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Full-Text Articles in Economics

Asia Vs América Latina, Guillermo Arosemena Dec 2011

Asia Vs América Latina, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


The Evolution Of Unemployment Relief In Great Britain, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

The Evolution Of Unemployment Relief In Great Britain, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

[Excerpt] Relatively little has been written about unemployment relief during the period between the passage of the Poor Law Amendment Act in 1834 and the adoption of national unemployment insurance in 1911. This study is an attempt to help fill the gap in the literature. It examines the changing roles played by poor relief, private charity, trade unions, and public employment in the lives of the urban unemployed during cyclical downturns from 1834 to 1911. The story that emerges offers no support for a "Whig theory of welfare." Public assistance for the unemployed was more generous, and more certain, from …


The Development Of The Neoclassical Tradition In Labor Economics, George R. Boyer, Robert S. Smith Dec 2011

The Development Of The Neoclassical Tradition In Labor Economics, George R. Boyer, Robert S. Smith

George R. Boyer

This essay on labor economics examines neoclassical theory's rise to ascendancy following the second World War, with a secondary focus on the relative decline but continued influence of institutionalist economic theory. The authors describe the evolution of institutional and neoclassical theory from the late nineteenth to mid-twentieth centuries, examine some early intellectual debates between the two camps, briefly describe the work of neoclassical labor economics pioneers, and look at major developments over the past 30 years. They argue that neoclassical economists' increasing intellectual breadth and influence in public policy have led them to pay closer attention to issues that have …


The Historical Background Of The Communist Manifesto, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

The Historical Background Of The Communist Manifesto, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

[Excerpt] The Manifesto of the Communist Party, published 150 years ago in London in February 1848, is one of the most influential and widely-read documents of the past two centuries. The historian A. J. P. Taylor (1967, p. 7) has called it a "holy book," and contends that because of it, "everyone thinks differently about politics and society." And yet, despite its enormous influence in the 20th century, the Manifesto is very much a period piece, a document of what was called the "hungry" 1840s. It is hard to imagine it being written in any other decade of the 19th …


Malthus Was Right After All: Poor Relief And Birth Rates In Southeastern England, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

Malthus Was Right After All: Poor Relief And Birth Rates In Southeastern England, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

The payment of child allowances to laborers with large families was widespread in early nineteenth-century England. This paper tests Thomas Malthus's hypothesis that child allowances caused the birth rate to increase. A cross-sectional regression model is estimated to explain variations in birth rates across parishes in 1826-30. Birth rates are found to be related to child allowances, income, and the availability of housing, as Malthus contended. The paper concludes by examining the role played by the adoption of child allowances after 1795 in the fertility increase of the early nineteenth century.


The Poor Law, Migration, And Economic Growth, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

The Poor Law, Migration, And Economic Growth, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

The loss to the English economy caused by decreased migration resulting from relief payments to agricultural laborers is estimated. I conclude that, at worst, the Poor Law had a small negative impact on national product. If poor relief and wages were substitutes, the Poor Law may have had a positive impact on capital formation and economic growth.


What Did Unions Do In Nineteenth-Century Britain?, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

What Did Unions Do In Nineteenth-Century Britain?, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

The article examines the development of the insurance function of trade unions. It analyzes how such policies worked, and why union benefit packages differed across occupations. It also addresses the impact of insurance policies on union organization. Insurance benefits increased the ability of unions to attract and retain members. They did not, however, significantly increase the power of union leaders relative to employers or union rank and file.


Unemployment And The Uk Labour Market Before, During And After The Golden Age, Timothy J. Hatton, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

Unemployment And The Uk Labour Market Before, During And After The Golden Age, Timothy J. Hatton, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

During the ‘golden age’ of the 1950s and 1960s unemployment in Britain averaged 2 per cent. This was far lower than ever before or since and a number of hypotheses have been put forward to account for this unique period in labour market history. But there has been little attempt to isolate precisely how the determinants of wage setting and unemployment differed before, during and after the golden age. We estimate a two-equation model over the whole period from 1872 to 1999 using a newly constructed set of long-run labour market data. We find that the structure of real wage …


Labour Migration In Southern And Eastern England, 1861-1901, George R. Boyer Dec 2011

Labour Migration In Southern And Eastern England, 1861-1901, George R. Boyer

George R. Boyer

This paper examines the determinants of migration from 19 southern counties to six major destinations in England and Wales from 1861-70 to 1891-1900. I find that, while the size of origin-destination wage gaps and the distance between origin and destination areas were important determinants of migration flows, as expected, migration was also strongly influenced by the number of previous migrants from an origin county living in a destination. The assistance provided by previous migrants to friends and relatives contemplating migration led to a perpetuation of earlier migration patterns, and helps to explain the continued dominance of London as a destination …


New Estimates Of British Unemployment, 1870-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton Dec 2011

New Estimates Of British Unemployment, 1870-1913, George R. Boyer, Timothy J. Hatton

George R. Boyer

We present new estimates of the British industrial unemployment rate for 1870- 1913, which improve on the Board of Trade's prior estimates. We use similar sources, but our series includes additional industrial sectors, allows for short-time working, and aggregates the various sectors using appropriate labor-force weights from the census. The resulting index suggests a rate of industrial unemployment that was generally higher, but less volatile, than the board's index. We then adjust our series to an economywide basis, and construct a consistent time series of overall unemployment for 1870-1999.


Cae Otro Muro Socialista, Guillermo Arosemena Dec 2011

Cae Otro Muro Socialista, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


Qatar, Al Jazeera, And The Arab Spring, Ahmed E. Souaiaia Nov 2011

Qatar, Al Jazeera, And The Arab Spring, Ahmed E. Souaiaia

Ahmed E SOUAIAIA

No abstract provided.


La Gran Transformación, Guillermo Arosemena Oct 2011

La Gran Transformación, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


Capital Y Libertad, Guillermo Arosemena Oct 2011

Capital Y Libertad, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


Responsabilidades Dos Agentes Públicos, Prof. Dr. Eloi Martins Senhoras Sep 2011

Responsabilidades Dos Agentes Públicos, Prof. Dr. Eloi Martins Senhoras

Elói Martins Senhoras

No abstract provided.


Cómo Medir La Calidad De Vida, Guillermo Arosemena Sep 2011

Cómo Medir La Calidad De Vida, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


Discrepancias Entre Socialistas, Guillermo Arosemena Sep 2011

Discrepancias Entre Socialistas, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


Lest We Break Faith With Our Creditors: Public Debt And Civic Culture In Fourteenth-Century Genoa, Jeff Miner Jul 2011

Lest We Break Faith With Our Creditors: Public Debt And Civic Culture In Fourteenth-Century Genoa, Jeff Miner

Jeff Miner

"Lest we break faith with our creditors" examines the evolving connection
between forms of public finance, particularly long-term debt, and communal life in
Genoa between around 1350 and 1407. It draws on a range of sources and methodologies,
from poetry and sermons to quantitative techniques, to revise Genoa's and Italy's place in
long-term debates over finance and state development as well as in discussions of
economic and social change in the period after the plague.
This dissertation consists of six chapters, roughly divided between two lines of
inquiry. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 examine several ways communal indebtedness changed the …


Primitiva Banca De Desarrollo, Guillermo Arosemena Jul 2011

Primitiva Banca De Desarrollo, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


Nuestros "Historiadores", Guillermo Arosemena Jun 2011

Nuestros "Historiadores", Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


A Day-Long Discussion Of “The Alaska Model” At The University Of Alaska-Anchorage, Karl Widerquist May 2011

A Day-Long Discussion Of “The Alaska Model” At The University Of Alaska-Anchorage, Karl Widerquist

Karl Widerquist

On April 22, 2011, I had the privilege of attending a conference at the University of Alaska-Anchorage discussing the book, Exporting the Alaska Model: How the Permanent Fund Dividend Can Be Adapted as Model for Reform Around the World. The book is edited by Michael W. Howard and me. It is due out early next year on Palgrave-MacMillan. This is my personal account of a conference held on Friday, April 22, 2011 at the Institute of Social and Economic Research at the University of Alaska


The Corporate Agenda For Environmental Property Rights, Sharon Beder May 2011

The Corporate Agenda For Environmental Property Rights, Sharon Beder

Sharon Beder

Market and property-rights based approaches to environmental problems have been heavily promoted by conservative think tanks. Consequently policies such as emissions trading, water markets, tradeable fishing quotas and conservation banking pervade environmental policy in English speaking nations. They have enabled the corporate neo-liberal agenda of deregulation, privatisation and an unconstrained market to be dressed up as an environmental virtue. This market-faith based approach is proving to be largely ineffective at protecting the environment and also inequitable.


Market Mechanisms, Ecological Sustainability And Social Equity, Sharon Beder May 2011

Market Mechanisms, Ecological Sustainability And Social Equity, Sharon Beder

Sharon Beder

In most cases the use of market mechanisms to protect the environment aim to maximise economic efficiency rather than environmental effectiveness or equity. The use of emissions trading to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is used as a case study to demonstrate this.


North American Pollinator Partnership Conference: Public Lands Task Force, Tammy Horn Apr 2011

North American Pollinator Partnership Conference: Public Lands Task Force, Tammy Horn

Tammy Horn

No abstract provided.


Discussões Sobre A Aplicabilidade Restrita Da Lei De Improbidade Administrativa, Prof. Dr. Eloi Martins Senhoras Apr 2011

Discussões Sobre A Aplicabilidade Restrita Da Lei De Improbidade Administrativa, Prof. Dr. Eloi Martins Senhoras

Elói Martins Senhoras

No abstract provided.


North American Pollinator Partnership Conference: Making A Difference One Pollinator At A Time, Tammy Horn Mar 2011

North American Pollinator Partnership Conference: Making A Difference One Pollinator At A Time, Tammy Horn

Tammy Horn

The North American Pollinator Protection Campaign 10th Anniversary conference, held in Washington DC 2010, is the last place I saw myself being invited to a couple of years ago. Unemployed and changing careers, I withdrew from conventional academe to work bees on surface mine sites in Kentucky, which are not conventional places to define new careers.


La Búsqueda De La Verdadera Tasa De Inflación, Guillermo Arosemena Feb 2011

La Búsqueda De La Verdadera Tasa De Inflación, Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


"Creo Que Podemos Y Debemos", Guillermo Arosemena Jan 2011

"Creo Que Podemos Y Debemos", Guillermo Arosemena

Guillermo Arosemena

No abstract provided.


Why Lesotho And Swaziland Should Merge With Sa, Vikas Kumar Jan 2011

Why Lesotho And Swaziland Should Merge With Sa, Vikas Kumar

Vikas Kumar

The gains to the people of Lesotho and Swaziland from merger with South Africa are immense and the costs to South Africa are relatively negligible. So, it is time that the colonial era boundaries are dismantled in the interests of the people of Lesotho and Swaziland.


Hayek's Philosophical Psychology, Leslie Marsh Dec 2010

Hayek's Philosophical Psychology, Leslie Marsh

Leslie Marsh

Hayek's philosophical psychology as set out in his The Sensory Order (1952) has, for the most part, been neglected. Despite being lauded by computer scientist grandee Frank Rosenblatt and by Nobel prize-winning biologist Gerald Edelman, cognitive scientists -- with a few exceptions -- have yet to discover Hayek's philosophical psychology. On the other hand, social theorists, Hayek's traditional disciplinary constituency, have only recently begun to take note and examine the importance of psychology in the complete Hayek corpus. This volume brings together for the first time state-of-the-art contributions from neuroscientists and philosophers of mind as well as economists and social …