bstract . Francois Quesnay is held by many to be the first truly modern economist. In 1750, Quesnay outlined a framework for input-output analysis , perfected by Leontiefin 1930's; he developed a general equilibrium theory perfected in the 20th century by Walras and Keynes ; and Quesnay was among the first to analyse economic growth theory as a function of capital accumulation. As the main representative of the Physiocrats he proclaimed the libertarian motto of laissez faire. But his "libertarian ideas" were quite limited to domestic agricultural trade. The Physiocrats were tied with the aristocratic and autocratic "ancien regime" and Quesnay himself did not promote individual freedom and abhorred class struggle. By proclaiming "laissez faire la nature," the physiocrats believed in the natural order of things, with governments enforcing this natural order. In this order, agriculture is the source of all wealth and everything else is sterile: agricultural development means economic development. The physiocratic philosophy contributed to the 18th century "enlightenment" from the outside; it was too tied with the past to induce radical changes. The Physiocrats were forerunners of much of the economic theory and tools used today; but the economics system they envisioned was not meant to widen welfare or economic freedom.     

The Influence of Auguste Walras on Léon Walras

A bstract . Auguste Walras' interest in and contribution to economic theory were prompted mainly by his quest for a valid theory of property. After a critical analysis of the current theories of value , he singled out scarcity as the only significant cause of value. He concluded that land was scarce in a very special sense and, hence, should belong not to single individuals but to society as a whole. This is not, however, incompatible with private ownership of non-land capital. His famous son. Léon Walras , not only adopted this theory but also proved the feasibility of a laissez-faire type of economy in which land is nationalized. His debt to his father is also evident in his analysis of general economic equilibrium in which he makes use of valuable economic ideas and tools devised or inspired by Auguste Walras.     

Henry George

A bstract . It is contended in Part I that Henry George should be recognized as an original American social theorist. He was a pioneering postmodern contributor to social theory who criticized the linear idea of progress and anticipated Durkheim's concept of the "collective consciousness," He recognized the fateful consequences of the separation of political economy into "economics" and "sociology." These include the loss of moral considerations from political economy , and the rise of a sociology that culminates in the proliferation of meaningless abstractions because it is premised on amoral economic assumptions. His theory' of speculative land value as the cause of civilizations' decline is recapitulated and shown in a larger context. The congruence between George's and Weber's concerns and conceptions is detailed. Part 11 (in the April 1995 issue) concludes by tracing the tragic consequences for modern American social theory, from Spencer to Parsons , that result from confusing the value of commodities with the value of land, of private wealth with social value.     

再论无效劳动合同的解除:从劳动合同解除的社会实益视角出发

《劳动合同法》上规定的无效劳动合同解除制度因其违反合同效力的一般原理而饱受非议。但"双重法律效果"理论的发展,已经使无效劳动合同之解除不再是"概念上不可能的事"。无效劳动合同的解除,在效果上可以达到"有效——解除"路径的效果,同时可以达到私法上合同无效以及合同解除理论所无法给予的社会实益。劳动合同无效制度置于社会法的视角下,体现的是国家对劳动市场秩序的积极干预和构建的理念,具体是通过直接否定合同效力、固有利益剥夺以及激励合同守约方运用解除制度确保"合同惩罚"实施来实现的。     

Marshall's Parable of the Meteoric Stones:

A bstract Marshall defended the classical concepts of land, labor and capital, even though many of his neoclassical contemporaries rejected these old distinctions and explained all factor incomes with a unified and general theory In his parable of the meteoric stones. Marshall illustrated the principles that separately determine rent, quasi-rent and interest , but he reconciled the old and the new by making special assumptions, which he did not fully explain His theory of rent requires the supply of land to be perfectly inelastic, and his doctrine of quasi-rent implies that markets are imperfectly competitive     

Protection or Free Trade: An Analysis of the Ideas of Henry George on International Commerce and Wages

Abstract . Henry George, the 19th century American economist and social philosopher, abandoned protectionism and became a free trader when he engaged in the great tariff debate of the last quarter of his century. In the controversy, a true follower of Adam Smith, he anticipated neoclassical positions on the tariff question, particularly the Stolper-Samuelson theory which predicts that free trade will increase the prices of the abundant factors of production relative to the prices of the scarce factors. George's concern in the great debate was labor; he was convinced that only certain interests representing capital or resource ownership would benefit from protection at the cost of labor and the enterprises in fields with more abundant resources. But the free trade effort failed and in 1894 the Wilson-Gorman tariff increased the exactions to the highest level yet. The protectionist tide, only slowed by the Woodrow Wilson Administration, was not reversed until after World War II.     

基于马克思劳动价值论的逻辑辩证分析

马克思的劳动价值论,是一个完整的、科学的理论体系。它是揭示资本主义从起源到灭亡的基础理论,是建立科学社会主义的一个理论基石。马克思提出的价值理论包括劳动价值论和剩余价值论两部分,他认为"价值是凝结在商品中的无差别的人类劳动"。文章根据其主要内容,分析了马克思劳动价值论在科学社会主义学说中的逻辑线索和基础地位。     

Persistent Advantage or Disadvantage?: Evidence in Support of the Intergenerational Drag Hypothesis

By utilizing the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) and a measure of occupational prestige (OCCSCORE) as a labor market outcome, the authors examine variations in the degree of labor market discrimination faced by several ethnic and racial groups in the United States between 1880 and 1990. Results demonstrate that the sharpest decline in labor market discrimination against blacks occurred between 1960 and 1980. For black males the extent of labor market discrimination was greater in all census years in IPUMS after 1880 until 1970, evidence contradicting the conventional expectation that market-based discrimination will decline progressively over time by dint of competitive pressure. Finally, after replicating George Borjas' "ethnic capital" exercise, the authors pool the 1880, 1900, and 1910 data to determine the relative magnitude of a group's gains and losses in occupational prestige due to group advantage or disadvantage in human capital endowments and due to favorable or unfavorable treatment (nepotism or discrimination) of those endowments in the labor market. The authors then examine statistically whether the group human capital advantage or disadvantage and group exposure to nepotism or discrimination at the turn of the century affects labor market outcomes for their descendants today. Results indicate strong effects of the past on present labor market outcomes. Hence, the essence of the study is the statistical demonstration that there are significant and detectable effects on current generations of the labor market experiences of their racial/ethnic ancestors.     

Climate Change Policies and Tax Recycling Schemes: Simulations with a Dynamic General Equilibrium Model of the Italian Economy

A dynamic general equilibrium model of the Italian economy is used to assess the impact of carbon taxation (or auctioned carbon permits), where additional revenue is used to cut either existing taxes on labor or on capital income. Simulation results do not support the existence of the so-called "double dividend" when labor taxes are reduced, whereas lower tax rates on capital have mild positive effects on growth and welfare, with progressivity properties on income distribution. These findings hinge on the assumptions of open economy, given world interest rate, and capital mobility.     

Segmentation in the Market for Child Labor: The Economics of Child Labor Revisited

Recent events have focused attention on international labor standards, with some special attention being paid to child labor. The diverse forms of child labor are often merged into one: a stereotype of "children sewing Nikes," although the situation varies widely from that model. Certain forms of child labor are not substitutable by adult labor; others are more appropriately modeled as a form of apprenticeship. A simple family utility function helps elucidate the reasons. The ultimate purpose of the paper is to challenge the policy ambiguity—we cannot tell whether restrictions on child labor are good or bad—that was a result in Basu and Van's earlier (1998) modeling of child labor     

Radical Individualism vs. Institutionalism, I The Division of Institutionalists into 'Humanists' and 'Behaviorists'

A bstract . David Seckler has filled an important gap in the methodological literature of economics by providing a "radical individualist" critique of American institutionalism (1). Seckler argues that institutionalists have been unable to develop a coherent methodology because of their ambivalence on the issue of " free will versus determinism." Thorstein Veblen, he says, entertained both "humanistic" and "behavioristic" hypotheses in his explanations of human behavior and, consequently, descended into obscurantism. The institutionalist literature in general reflects these contradictory methodological tendencies; for example, John R. Commons was a "humanist" , whereas Clarence Ayres was a "behaviorist." Seckler's critique is not, however, persuasive. He fails to recognize the difficulties inherent in the philosophical dualisms posited by "radical individualism," and he employs them credulously in his critique of institutionalism. Equally damaging to his argument is his failure to give adequate consideration to the meaning and significance of the "institutional dichotomy" in institutional analysis.     

The Division of Labor Under Homogeneity: A Critique of Mises and Rothbard

A bstract .   Even the most passionate defenders of free trade, such as Mises and Rothbard, claim that trade cannot occur under conditions of strict homogeneity of land, labor, and capital. We show that specialization, trade, and the division of labor can emerge even when resources are initially homogenous, due to "natural heterogeneity," economies of scale, and learning.     

LACK OF RIGOUR IN DEFENDING FAIRTRADE: A REPLY TO ALASTAIR SMITH

Alastair Smith (2009 ) claims to refute a few criticisms of Fairtrade. It is shown that his empirical evidence consists of anecdotes with no statistical or other evidential value, and that his economics is wrong. Though Fairtrade is an agricultural marketing system, he appears not to be aware of the literature on agricultural marketing or co‐operatives. Accordingly he makes statements not in accord with the accepted theory or evidence. He assumes, for instance, backward‐sloping supply curves and that the prices offered by state marketing boards are not affected by markets. There are ethical trading alternatives which avoid all the criticisms of Fairtrade.     

On the Priority of Labor Over Capital

In his encyclical Laborem Exercens, John Paul II asserts the principle of the priority of labor over capital. The purpose of this article is to examine this principle. The conflict between labor and capital is often noted as an essential part of capitalism. There is a long tradition of assigning more significance to labor than to capital. In fact, the classical economists argued that labor determined the “value” of a good. To understand this conflict, we must first review what is capital and its role in capitalism. We will then look at John Paul II’s assertion of the principle of labor over capital, followed by a review of how economists have understood the relationship between labor and capital. Neoclassical economists dismiss labor and capital as classes, so they believe there is no conflict. We examine one neoclassical economist’s claim of a gap in the principle of the priority of labor over capital by not including finance capital in the analysis. We demonstrate that the Church’s teachings on usury answer the objections raised. We conclude with a review of the implications of the priority of labor over capital.     

三代木头人的不老歌

木玩世家的繁衍,是精神和工艺的代代相传,正像那座"盖不完的庙""你有能力就当总经理,没能力的话就在边上当当股东算了。"何彬和父亲何尚清的回忆在这句话上重合了。2003年,25岁的何彬接了班,这时距父亲创立和信玩具有限公司已有12年。温州永强机场出来,坐去丽水的中巴,两小时后再转乘出租车,40分钟左右便可驶入云和县城。如果你跟我一样感兴趣于这个"中国木制玩具城"的商业家族,行业领路人何寿祯老先生是绕不过去的传奇。     

Henry George and Organized Labor:

A bstract . Henry George supported labor unions and was proud of his membership in the Printers' Union. But he did not regard them as the final solution of labor exploitation. He championed labor as one of the producing classes. His foray into politics as the candidate of organized labor's third party was characteristic; he had had much involvement in politics earlier. Although he supported labor's immediate demands, he sought mainly to use his candidacy to build a constituency for the single tax. Samuel Gompers , then head of the American Federation of Labor , at first worked for George's election but came to the belief that the unions alone should direct and control their political efforts. This view prevailed, though he and George remained good friends. But it is now a question whether Gompers' policy, at this time, serves labor's best interests.     

The Anti-Benthamism of J. M. Keynes: Implications for The General Theory

A bstract Keynes severely criticized the "Benthamite tradition," the overvaluation of the "economic criterion" He found "the love of money" corrosive of community and esthetic values and an encouragement to reckless exploitation of places that should be in the public domain In "Art and the State," he proposes the rebuilding of large sections of modern cities to rekindle popular feelings of beauty and community values
One of the factors behind this philosophy was G E Moore's Principia Ethica (1903) It criticizes Bentham for committing "the naturalistic fallacy" of confusing means with ends and idealizes two "goods" in themselves, the pleasure of human relations and the enjoyment of beauty in nature and art These ideals Keynes saw undermined by the Benthamite tradition
Such criticism is the "moral-political paradigm" on which The General Theory is erected Minute calculation of advantages and disadvantages, on which classical economics is based, is rejected Behind consumption and investment functions are sociological and psychological factors, "animal spirits," and the like Calculation prevails in the stock and bond markets ( liquidity preference )–to everybody's sorrow The proposed slow elimination of institutions that make liquidity preference possible, and of the rentier , follow logically Econometrics , viewed as the tool of the overvaluation of the economic criterion, is also rejected. In many articles Keynes aimed at much more than revolutionizing political economy , he aimed at weaning England from Benthamite utilitarianism and raising the cultural values of the populace By 1938 he knew that he had failed.     

2007年50位最具领导力的CEO

3马蔚华招商银行股份有限公司行长综合得分4.139上届排名11单项指标最高排名前瞻性等两项1单项指标最低排名变革力等两项11单项指标最高得分决策力4.571单项指标最低得分变革力3.755马蔚华:决胜海外如果把招商银行定义为中国最具创新意识的银行的话,恐怕没有人会提出异议。从最初的一卡通、金葵花理财再到招行信用卡,招商银行一直以其敏锐的嗅觉捕捉着市场的商机。这一切都与招商银行行长马蔚华密不可分。这位亦官亦商的东北汉子上任至今