Economic Theory Commons^™

Private Value Determinations And The Potential Effect On The Future Of Research And Development, Amy L. Landers

Amy L. Landers

Although the promise of an emerging patent market is thought to provide future benefits to invention, innovation, and the public, this essay examines the possibility that the aggregate influence of this activity could instead destabilize patent values in a manner that mirrors the "bubble" phenomenon that occurred in certain markets in the past. To the extent that this occurs, this would destabilize the patent system and might have negative consequences for the future of investment in research, development and innovation.

A Rationale For Meeting Quotas Asymmetrically, J. Patrick Meister, Robert S. Main

Robert S. Main

Under certain conditions, otherwise identical, competing firms may find it jointly preferable to face differing degrees of trade barriers on individual products rather than symmetric trade barriers. The key is the ability to reduce marginal production cost via research and development. The economic significance of this insight is that there could be a role for a market for quota allotments. This insight also has applications to Voluntary Export Restraints in which a priori symmetric, restricted firms may prefer to have individual production levels allocated asymmetrically. This indicates the need for detailed studies of how quotas are met by individual firms. …

Willingness To Overpay For Insurance And For Consumer Credit: Search And Risk Behavior Under Price Dispersion, Sergey V. Malakhov

Sergey Malakhov

Axiomatic Social Choice Theory, David Randall Jenkins

David Randall Jenkins

Ordered Relations Theory’s two axioms ultimately enable (individual: society) well-being transitivity inasmuch as they impound Social Choice Theory’s impossibility theorem, impossibility-resolving axioms, and all such further regressive impossibility theorems and impossibility-resolving axioms.

Slutsky Equation And Negative Elasticity Of Labor Supply: Behavioral Bias Or Optimal Consumption-Leisure Choice?, Sergey V. Malakhov

Sergey Malakhov

Equazione Di Slutsky “Nelle Loro Mani”: Il Centenario “Sulla Teoria Del Bilancio Del Consumatore”, Sergey V. Malakhov

Sergey Malakhov

The paper presents the illustrative classroom application of the Slutsky equation to the consumption-leisure choice.

Voice Without Say: Why Capital-Managed Firms Aren’T (Genuinely) Participatory, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Why are most capitalist enterprises of any size organized as authoritarian bureaucracies rather than incorporating genuine employee participation that would give the workers real authority? Even firms with employee participation programs leave virtually all decision-making power in the hands of management. The standard answer is that hierarchy is more economically efficient than any sort of genuine participation, so that participatory firms would be less productive and lose out to more traditional competitors. This answer is indefensible. After surveying the history, legal status, and varieties of employee participation, I examine and reject as question-begging the argument that the rarity of genuine …

A Theory Without A Movement, A Hope Without A Name: The Future Of Marxism In A Post-Marxist World, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Just as Marx's insights into capitalism have been most strikingly vindicated by the rise of neoliberalism and the near-collapse of the world economy, Marxism as social movement has become bereft of support. Is there any point in people who find Marx's analysis useful in clinging to the term "Marxism" - which Marx himself rejected -- at time when self-identified Marxist organizations and societies have collapsed or renounced the identification, and Marxism own working class constituency rejects the term? I set aside bad reasons to give on "Marxism," such as that the theory is purportedly refuted, that its adoption leads necessarily …

Neoliberalism And The Law: How Historical Materialism Can Illuminate Recent Governmental And Judicial Decision Making, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

Neoliberalism can be understood as the deregulation of the economy from political control by deliberate action or inaction of the state. As such it is both constituted by the law and deeply affects it. I show how the methods of historical materialism can illuminate this phenomenon in all three branches of the the U.S. government. Considering the example the global financial crisis of 2007-08 that began with the housing bubble developing from trade in unregulated and overvalued mortgage backed securities, I show how the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, which established a firewall between commercial and investment banking, allowed this …

La Gestione Dei Diritti Delevisivi Sportivi: Is It All About Weltanschauung?, Valerio Cosimo Romano

Valerio Cosimo Romano

No abstract provided.

Human Capital Formation And Economic Development In Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Mahboob Ul Hassan, Muhammad Shahid

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This study investigates the casual relationship between economic development and formation of human capital in Pakistan. Based on endogenous growth theory, this study empirically tests the standard growth model consisting of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita as a dependent variable and human capital formation, investment in physical capital and labor force as independent variables. Autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) bound testing approach to cointegration is used to check the long-run equilibrium relationship between the variables included in the model. For checking the causal relationship between economic development and human capital formation, pair-wise Granger causality test is used for time series …

All The Incentives Are Here, David Thomas

David Chandler Thomas, PhD

A book review of the Bethany McLean and Joe Nocera 2010 book, All the Devils Are Here.

Some Socio Economic Determinants Of Fertility In Pakistan: An Empirical Analysis, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Muhammad Shahid, Mahboob Ul Hassan

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This study aims to investigate the role that various socioeconomic factors like female education, urbanization and female labour force participation play in determining fertility of women in Pakistan. ARDL bound test approach to cointegration is used to analyze the long-run relationship of the variables by using the data for the period from 1980 to 2009. The empirical results show that there exists a long-run as well as short-run relationship between fertility and urbanization, female labour force participation and female education in Pakistan. The analysis indicates there is a negative relationship between all 3 determinants with fertility. Female education and urbanization …

Economic Freedom And Fiscal Performance: A Regression Analysis Of Indices Of Economic Freedom On Per Capita Gdp, Jason Ockey

Jason R Ockey

This paper explores whether different forms of economic freedom drive fiscal performance. We also seek to determine which specific measurements of economic freedom have the most statistically significant impacts. Though the results of our analysis show that economic freedom does impact levels of per capita GDP, the interpretation of these results is more complicated. Because some indices of economic freedom have negative effects on per capita GDP or are statistically insignificant, it is important to note that simply generally increasing a country’s overall level of economic freedom will not necessarily spur economic growth or increase fiscal performance. This paper does …

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 …

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.

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.

Economic Parameters Of An Ideal Society, Subhajit Kumar Ganguly

Subhajit Kumar Ganguly

The issues regarding the functioning and growth of an ideal economic society is the subject of investigation here. One basic guideline for such a society is that it must have total control over its economics and that money cannot drive such a society from pillar to post. The equal right of every individual over the basic amenities to live and grow and equal right of every individual over the resources, ensuring no misuse of the society's resources may be taken care of by controlling the market through a control-parameter, decided upon by the society.

Collective Choice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

This short nontechnical article reviews the Arrow Impossibility Theorem and its implications for rational democratic decisionmaking. In the 1950s, economist Kenneth J. Arrow proved that no method for producing a unique social choice involving at least three choices and three actors could satisfy four seemingly obvious constraints that are practically constitutive of democratic decisionmaking. Any such method must violate such a constraint and risks leading to disturbingly irrational results such and Condorcet cycling. I explain the theorem in plain, nonmathematical language, and discuss the history, range, and prospects of avoiding what seems like a fundamental theoretical challenge to the possibility …

Collective Choice, Justin Schwartz

Justin Schwartz

This short nontechnical article reviews the Arrow Impossibility Theorem and its implications for rational democratic decisionmaking. In the 1950s, economist Kenneth J. Arrow proved that no method for producing a unique social choice involving at least three choices and three actors could satisfy four seemingly obvious constraints that are practically constitutive of democratic decisionmaking. Any such method must violate such a constraint and risks leading to disturbingly irrational results such and Condorcet cycling. I explain the theorem in plain, nonmathematical language, and discuss the history, range, and prospects of avoiding what seems like a fundamental theoretical challenge to the possibility …

Determination Of Import Demand In Pakistan: The Role Of Expenditure Components, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Zahid Pervaiz, Amatul R. Chaudhary

Muhammad Irfan Chani

The paper uses imperfect substitution approach to derive the aggregate import demand function on the basis of disaggregated expenditure components. This derived import demand function is then empirically tested for Pakistan by using co-integration and error correction mechanism. The empirical results show that elasticity of import demand with respect to different macro components of final expenditure is different. The import demand in Pakistan is affected positively and significantly by all expenditure components. The relative prices have negative but insignificant relationship with import demand in Pakistan. The findings indicate that use of aggregate expenditure variable in the aggregate import demand function …

Poverty, Inflation And Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence From Pakistan, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Zahid Pervaiz, Sajjad Ahmad Jan, Amjad Ali, Amatul R. Chaudhary

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This study aims to investigate the role of economic growth and inflation in explaining the prevalence of poverty in Pakistan. ARDL bound testing approach to co-integration confirms the existence of long run relationship among the variables of poverty, economic growth, inflation, investment and trade openness over the period of 1972-2008. Empirical results show that economic growth and investment have negative and inflation has positive impact on poverty. The effect of trade openness on poverty is insignificant in this study. The short run analysis reveals that economic growth has negative and inflation has positive impact on poverty whereas the role of …

Financial Crises And Economic Growth In Pakistan: A Time Series Analysis, Rauf -I- Azam, Iram Batool, Rabia Imran, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Ahmed Imran Hunjra, Javed Mahmood Jasra

Muhammad Irfan Chani

The purpose of this research is to investigate causal relationship between economic growth and major indicators of financial crisis -- inflation rate, interest rate and the volume of foreign debt-- in Pakistan. This study also highlights the stability of the relationship between indicators of financial crisis and economic growth. The annual time series data ranging from 1972 to 2010 is used for the analysis. Johansen's co-integration test is used to check the stability of long nm equilibrium relationship between the variables used in the study. The results indicate that is long nm stable equilibrium relationship between economic growth and the …

Gender Inequality And Economic Growth: A Time Series Analysis For Pakistan, Zahid Pervaiz, Muhammad Irfan Chani, Sajjad Ahmad Jan, Amatul R. Chaudhary

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This paper attempts to analyze the impact of gender inequality on economic growth of Pakistan. An annual time series data for the period of 1972-2009 has been used in this study. We have regressed growth rate of real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita on labour force growth, investment, trade openness and a composite index of gender inequality. The results reveal that labour force growth, investment and trade openness have statistically significant and positive impact whereas gender inequality has a significant and negative effect on economic growth of Pakistan.

A Risky Theory Of Business Cycles, David C. Thomas

David Chandler Thomas, PhD

Book review of Tyler Cowen's 1997 book, Risk and Business Cycles.

Antinomies Of Capitalism (Review Of Globalization Its Discontents Joseph Stiglitz, Fernando Estrada

Fernando Estrada

We present the central arguments of the critics on the limits and scope of globalization on the work

God Is A Woman, David Randall Jenkins

David Randall Jenkins

The work-in-process paper demonstrates God is a woman

Financial Theory Has A Paradigm A La Kuhn?, Fernando Estrada

Fernando Estrada

This article aims to discuss two issues relatively linked. The first is an evaluation of the concept of paradigm of T. Kuhn in his representative work: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions ERC, [Ku96] and the complementary version by W. Stegmüller, Structure and dynamics of theories EDT, [Steg83]. This refined interpretation of the concept of paradigm allows for a more complete set of central Kuhnian concept. The second objective is to analyze the scope of the Kuhnian concept of models to evaluate financial explanation. Is explored preliminarily proposed fractal models / multifractal (F / M) of Mandelbrot [Mand97, 82, 02, 05]. …

A Note On Causal Relationship Between Fdi And Savings In Bangladesh, Mohammad Salahuddin, Muhammad Shahbaz Shahbaz, Muhammad Irfan Chani

Muhammad Irfan Chani

This paper aims to investigate the causal relationship between foreign direct investment and gross domestic savings in Bangladesh over a period of 1985-2007. In doing so, Johansen cointegration technique and error correction methods are employed to examine the long run and short run relationship between foreign direct investment and gross domestic savings. To determine the direction of causality, we used innovation accounting approach. Results suggest that there exist bi-directional causal relationship between foreign direct investment and gross domestic savings but the movement is stronger from domestic savings to foreign direct investment. The result also implies complimentary relationship between them and …

Being Consumed: Economics And Christian Desire, William Cavanaugh

William T. Cavanaugh

Are Christians for or against the free market? Should we not think of ourselves as consumers? Are we for or against globalization? How to we live in a world of scare resources? William Cavanaugh brings us a theological view and practice of everyday economic life with the use of Christian resources. He argues that we should not take the free market, consumer culture, globalization, and scarcity as givens, but change the terms of debate in each case. His consideration of the free market is not a question of for or against, but when exactly a market is truly free. He …