The neglect of the French liberal school in Anglo-American economics: A critique of received explanations

Conclusion My purpose in this article has been to demonstrate that the contributions of the French liberal school to economic theory were recognized and utilized by some economists who are generally considered to have played prominent roles in the initial development of modern marginalist economic theory or who have anticipated and influenced such development. If this much is accepted, then the attempt of Schumpeter and other scholars to explain the Anglo-American neglect of the liberal school in terms of the latter's analytical sterility or indifference immediately founders. While an alternative explanation has not been provided, considerable progress has been made by radically shifting the focus of research from alleged analytical shortcomings of the liberal school to the identification of the institutional factors that have impeded recognition by (most) English-speaking economists of the substantive theoretical content of liberal economics.     

The economics of corruption

This paper considers the relationship between market structure and the incidence of corrupt dealings in the government contracting process. Three cases are analyzed. We first deal with a situation in which government preferences are well-defined and many firms compete for the contract; we then contrast this case with one in which government preferences are ‘vague’ and finally eliminate the competitive assumption to consider the case of bilateral monopoly. It is then possible to consider the extent to which various criminal sanctions will deter corruption and the degree to which criminal incentives can be reduced by revising contracting procedures and reorganizing market structures.     

The unreasonable ineffectiveness of mathematics in economics

In this paper, I attempt to show that mathematical economicsis unreasonably ineffective. Unreasonable, because the mathematicalassumptions are economically unwarranted; ineffective becausethe mathematical formalisations imply non-constructive and uncomputablestructures. A reasonable and effective mathematisation of economicsentails Diophantine formalisms. These come with natural undecidabilitiesand uncomputabilities. In the face of this, I conjecture thatan economics for the future will be freer to explore experimentalmethodologies underpinned by alternative mathematical structures.The whole discussion is framed within the context of the celebratedWignerian theme: The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematicsin the Natural Sciences.     

The economics of poverty in poor countries

This paper examines the links that have recently been studied between poverty, high fertility and undernourishment, on the one hand, and degradation of the local environmental-resource base and civic disconnection, on the other, in poor countries. An account is offered of a number of pathways involving positive feedbacks that create poverty traps, in which certain identifiable groups of people in an economy can get caught even when the economy in the aggregate experiences economic growth. The relevant policy implications are noted.     

The economics of korean unification

We simulate the impact of a customs union and an exchange rate unification of North and South Korea. Factor mobility and technological change are of critical importance. If factor markets do not integrate, the macroeconomic impact on South Korea of economic integration is relatively small, while the effects on North Korea are large. With factor market integration, there is a significant impact on the South Korean income and wealth distribution. If integration is accompanied by external capital inflows, there is a significnt appreciation of the real exchange rate with deleterious implications for the South Korean traded-goods sector.     

生态经济学的方法论

基于生态经济学和新古典经济学之间存在的历史渊源和理论差别,研究生态经济学的方法论,可以从其区别于新古典经济学方法的角度予以解析.生态经济学的方法论是多学科、多技术集成下的综合性方法,具有价值多元论、生态人假定、边际分析的替代性方法、不确定性的独特解决路径、市场价值和社会选择的严格区分、生产本质的新界定等特征.     

Pricing,distribution, investment and growth: the economics of A. S. Eichner

In this tribute to Eichner I outline some of the key features of his economic system. It is maintained that no proper understanding of Eichner's views can be achieved without a thorough examination of his distinctive views of economic methodology. Eichner's alternative macroeconomic model is then analysed and its implications explored. Although his model is internally consistent it is recognized that problems exist and further articulation is necessary. It is argued that Eichner leaves a heritage from which much fruitful work can be developed.     

The new institutional economics and its relevance to social economics

There has been a quiet revolution in economic theory, led by the New Institutionalists. Pioneered by Douglass C. North, this group argues that institutions are the main determinants of economic performance, yet neoclassical economics has no role for institutions. Contrary to many misconceptions, this theory of institutions can be integrated with neoclassical economics, leaving mainstream economic theory in tact, but broader and more relevant. The purpose of this article is twofold. First, the main arguments of the New Institutionalists are summarized. Second, the bridge between institutions and social economics is explored. The article concludes by arguing that the New Institutional approach is fruitful, and that the theory will gradually be integrated with neoclassical economics, until the two merge into a single body of theory.     

The economics of TV tune-in

TV tune-in, namely the preview of forthcoming programs, is an important type of TV advertising. We examine TV tune-in as a continuous variable. First, tune-in can increase profits when TV stations are sufficiently differentiated and the market is partially covered. Second, tune-in crowds out program quality. Third, tune-in lowers advertisement supply. Further, tune-in can increase profits in a partially covered market if firms are sufficiently differentiated. Otherwise, it leads to low profits. We also identify the effects of tune-in on consumer surplus and social welfare and suggest that tune-in should be prohibited whenever it lowers program quality and social welfare.     

The nature of heterodox economics

Heterodoxy serves as an umbrella term to cover the coming togetherof separate projects or traditions. In answering the question,‘what distinguishes heterodoxy from the orthodoxy?’,the author argues that matters of ontology are central. In answeringthe question, ‘how are the various traditions that makeup the modern heterodoxy to be distinguished from each other?’,the author defends criteria other than varying commitments tospecific substantive theories, policy measures or techniques(or basic units) of analysis.     

The origins of meso economics

The paper starts from Schumpeter’s proposition that entrepreneurs carry out innovations (the micro level), that swarms of followers imitate them (meso) and that, as a consequence, ‘creative destruction’ leads to economic development ‘from within’ (macro). It is argued that Schumpeter’s approach can be developed into a new—more general—micro-meso-macro framework in economics. Center stage is meso. Its essential characteristic is bimodality, meaning that one idea (the generic rule) can be physically actualized by many agents (a population). Ideas can relate to others, and, in this way, meso constitutes a structure component of a ‘deep’ invisible macro structure. Equally, the rule actualization process unfolds over time—modelled in the paper as a meso trajectory with three phases of rule origination, selective adoption and retention—and here meso represents a process component of a visible ‘surface’ structure. The macro measure with a view to the appropriateness of meso components is generic correspondence. At the level of ideas, its measure is order; at that of actual relative adoption frequencies, it is generic equilibrium. Economic development occurs at the deep level as transition from one generic rule to another, inducing a change of order, and, at the surface level, as the new rule is adopted, destroying an old equilibrium and establishing a new one.