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Full-Text Articles in Economic Theory

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 12, Spring 2023 Jan 2023

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 12, Spring 2023

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.


The Effect Of Remote Work On Firm Level Productivity, Katherine Fullowan Jan 2023

The Effect Of Remote Work On Firm Level Productivity, Katherine Fullowan

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper investigates the impact of remote work on firm-level productivity. To observe this trend, we develop a theoretical model to understand how an economy performs. We consider the economy as a collection of firms in an attempt to maximize profit. By observing a firms profit function, we are able to derive their productivity by maximizing a representative firm’s profit function. For simplicity purposes, this study treats labor as the only factor of production to focus solely on how changes in the number of remote workers impact productivity. We ultimately find that productivity increases when the number of remote workers …


Intrinsic Unrealism: The Ineffectiveness Of Neoclassical Economic Models, Robert N. Meyer Jan 2023

Intrinsic Unrealism: The Ineffectiveness Of Neoclassical Economic Models, Robert N. Meyer

Gettysburg Economic Review

The idea of equilibrium and the usefulness of the neoclassical models that employ it are questionable due to the unrealistic built-in assumptions that they utilize, which have androcentric biases and fail to consider the open-endedness of human choice. This essay will replace the idea that neoclassical economic models are effective and that realism does not matter in the field of economics. It will rely on historical and contemporary sources in the areas of Philosophy, Sociology, Politics, and of course, Economics to explain why these unrealistic and androcentric assumptions nullify the usefulness of the neoclassical models that employ them. The essay …


Unparalleled Opportunities Or Unmitigated Risk? Economic Globalization And Its Impact On State Capacity In The Developing World, John M. Zak Oct 2020

Unparalleled Opportunities Or Unmitigated Risk? Economic Globalization And Its Impact On State Capacity In The Developing World, John M. Zak

Student Publications

Economic globalization is a phenomenon driving major developments in the international system. With the force of this phenomenon shaping events within states and interactions among them, the question of economic globalization’s impact on state capacity is worthy of an in-depth analysis. In this work I use economic globalization as the central explanatory variable and state capacity as the dependent variable and seek to establish an empirical relationship between the two that will offer the social science community a better understanding of how this phenomenon is shaping state capacity in developing countries. Based on available scholarship, I argue that economic globalization …


The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 11, Spring 2019 Jan 2019

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 11, Spring 2019

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.


The Effect Of Fiscal Transparency On Output, Inflation, And Government Debt, Luce Menicali Jan 2019

The Effect Of Fiscal Transparency On Output, Inflation, And Government Debt, Luce Menicali

Gettysburg Economic Review

This theoretical paper studies the issue of fiscal transparency, which we define as asymmetry of information between the households’ perception of fiscal policy and the actual government balance sheet, in the context of a 24-hour news cycle. We model the economy using the New Keynesian three-equation model to study the effect of fiscal transparency on output, inflation, and especially government debt in order to draw conclusions that are relevant in the realm of policy-making in a sovereign debt crisis scenario. We find that a higher degree of fiscal transparency leads to greater levels of output and inflation as well as …


Nominal Gdp Targeting: A Policy Recommendation To Meet The Fed’S Dual Mandate, R. Shaw Bridges Jan 2015

Nominal Gdp Targeting: A Policy Recommendation To Meet The Fed’S Dual Mandate, R. Shaw Bridges

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper was written in early December 2014 in response to the Federal Reserve Challenge Team’s argument for a regime change in the Federal Reserve to nominal GDP targeting as the appropriate policy to return the U.S. economy to long-term sustainable economic growth. After the 2007 recession, the FOMC took extraordinary measures to minimize the collateral damage caused by bank balance sheets weighed down with mortgage-backed securities and other below-investment grade assets. The periodic “stress tests” and use of emergency lending facilities were historically unprecedented, however, the economy six years later was still growing slowly in part due to market …


The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 7, Spring 2013 Jan 2013

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 7, Spring 2013

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.


On The Orthodox Nature Of Heterodox Income Distribution Theory, Ross A. Nichols Jan 2013

On The Orthodox Nature Of Heterodox Income Distribution Theory, Ross A. Nichols

Gettysburg Economic Review

The goal of this paper is to show that orthodox and heterodox theories of personal income distribution developed in the mid-twentieth century are effectively identical, despite their claims to the contrary. While segmented labor market theory contends that neoclassical theories of personal income distribution, such as human capital theory, ignore the impact of social institutions on the labor market, human capital theory actually implicitly incorporates them. Social institutions are, therefore, just as important in the orthodox approach to personal income distribution. Yet, while this is the case, the heterodox perspective is valuable because of the stress it places on social …


The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 6, Spring 2012 Jan 2012

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 6, Spring 2012

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.


An Attempt To Reshape Capitalism’S Image, Ross A. Nichols Jan 2012

An Attempt To Reshape Capitalism’S Image, Ross A. Nichols

Gettysburg Economic Review

John Stuart Mill claimed to be a disciple of both Jeremy Bentham and David Ricardo. This was a strange proclamation because each man advocated a competing theory of value; Bentham’s utilitarianism laid the foundation for the utility theory of value and Ricardo developed the labor theory of value. Mill’s goal in attempting to unify these theories of value was to provide a solution for the growing class conflict that plagued capitalism. Class conflict arose as feudalism was phased out and industrial capitalism replaced merchant capitalism as the dominant economic system. The Corn Laws symbolized this competition between classes. Capitalists were …


Friedrich Von Hayek: The Socialist-Calculation Debate, Knowledge Arguments, And Modern Economic Development, Cara A. Elliott Jan 2011

Friedrich Von Hayek: The Socialist-Calculation Debate, Knowledge Arguments, And Modern Economic Development, Cara A. Elliott

Gettysburg Economic Review

At the close of the nineteenth and the commencement of the twentieth century, socialism began to gain momentum as a large-scale movement in Europe and the United States. This popularity was supported by an increased influence of the working class in society, which put pressure for representation upon European parliaments and began to secure concrete improvements in labor protection laws. Moreover, socialist proponents looked hopefully towards the living example of the Soviet Union, which began its socialist experiment in 1917 following the success of the Bolshevik Revolution. Socialism, which found its economic grounding in the legacies of such men as …


The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 4, Spring 2010 Jan 2010

The Gettysburg Economic Review, Volume 4, Spring 2010

Gettysburg Economic Review

No abstract provided.


An Examination Of Non-Linear Relationships Between Intellectual Property Rights Protection And Growth, Brian R. Lemak Jan 2010

An Examination Of Non-Linear Relationships Between Intellectual Property Rights Protection And Growth, Brian R. Lemak

Gettysburg Economic Review

This paper examines the possibility of a non-linear relationship existing between intellectual property rights protection (IPR) and gross domestic product (GDP) growth rates. A theoretical justification is developed for the potential existence of a non-linear relationship in terms of a quadratic relationship. This is then examined using panel data from 191 countries and taken in 5 year intervals, although the data had many missing observations. Results indicate there is statistically significant evidence that a quadratic relationship exists between IPR and GDP growth, however there are reservations about this evidence due to a dearth of observations in countries with very weak …


The Strength Of The Veblenian Critique Of Neoclassical Economics, Svetoslav I. Semov Jan 2009

The Strength Of The Veblenian Critique Of Neoclassical Economics, Svetoslav I. Semov

Gettysburg Economic Review

More than one hundred years ago, Thorstein Veblen wrote a powerful critique of neoclassical economics that castigated the discipline for turning the individual into a “lightning calculator of pleasures and pains, who oscillates like a homogeneous globule”, or equivalently, for the individual’s static maximization of utility based on exogenous preferences. His critique is relevant even today, since there are economists who still continue to criticize the assumptions of homo economicus and exogenous preferences, and insist on introducing more realism to economic theory. Furthermore, recent developments in game theory and experimental economics, which stand at the cutting-edge of economics today, are …


9. Economic Liberalism, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

9. Economic Liberalism, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XIV: The Industrial Revolution, Classical Economics, and Economic Liberalism

Some of the classical economists thought that their function was to describe the general principles of economic life and not to prescribe the means of improving society. Wealth, not happiness, remarked Senior, is the economist's concern. Others, who took more seriously the titles they chose for the books they were publishing, thought differently. [excerpt]


10. Criticism And Revision Of Classical Economics, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

10. Criticism And Revision Of Classical Economics, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XIV: The Industrial Revolution, Classical Economics, and Economic Liberalism

The work of the classical economists was primarily one of deduction. In a sense it is a tribute to their capacity to draw corollaries and conclusions from basic principles accepted as established truths. The finely spun theoretical model which they constructed was not long immune from attack by several quarters. As we shall see in Chapter XVI, the Marxian Socialists took the labor theory of value and used it to advocate the overthrow of capitalistic society. [excerpt]


8. David Ricardo And Classical Economics, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

8. David Ricardo And Classical Economics, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XIV: The Industrial Revolution, Classical Economics, and Economic Liberalism

It is David Ricardo, (1772-1823) rather than Malthus who has long been regarded as the more outstanding of the classical economists after Adam Smith. His father was a Jewish immigrant to England who became a prosperous merchant and broker. Ricardo entered his father's business, but after marrying a Quakeress and embracing her faith was forced onto his own resources. By the time he reached his early forties he had gained a large fortune as a stock broker which enabled him to retire to a large rural estate. Here he played the role of landlord and engaged in serious study. In …


6. Classical Economics From Smith To Malthus, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart Jan 1958

6. Classical Economics From Smith To Malthus, Robert L. Bloom, Basil L. Crapster, Harold L. Dunkelberger, Charles H. Glatfelter, Richard T. Mara, Norman E. Richardson, W. Richard Schubart

Section XIV: The Industrial Revolution, Classical Economics, and Economic Liberalism

In 1776, several years after his good friend James Watt had obtained the first patent covering the steam engine and several years before the process for making wrought iron was devised, Adam Smith (1723-1790), a retired professor of moral philosophy at the University of Glasgow, published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. This book was immediately popular. It went through five editions in English and was translated into four foreign languages during its author's lifetime, and has stimulated and provoked Western economic thought and debate down to our own time. It won for …