Response to the Comment: “What is Heterodox Economics? Conversations with Historians of Economic Thought”

The comment to “What is Heterodox Economics? Conversations with Historians of Economic Thought” spotlights critical issues in the possibility and probability of articulation and proposes a compelling argument in the explanation of the “inability of heterodoxy to define itself...” The core argument suggests that heterodox groups of economic thought cannot successfully articulate the nature of its varied programs until it recognizes and articulates the metaphysically and ontologically different system of knowledge which serves as the foundation for heterodox thought.     

Economic Efficiency,the Economics Discipline,and the “Affected-With-A-Public-Interest” Concept

This paper examines Adam Smith's explanation of the stability of a competitive market. An initial hypothesis in the paper holds that the mechanism described in The Wealth of Nations has nothing to do with production costs, longterm, or sympathetic relationships. My proposal draws on the literature that evokes the decisive influence, acknowledged by Adam Smith, of institutions over the behavior of individuals. The argument is that Adam Smith's natural rates are a collective pattern that provides the basis for consistent expectations. Smith proposes this pillar to support the construction of a spontaneous order: Coordination through the market is a stable mechanism because it allows for an adjustment of plans grounded in consistent expectations.     

Identifying the “financialization” of the nonfinancial corporation in the U.S. economy: A decomposition of firm-level balance sheets

This paper develops the concept of the “financialization” of the nonfinancial corporation (NFC) by laying out the key stylized facts describing NFC financial behavior between 1950 and 2014 via a detailed decomposition of firm-level balance sheets. In the existing literature, the concept of the “financialization of the nonfinancial corporation” remains ambiguous; as such, clarification of the trends that have occurred in NFC financial behavior is an important prerequisite for analyses of why NFC behavior has changed and with what consequences. By systematically delineating the evidence for the “financialization” of NFCs, this paper contributes to the literature by establishing precisely how NFC financial behavior has changed in the post-1980 U.S. economy. The growing “financialization” of nonfinancial corporations is summarized by an increased share of financial assets in NFC portfolios, increasing indebtedness and equity repurchases among large firms, and deleveraging among smaller firms. The paper concludes by introducing the behavioral insights gained by approaching these stylized facts from a conceptual standpoint emphasizing the interdependence of portfolio and financing decisions and, thus, the links between the changes in financial behavior across NFC balance sheets.     

Contributions of the Galbraith “Technostructure” to the Growing Crisis of the U.S. Economy

This paper lays the methodological foundations of an analytical framework that may help shed some new light on the issue of territorial inequalities in the digital economy. It opposes the recent tendency to build up an evolutionary economic geography as an alternative not only to the so-called "New Economic Geography" (namely "geographical mainstream economics") but also to the institutional economic geography. The paper advocates the development of an evolutionary and institutional approach in economic geography, which would be meso-focused. Finally, it presents some insights that highlight the heuristic potential of this approach in reappraising the territorial features of the digital economy.     

A Study of the Basic Economic Concepts Presented in DEEP Curriculum Guides,Grades 7 – 12

Armento examines the sequencing and conceptual content of economic courses in grades 7–12 as this is reflected in the study guides for these courses. She finds that the economic concepts in the guides are primarily definitional in nature and are fairly similar across the grades.