John A. Hobson: Economic Heretic

Abstract . John A. Hobson was a self-styled economic heretic who developed and original and remarkably comprehensive system of economic and social thought. This system is based on certain distinctively Hobsonian concepts and theories. Hobson's economic heresies were based on his theory of distribution in which he rejected orthodox marginal productivity theory and developed a theory of economic surplus the distribution of which is determined by economic power. This underlay his theory of under-consumption which in turn was used to explain and analyze economic and social issues such as unemployment, the business cycle, the labor movement, imperialism and taxation. Hobson was also critical of the whole methodology of economic science on the grounds that it abstracted from human welfare in its widest sense. He argued that proper values should be introduced into the study of economic activity so that it could assist in the attainment of the best conditions of human life, both social and individual.     

Max Weber as an Economist and as a Sociologist

A bstract In this article I first give a picture of Weber as an economist, mainly by focussing on a text which he distributed to his students when he taught economics in the 1890s. From this text it is, for example, clear that Weber was positive to the use of marginal utility theory in theoretical economics, but also felt that this approach was insufficient, by itself, to analyze empirical phenomena. I then outline Weber's work in economic sociology, relying primarily on Economy and Society and its central Chapter 2 ("Sociological Categories of Economic Action"). The differences between the approaches of economic theory and economic sociology, as seen by Weber, are summarized, and an account is given of some of Weber's most suggestive concepts in economic sociology. In the concluding section the question is raised as to when the analyst, according to Weber, should use economic sociology rather than economic theory, and vice versa. Weber's ideas about a broad economic science–what he termed Sozialökonomik or social economics–are also presented.     

Henry George: The Economist as Moralist*

Abstract . Henry George derived his economic theory from his personal experience. He had the good fortune to be living in California during his formative years; there the economic events which transpired during the settlement of the North American continent—the passing of the frontier and its consequences—occurred within a time span of a few years and the telescoping of history gave him the framework for an original economic system, as well as a utopian vision of a free society. Much attention has properly been paid to George's economic ideas but he was also a moralist, one accepted by some philosophers as among the greatest. This aspect of his work, and particularly his value theory, have been neglected.     

Alvin Harvey Hansen: Economic Growth and a More Perfect Society: The Economist's Role in Defining the Stagnation Thesis and in Popularizing Keynesianism

Abstract . Alvin H. Hansen was one of the leading American economists from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was largely responsible for the popularization of Keynesian economics in the United States and Canada. He was responsible for the development of the secular stagnation thesis which explained 19th century American economic growth in terms of population growth, the frontier, and technology. The diminishing of these factors explained the decrease in the American economic growth rate in the 20th Century. Hansen's policy conclusions to prevent stagnation were Keynesian in nature and, as a result, Hansen was an early advocate of active fiscal policy in the United States. He differed with Terborgh.     

The Keynesian Paradigm and Economic Policy

Abstract . Keynesian macroeconomic theory and the new theory of the hitherto neglected branch of political science, public administration, which were both independently introduced at about the same time in the New Deal period of the 1930s, complemented each other. Keynesian theory, emphasizing government fiscal policy and deficit spending as counterdepression, full-employment, and economic growth measures, became the generally accepted paradigm in economics and public finance. Public administration theory held that government agencies, motivated primarily by their own bureaucratic expansionary self-interest, would bring about an equilibrium of national interest. This provided the justification for agency initiative in stimulating and supporting the demands of interest and pressure groups whose regulation required increased agency activity. The theories and their outcome reflected the continuing decline of classical liberalism.     

Toward an Integrated Theory of Social Stratification

In the discipline of sociology, Marx, Durkheim, and Weber represent “classical” approaches to the study of stratification, from one or another of which most modern theory derives. In economics, Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class represents an under‐utilized alternative to Marxian class analysis. The argument advanced in this article is that a close reading of the introductory chapter to Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class provides a useful framework for productive integration of the diverse traditions of stratification theory and class analysis descending in sociological thought from Marx, Durkheim, and Weber.     

Emergence of Political Unionism in Economies of British Colonial Origin: The Cases of Jamaica and Trinidad

Abstract . What were the circumstances under which political unionism has emerged in economies of British colonial origin, such as Jamaica and Trinidad? The hypothesis tested is that the political activities of trade unions in such economies played a role in the process of economic development, helping to achieve political independence and then economic growth. But at that stage political unionism is found to be incompatible with needed acceleration of growth rates. A significant deterioration in economic and social conditions produced a crisis and the unions traded support for the parties for some control over economic and social policy. This gave the political leaders the power they needed to negotiate for independence but, in Jamaica, it changed the focus and character of the labor movement.     

Motivations and Barriers to Corporate Environmental Management

This paper integrates two conceptual frameworks, utility maximization and institutional theory, to analyze voluntary corporate environmental management. The utility maximization or economic approach centers on motivations to decrease cost, increase revenue and improve manager utility. Institutional theory emphasizes how external pressures from market and non‐market constituents shape the firm's environmental efforts. We view the two frameworks as complementary and postulate a model that includes both types of influences. Survey data from six major industries consisting of a diverse set of facilities are used to estimate the effects of economic and institutional factors on a facility's use of environmental practices and pollution‐prevention activities. Our results support the hypothesized model, and show that cost barriers, management attitudes toward environmental stewardship, company ownership and external institutional forces, including competitiveness, investor and regulatory pressures, all affect a facility's environmental practices and pollution prevention activities. Findings suggest that a multifaceted policy strategy is needed to advance corporate environmental management across diverse firms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

The Theoretical Background of Henry George's Value Theory*

Abstract . Henry George intended that his last work. The Science of Political Economy, (which his untimely death left unfinished), should recast economics in a new mold. He argued that if economics is the science of the nature of wealth and the laws of its production and distribution and if in present society there is some deep and widespread wrong in its distribution, if not in its producton, it is the office of an honest science to disclose that. He therefore sought a philosophical basis for an investigation into the nature of wealth which led him into an investigation of the idea of value. These investigations were preceded by an attempt to set out a philosophy of science with respect to one of the sciences, economics.     

The NCAA: A Socio-economic Analysis: The Development of the College Sports Cartel from Social Movement to Formal Organization.

Abstract . Economic cartel theory and Sociological social movement theory are used to achieve a socio-economic analysis of the problems and behaviour of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It is demonstrated that both cartel theory and social movement theory predict substantially similar behavior on the part of the NCAA and its 800-plus member institutions. Specific issues such as “need”scholarships, the possibility that the” big-time”football powers, may leave the NCAA, and the NCAA's relation with women's athletics, are considered. It is concluded that the NCAA is not likely to persist is an organization in its current form.

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The Theory of a Working Class: a Re-Appreciation of Ralf Dahrendorf

Competing social theories defining “working class” can be tested against the reality of trade union membership. Only Dahrendorf’s is a good match. He follows Marx and Weber by requiring the economic need to work, but additionally requires that such work be in jobs lacking authority, jobs at the bottom of the workplace hierarchy in which one takes orders from those above, but has no one below to give orders to. This definition can be used to predict working class behaviors other than forming unions including the general lack of support for revolutionary change and a classless society while still giving support for issues of social justice. Support for underdogs is evident among union members because membership fosters the recognition of one’s own underdog role. The importance of unions’ role in social justice generally is evident in the relationship between union strength and income equality.     

Value Freedom' and the Scope of Economic Inquiry: 1. Positivism's Standard View and the Political Economists

Abstract . According to what might well be regarded as the standard view among economic methodologists, the economist qua economist makes no value judgments concerning policy ends and their means of attainment. However, in restricting the proper aims of economic inquiry to epistemic goals only, the proponent of the standard view has neglected to ask why we seek to realize such goals; who needs economic knowledge?; for what?; what are people's fundamental needs, problems? In opposition to the standard view I argue that there is no good reason to exclude the promotion of human welfare, enhancement of the quality of human life, etc., sociologically, psychologically and philosophically defined, as well as analyzed from the viewpoint of economics, as legitimate goals of the economist in his professional capacity.     

George on Free Trade, At Home and Abroad: The American Economist and Social Philosopher Envisioned a World Unhindered in Production and Exchange

Abstract . Henry George's theories on international trade are little known though he is respected as an advocate of free trade. He went along with the free traders of his time in three-fourths of his classic, Protection or Free Trade. But he went far beyond the others in the last fourth of his book. “True” free trade, he argued, in the debate over protection that engaged some of the best minds in England and America, applied to domestic production as well as production for export. Hindrances to trade, like most tariffs, taxes, subsidies or other government policies, make products more expensive for the working people, worsen their situation by increasing economic rent to resource owners at the expense of labor and capital, and misallocate resources, maximining inefficiency and cost. The principle of free trade leads to Justice and equal rights, he held, seeking to advance his vision of a free society. Short run and long run solutions to protectionism are presented.     

The Roles of Intellectual Pedigrees in Economic Science

Abstract . Intellectual pedigrees, reviews of the intellectual history of a theory, perform important functions in economic science. The discipline of economics is comprised of numerous, competing Paradigm-schools. Therefore, both ‘normal and ‘revolutionary’ science occur continuously in economics. In normal science, pedigrees place current work in the context of an on going research program, demonstrate the “significance” of that work, influence the process of theory appraisal, and aid in establishing Professional consensus. J. M. Keynes' use of pedigrees in his General Theory illustrates their revolutionary functions. During revolutionary science, pedigrees establish the identity, legitimacy, relevancy and authority of one school of economists and seek to persuade nonmembers to convert their allegiance to its disciplinary matrix.     

Henry George and the Contemporary Debate over Industrial Protectionism

Abstract . The central question of Henry George's 1886 book. Protection or Free Trade, commemorated now after a century, was: do protectionist policies help or hinder the working man Have George's concerns in 1886 since become outdated or anachronistic? If not, what are some historic trends toward protectionism since that time? Some of the formal arguments for and against protectionism are examined. George contended that protectionism threatens labor unions and reduces workers’wages. An apparent counterexample is provided by the International Ladies’Garment Workers’Union, which now actively lobbies for protectionist legislation. Its arguments have merit when protectionism is viewed instrumentally, but one must recognize that there are substantive objections to protectionism as a comprehensive national policy. George linked protectionism to paternalism; his theory of economic value as well as his model of the rational economic man are derived from basic democratic principles which stand at sharp odds with the implicit paternalism of tariff policies.     

Unity in the Social Thought of Adolph Lowe: A Review of "Essays in Political Economics: Public Control in a Democratic Society"

Abstract . From the economist Adolph Lowe's voluminous-writings, Allen Oakleyh has selected eight essays which present the gist of Lowe's thought. It unifies his structural analyses and his instrumental analyses into the system Lowe calls “Political Economics.” This pre-orders desired ends or effects and then determines or applies goal-adequate means to achieve these ends. Lowe's Essays in Political Economics sketches the economic paradigm by which he expands the evolutionary way of thinking from the subject —economic behavior— to the object, the socioeconomic world. He argues that instability is fundamental, basic and inherent in contemporary industrial capitalism as it has evolved physically, technologically and socially and stability can be restored by an approach which reverses the continuum to end-means. He holds that if the world evolves, and it does, so must the goal-adequate methods and instrumentalities to deal with it.     

Rent Seeking in the Cameroon Economy: Krueger's Analytic Technique Helps to Account for Development Lag in Colonial States

Abstract . Traditional economic theory regards the social costs of monopoly as the reduction in both consumer and producer surplus as a result of monopolization of certain sectors of the economy. Recent research has shown that a proper accounting of the social costs of monopoly must include the costs of obtaining and maintaining monopoly positions. Anne O. Krueger used the term “rent seeking” to refer to the expending of scarce resources by entrepreneurs to fight for rents created through government activity in the economy. Excessive interference in the economy by government can result in an increase in the social costs of monopoly. In a developing country such as Cameroon, where government activity in the economy has been quite pervasive since the latter part of the 1800s, opportunities have been created for rent seeking. This type of activity has helped to impede the economic growth of the country.     

Politico-economic transition

Political and economic transitions of non-market economies often go hand in hand. We propose an economic theory of this transition process, which highlights how the success of such a transition depends upon the policies chosen in the new democratic environment. In this paper, economic success is characterized by the continual adoption of new technology (and economic growth), which requires costly human capital investment. The political choice is whether to allow the adoption of new technology. As a non-market economy begins its transition, agents with human capital specific to a particular technology find it in their interest to vote against continued innovation. As such, the transition to a market economy can be choked off. Our theory has the following features: (i) an economic transition is associated with a substantial drop in output; (ii) it is in the interest of large groups in the population to resist laissez–faire, as factor payments equal marginal products in the post–reform economy; (iii) although the joint move to democracy and a market economy does make people better off, it is insufficient for the transition to be successful, as the number of agents with a vested interest against continued innovation grows; and (iv) a temporary\/ restriction on voting rights which ensures a laissez-faire regime is sufficient to produce long-run\/ prosperity. This restriction may not be only one capable of overcoming the anti–innovation interests. Other mechanisms such as supermajority rules on policy changes may also guarantee laissez–faire.     

Clarence E. Ayres and the Legacy of German Idealism

Abstract . Based on the Clarence E. Ayres (1891-1972) papers at the University of Texas, this study traces the continuity among thinkers such as Kant, Hegel, Veblen, Dewey, and Ayres; the latter was a leading institutional economist following Veblen's death. Publicly acknowledging his intellectual debt to Veblen and Dewey, Ayres drew from these men some idealistic assumptions as well as the historicism that is implicit in his technological determinism or instrumental theory of knowledge. Thorstein Veblen and John Dewey owed a great deal to the philosophical tradition of idealism, regardless of the devotion to naturalism in their systems. The origins of Ayres's technological theory of value are found in Veblen and Dewey writings and back of them the legacy of German idealism. The vital link was a mutual acceptance that freedom was expressed in a cultural and historical form, realized in human activity. It was a process.