Economics Commons^™

Towards An Intellectual History Of Evolutionary Economics: Competition And Struggle Versus Cooperation And Mutual Aid, John B. Hall, Svetlana Kirdina-Chandler

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Our inquiry considers the origins of Evolutionary Economics by reintroducing a debate that took place in Russia in the 19th and early 20th century. Responses to Charles Darwin’s The origin of Species are considered, especially critiques stressing Darwin’s emphasis upon competition and struggle in natural selection, that can be traced directly to Thomas Robert Malthus. Considering challenging contributions made by several Russian scholars, we place special emphasis upon Peter Kropotkin’s focus on cooperation and “mutual aid” in natural selection and evolution. We then speculate upon the commonality found in the evolutionary views advanced by Kropotkin and his American contemporary, Thorstein …

Has Capitalism Lost Its Puritan Spirit? What Do Recent Wvs Data Say About Religiosity And Work Values?, Veysel Bozkurt, Birol A. Yeşilada

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper tests the arguments of social theorists about the changing spirit of capitalism in countries with different levels of economic development using the recent World Values Survey (WVS). Max Weber claimed that the Protestant Ethic was the spirit of capitalism for salvation and improved economic development in Europe. During the last 40 years, sociologists, such as Bell and Bauman, have claimed that capitalism has started to lose its puritan spirit and a new secular/hedonist personality type has emerged as the new characteristic of post-industrial/ consumer capitalism. The data show that religiosity and work values decline but leisure and self-expression …

Cooperation Versus Competition In Works Of Russian Evolutionists, Svetlana G. Kirdina-Chandler, John B. Hall

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The article is in Russian.

One of the fundamental assumptions of mainstream economics is that competing agents maximising individual utility comprise the near totality of economic activity. However, this assumption attracts criticism because there is little experimental evidence to suggest that the competitive model is the only form of economic activity. Therefore, searches for other plausible theoretical foundations for economic activity, such as cooperation and mutual aid, are still relevant. In this connection our inquiry reintroduces a debate which occurred in Russia in the 19th and early 20thcenturies. Responses to Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural …

The Interest Rate Effect On Private Saving: Alternative Perspectives, Joshua Aizenman, Yin-Wong Cheung, Hiro Ito

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using an uneven panel of 135 countries from 1995 to 2014, we investigate the link between interest rates and private saving, and focus on whether the interest rate effect is dominated by the income (i.e., negative) or the substitution (i.e., positive) effect. With the baseline estimation, we find that the real interest rate has the substitution effect on private saving only for a full-country sample and a group of Asian economies. We also examine if low real - or nominal - interest rates have any impact on the link between the real interest rate and the private saving rate. We …

The Role Of Inflation Targeting In Debt Denomination In Developing Countries, Olena Ogrokhina, Cesar M. Rodriguez

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper analyzes the inflation targeting experience of developing countries as an effective monetary policy framework to promote changes in the currency composition of their international debt. Using matching with difference-in-differences to address the self-selection bias, we find that in inflation targeting has led to a 3-6 percentage point reduction in the foreign currency share of international debt in targeting countries when compared to non-targeting countries. Furthermore, from the analysis of the individual currency shares, we find that inflation targeting has contributed to a 10 percentage points lower US dollar share in international debt in targeting countries compared to non-targeting …

Trade Invoicing In Major Currencies In The 1970s-1990s: Lessons For Renminbi Internationalization, Hiro Ito, Kawai Masahiro

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

In this paper, we investigate how much a major currency is used for trade invoicing by focusing primarily on the experiences of the U.S. dollar, the Japanese yen, and the Deutsche mark (DM) in the 1970s through the 1990s. We then attempt to draw lessons for China’s renminbi (RMB) internationalization. Our data on the shares of the three major currencies in export invoicing show that the dollar was unequivocally a global invoicing currency, and that the DM was the most important regional currency in Europe while the yen was never a global or a regional currency. DM invoicing was driven …

The Economic Value Of Forest Park Ecosystem Services: Results Of Five Focus Groups Conducted In Spring 2016, Randall A. Bluffstone, Pablo Barreyro, Jenny Dempsey Stein, Cody Kent, Antonia Machado

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: This initial phase of research lays the foundation for a survey using contingent valuation (CV) and choice experiment (CE) methods. We asked select Portland residents what they care about most in Forest Park, their willingness to pay (WTP) for improving ecosystem services and how they generally think about the value of those goods and services. These results will help us narrow the experimental design of the forthcoming CV/CE study.

Approach: We conducted a focus group in each of Portland’s 5 “quadrants.” We chose each location - Skyline, St. John’s, Cully, Foster-Powell and Hillsdale - based on either its proximity …

Democratization, Political Performance, And Income Distribution In Argentina And Brazil, Nicholas Paul Stowell

Dissertations and Theses

This research examines the effects of democratization and political performance on the functional distribution of income in Argentina and Brazil from the end of their authoritarian periods to the present. The existing literature tends to focus on the impacts of democratization and political performance on the economic growth of the country as a whole or on changes to per capita income. This analysis focuses on the equality of economic development in less developed countries because growth is not necessarily distributed equally and poverty and inequality are both endemic to many less developed countries and also negatively impact development as a …

Bertrand Competition With Asymmetric Marginal Costs, Subhasish Dugar, Arnab Mitra

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper tests the prediction of three discrete asymmetric duopoly price competition games in the laboratory. The games differ from each other in terms of the size of the cost asymmetry that induces a systematic variation in the difference between the firms’ marginal costs. While the standard theory requires the low-cost firm to set a price just equal to the high cost firm's marginal cost, which is identical across all three games, and win the entire market; intuition suggests that market price may increase with a decrease in the absolute difference between the two marginal costs. We develop a quantal …

Policy Analysis: Minimum Wage In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Aaron Kaufman

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Oregon’s current minimum wage of $9.25 per hour is unsustainable as it does not provide adequate nutritional resources or housing for full time employees. Additionally, employers of minimum wage workers often rely on social safety net benefits for their workers which effectively subsidize wages. This creates an unnecessary burden on the taxpayer. Oregon Senate Bill 1532 increases the minimum wage incrementally within Portland’s Metropolitan Area to $14.75 in 2022. This wage provides full time minimum wage workers enough income for adequate nutrition and reasonable housing while reducing reliance on social safety net programs.

Book Review: Aleman, Richard (Ed). The Hound Of Distributism: A Solution For Our Social And Economic Crisis, Anthony Philip Stine

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Aleman and the collected authors provide a starting point for investigating modern Distributist writings. Distributism is a 'third way' private property-based economic system focused on decentralization of power, a focus on family life and reconceptualizing our relationships between individuals, families, the state and large economic actors. Essays range from the topics of totalitarianism and big government to pastoralism and permaculture. Contributing authors include classic Distributists like GK Chesterton and modern writers such as Joseph Pearce, Dale Ahlquist, Philip Maxence and Ryan Grant. The selected authors present a snapshot of a theory that presents a means towards achieving sustainability through decentralization …

Aspirational Planning: A Statistical Model Of Hawthorne Bridge And Tilikum Crossing Bicycle Ride Counts, Robert Mccullough, Ramon Cabauatan, Jacob Gellman

Hatfield Graduate Journal of Public Affairs

Portland city planners have routinely planned for an increase in bicycle commutership and a decrease in automobile commutership. This paper discusses the latest data on Portland car and bicycle use. Portland and Multnomah County are observing an increase in single occupancy vehicle commuters, car ownership, and gasoline consumption. Bicycle use in Portland is found to have followed a logistic curve pattern since the early 1990s. The authors present an ordinary least squares model to explain bicycle ridership on the Hawthorne Bridge and the recently constructed Tilikum Crossing. When controlling for other factors such as weather and daylight, the Tilikum Crossing …

East Asian Economies And Financial Globalization In The Post-Crisis World, Joshua Aizenman, Hiro Ito

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper assesses the East Asian Economies’ openness to cross-border capital flows and exchange rate arrangements in the past decades, with the main focus on emerging market economies. Using Mundell’s trilemma indexes, we note that the convergence of the three policy goals in East Asia toward a “middle ground” pre-dates the convergence of these indices in other regions. Another more recent development involves the high level of international reserve (IR) holdings–a feature that is known as the most distinct characteristic of Asian EMEs. Financial globalization seems to have made asset prices and interest rates in Asian EMEs more vulnerable to …

Working Paper No. 35, The Machine Process In Industry And Society: A Veblenian Approach, Emily Pitkin

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry considers Thorstein Veblen’s understanding of the machine process and some of its influences. In particular, this paper explores relationships between the machine process and industry, noting the powerful influences of standardization of outputs as well as inputs. In addition, this paper considers some of the implications of the machine process on workers, considering particularly the tendency of the machine process to enforce routines and some of the related effects on “habitual thinking.” Finally, the machine process and its relation to society will be discussed with a focus on its effects on value systems, examining also the ways in …

Leadership Positioning Among U.S. Firms Investing In China, Rossitza B. Wooster, Donna L. Paul

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates leadership positioning by U.S. firms in China using the awareness, motivation, capability (AMC) perspective. We define leadership as first in industry to invest in China, and find that leaders have characteristics associated with higher AMC, evidenced by pre-existing multinational experience, higher product market orientation, smaller scale of operations, and higher input cost structure. Notably, the motivation to lower input costs and the prior capability in multinational operations mattered only for the first wave of firms leading industry investment earlier in time, while firms with smaller scale of operations exhibited a preference to lead investment in less popular …

Optimal Design Of Compact And Functionally Contiguous Conservation Management Areas, Hayri Önal, Yicheng Wang, Sahan T.M. Dissanayake, James D. Westervelt

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Compactness and landscape connectivity are essential properties for effective functioning of conservation reserves. In this article we introduce a linear integer programming model to determine optimal configuration of a conservation reserve with such properties. Connectivity can be defined either as structural (physical) connectivity or functional connectivity; the model developed here addresses both properties. We apply the model to identify the optimal conservation management areas for protection of Gopher Tortoise (GT) in a military installation, Ft. Benning, Georgia, which serves as a safe refuge for this ‘at risk’ species. The recent expansion in the military mission of the installation increases the …

Equity Commitment Under Uncertainty: A Hierarchical Model Of Real Option Entry Mode Choices, Rossitza B. Wooster, Luisa Blanco, W. Charles Sawyer

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We develop a real option hierarchical model of entry mode choice and test predictions using a sample of US companies in Latin America and the Caribbean between 1980 and 2005. Probit results indicate that the choice between a real option non-equity mode and equity commitment is influenced by previous acquisition experience, R&D and advertising intensities, and country risk. The choice of the more flexible real option JV mode over WOEs is positively related to greater firm size and market-to-book ratio in countries with better infrastructure. In contrast, greater marketing intensity and lower country risk encourage WOEs.

Subreption, Radical Institutionalism, And Evolutionary Economics, John B. Hall, Alexander Dunlap, Joe Mitchell-Nelson

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This inquiry seeks to establish the importance of subreption as an approach to economic and social evolution that also proves integral to the tradition of radical institutionalism. We relate subreption’s etymology and appearances in Roman, Canon and Scots Law, as well as in Philosophy, to its applications found in writings advanced by Thorstein Veblen and carried on later as William Dugger details the rise of corporate hegemony. Understood as an approach derivable from selected philosophical writings of Immanuel Kant, in social science subreption is suggested to occur through the introduction of an outside value that sets off a form of …

A Dynamic Simulation/Optimization Model For Scheduling Restoration Of Degraded Military Training Lands, Hayri Önal, Philip Woodford, Scott A. Tweddale, James D. Westervelt, Mengye Chen, Sahan T.M. Dissanayake, Gauthier Pitois

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Intensive use of military vehicles on Department of Defense training installations causes deterioration in ground surface quality. Degraded lands restrict the scheduled training activities and jeopardize personnel and equipment safety. We present a simulation-optimization approach and develop a discrete dynamic optimization model to determine an optimum land restoration for a given training schedule and availability of financial resources to minimize the adverse effects of training on military lands. The model considers weather forecasts, scheduled maneuver exercises, and unique qualities and importance of the maneuver areas. An application of this approach to Fort Riley, Kansas, shows that: i) starting with natural …

Building A State For All Ages: Tapping The Potential Of Older Oregonians, Stephen Percy, Judith A. Ramaley, John Tapogna, Margaret B. Neal, Jay Bloom, Alexandra Reece

Institute on Aging Publications

This report explores how the aging population—including native Oregonians and senior adults moving to the state—represent an asset to Oregon. Aging in America has often been viewed from a perspective of deficit and decline. We wholeheartedly challenge this perspective. This report identifies how older adults can play vital roles in the workforce, entrepreneurship and innovation, and supporting community revitalization through volunteering of time and talent.

Insurance, Race/Ethnicity, And Sex In The Search For A New Physician, Rajiv Sharma, Arnab Mitra, Miron Stano

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We employed simulated patient calls to a national random sample of primary care physicians to assess appointment availability for adults who differed by insurance, race/ethnicity, and sex. The disparities we found are much larger than those reported in previous assessments, highlighting the importance of including race/ethnicity and sex in such research

A Geographic View Of Expansion Choices By U.S. Firms In China, Rossitza Wooster, David Banis, Ayesha Khalid

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

How does geography matter for explaining the location patterns of U.S. companies in China? We combine insights from the literature on economic geography and spatial interdependence in foreign direct investment (FDI) activity, to provide a comparative analysis using both sectoral regression results and maps that illustrate patterns in the data. We use a unique sample of publicly traded U.S. firms who announced expansion of operations into China between 1980 and 2005. Regression results show that relative to the tertiary sector, firm characteristics matter more for primary sector firms, whereas province characteristics matter more for secondary sector firms. Additionally, our GIS …

Environmental Sustainability In A Sraffian Framework, Robin Hahnel

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article expands the Sraffian framework to address environmental sustainability by showing how to define and measure what ecological economists call “throughput” and increases in throughput efficiency. In the process it clarifies issues that are often muddled in the steady-state and de-growth literatures.

Emerging Market Currency Composition Of Reserves, Denomination Of Trade And Currency Movements, Robert N. Mccauley, Hiro Ito, Tracy Chan

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article analyses the relationships among the unit of account and means of exchange functions of an international currency, on the one hand, and its store of value in official use, on the other hand. Historical evidence links the currency composition of reserves to currency movements. The currency composition of reserves is strongly related in the cross-section to both currency movements and the currency denomination of trade. Data limitations make it hard to distinguish these two factors. A panel analysis of 5 countries from central and eastern Europe shows that both trade invoicing and currency movements drive changing official reserve …

The Neoliberal Politics Of “Smart”: Electricity Consumption, Household Monitoring, And The Enterprise Form, Anthony M. Levenda, Dillon Mahmoudi, Gerald Sussman

Urban Studies and Planning Faculty Publications and Presentations

This article investigates how digital technologies in the energy sector are enabling increased value extraction in the cycle of capital accumulation through surveillant proceesses of everyday energy consumption. We offer critical theory (Gramsci, Foucault) and critical political economy (Marx) as a guide for critical understanding of value creation in ICT through quotidian processes and practices of social reproduction. In this regard, the concept of the "prosumer" is extended beyond notions of voluntary participation in Web 2.0 to the political economy of energy use. Within this broad framework we investigate national and local level "smart grid" campaigns and projects. The "smartening" …

Monetary Policy Spillovers And The Trilemma In The New Normal: Periphery Country Sensitivity To Core Country Conditions, Joshua Aizenman, Menzie David Chinn, Hiro Ito

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

We investigate why and how the financial conditions of developing and emerging market countries (peripheral countries) can be affected by the movements in the center economies - the U.S., Japan, the Eurozone, and China. We apply a two-step approach. First, we estimate the sensitivity of countries’ financial variables to the center economies [policy interest rate, stock market prices, and the real effective exchange rates (REER)] while controlling for global and domestic factors. Next, we examine the association of the estimated sensitivity coefficients with the macroeconomic conditions, policies, real and financial linkages with the center economies, and the level of institutional …

Measuring Risk Preferences In Rural Ethiopia: Risk Tolerance And Exogenous Income Proxies, Ferdinand M. Vieder, Abebe D. Beyene, Randall Bluffstone, Sahan T.M. Dissanayake, Zenebe Gebreegziabher, Peter Martinsson, Alemu Mekonnen

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Risk-aversion has generally been found to decrease in income. This may lead one to expect that poor countries will be more risk-averse than rich countries. Recent comparative findings with students suggest the opposite, potentially giving rise to a risk-income paradox. Findings with students, however, may result from selection effects. We test whether a paradox indeed exists by measuring the risk preferences of over 500 household heads representative of the highlands of Ethiopia. We find high degrees of risk tolerance, consistent with the evidence obtained for students. We also find risk tolerance to increase in income proxies, thus completing the paradox. …

Clamoring For Greenbacks: Explaining The Resurgence Of The U.S. Dollar In International Debt, Hiro Ito, Cesar M. Rodriguez

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper investigates the determinants of currency denomination in international debt. Using data on currency shares for international debt securities for 82 countries from 1995 through 2013, we find that while the extent of foreign currency issuance has not changed much since the 1990s, especially for developing countries, the currency composition has shifted, especially between the U.S. dollar and the euro. Before the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) of 2008, the share of the U.S. dollar has been on a downward trend while that of the euro had been on a steady rising trend, but since the crisis, the U.S. dollar …

Working Paper No. 07, Evsey Domar And The Keynesian Tradition, Cesar Maldonado

Working Papers in Economics

This inquiry seeks to establish that Evsey Domar extends Keynes’s thinking and in this manner helps to establish a post-Keynesian tradition. First, I shall consider Keynes’s ideas concerning problems facing market capitalism as appears in his book, The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. Then I shall continue with this inquiry and consider Domar’s insights into expansion and employment and his concerns regarding capital accumulation, as well as his confronting a theory posited by Keynes concerning investment and employment, raising the issue of whether Keynes’s understanding is accurate. The last part of this inquiry deals with Domar’s concerns …

Experiential Knowledge And Interdisciplinary Approaches To Address Herbicide Resistance: Insights From Theory And Practice, David Shaw, David E. Ervin

Economics Faculty Publications and Presentations

The exponential increase in herbicide resistant weeds around the globe poses a “wicked problem” that resists solutions developed from disciplinary science (Ervin and Jussaume; Shaw). Traditonal voluntary education and technical assistance approaches have failed to stem the advance of resistance. Scholars and practitioners recognize that improved understanding of human behavior leading to more resistant weeds must provide the foundation of knowledge for innovating more effective approaches. Principles to negotiate progress on wicked problems stress interdisciplinary approaches that integrate frontier social and natural science concepts with stakeholder experiences to discover novel approaches (Sayer et al). Standard templates to address the problem …