Adolph Lowe on Freedom,Education and Socialization

The lifework of Adolph Lowe (1893–1995) was greatly motivated by his struggle with the problem of “freedom and order”. This paper explores Lowe's largely overlooked and under-examined writings on education and political philosophy, important components of his “political economics”. Lowe's concern with the socialization function of education is highlighted and related to his notion of “spontaneous conformity, as well as the ideas of Vygotsky on imaginative children's play and C. S. Peirce on habit-change. Taking Gorman's critique of Schutz's conception of freedom as a point of departure, and drawing on the work of C. Wright Mills, Lowe's own conception of freedom is critically examined. For Lowe, the stronger the commitment to community, the greater is the possibility for individual autonomy without the threat of social disruption.     

Post‐Laspeyres: The Case for a New Formula for Compiling Consumer Price Indexes

Consumer price indexes (CPIs) are commonly compiled at the higher (weighted) level using Laspeyres‐type arithmetic averages. This paper questions the suitability of such formulas and considers two counterpart alternatives that use geometric averaging, the Geometric Young and the (price‐updated) Geometric Lowe. The paper provides a formal decomposition and understanding of the differences between the two. Empirical results are provided using United States CPI data. The findings lead to an advocacy of quite simple variants of a hybrid formula suggested by Lent and Dorfman that use the same data as Laspeyres‐type indexes but substantially reduce their bias.     

On the intellectual roots of critical accounting: A personal appreciation of Tony Lowe (1928–2014)

Tony Lowe's publications are important contributions to the intellectual beginnings of critical accounting and a fitting memorial to his recent death. This, perhaps idiosyncratic, appreciation of these publications starts by discussing Tony's conceptualization of management control as a system, his experience in conducting empirical research in management control, his commitment to the practice of being an engaged and progressive academic, and finally his work with others on regulation.     

Profitability Development and Resource Reallocation: The Case of Sugar Beet Farming in Germany

Following the 2006 reform of the European Union sugar market, and in anticipation of the quota abolition, a reallocation of sugar production has occurred. Using a Lowe quantity index, we evaluate the productivity and profitability of sugar beet farming in Germany from 2004 to 2013. The results show that an increase in total factor productivity partly compensated for losses in terms of trade. Moreover, the contribution of production reallocation to sector productivity growth varied across regions with distinct ownership structures of sugar processing companies. These findings have implications for policy and industry, as it transitions to a liberalised market.