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This paper deals with some contributions to the debate on General Economic Equilibrium between the two world wars. Originating in Cambridge and Berlin, they differed from the Viennese contributions of the Walrasian perspective traditionally considered by the literature. They can be defined to represent the classical approach to general equilibrium. The authors considered are the Italian-born economist Piero Sraffa, the German mathematician Robert Remak and the Russian-born economist Wassily Leontief. The paper focuses in particular on the intellectual origins of their contributions in the Russian-German theoretical debate of the period 1890–1910 involving classical economists, Marx and Walras: these connections emerge clearly in the contributions of the German-Russian Mathematical School between the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the past few decades, developing countries have been pushed by international economic institutions and developed countries to effectively abandon promotion of industrialization and structural transformation as a key developmental agenda. In addition, the 'development' debate of recent decades has tended to focus solely on internal factors as if external economic forces are always benign. Within this context, this paper analyzes the key ideas of Gebrehiwot Baykedagn (GHB) (1886–1919), traces their lineages and considers their feasibility and relevance for current developing economies. In a nutshell, for GHB, the main keys to economic development are the creation, accumulation and use of knowledge and skill, technology, innovation and technical change and the means of economic development are deliberate, dynamic and comprehensive sets of state-directed, synergistic interventions that aim at moving an economy away from 'nature-intensive' economic activities towards knowledge-, skill-, technology- and innovation-based ones. Based on analysis of historical and theoretical evidence, this paper argues that the main ideas of GHB and his colleagues are still valid, feasible and relevant for today's developing economies as long as they are innovatively tailored to the unique context of each country and to the broader international policy context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Schizophrenia is a chronic disease associated with significant and long-lasting effects on health, and it is also a social and financial burden, not only for patients but also for families, other caregivers, and the wider society. It is essential to conduct the assessment of indirect costs, to understand all the effects of the disease on society. Our aim is to gain a better understanding of the indirect costs of schizophrenia in Europe. Methods We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review covering EMBASE, Medline, and PsycINFO as well as reviewing Health Technology Assessment databases from different countries. We used a qualitative research synthesis for presenting information, as most of the studies were methodologically diverse, a quantitative analysis would have been impractical. Results Indirect cost adjusted to inflation ranged vastly between studies included in the review from 119 Euros to 62, 034 Euros annually. The average proportion of indirect costs of total costs was 44%. Studies highlighted important cost drivers as age, gender, and disease severity, explaining the variation in costs between treatment and patient groups. Conclusions Regardless of the methodological heterogeneity of the reviewed studies, there was an agreement about the significance of indirect costs of schizophrenia on the society. Considering the relatively high prevalence of schizophrenia in Europe, a need for more cost of illness studies especially from Central Eastern and Southern Europe is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the issue of industry concentration and intra-industry variability in rates of return. An inverted 'U' relationship is hypothesized and tested in which one observes low levels of variability both at high and low levels of concentration, in one case as a result of collusion and the other as a result of competition. In the process, the paper highlights the benefits associated with combining both industry and firm levels of analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a critical perspective on the theory underlying contemporary product development practice. It contrasts what is today the dominant approach to design and product development, an approach that is analytical and problem-oriented, with an alternative approach that is interpretative and process-oriented. The interpretative approach views product development as entering into an ongoing process in which people are already engaged. It sees the interactions between the different communities involved in product development as a set of ongoing conversations. It suggests the need for a set of conceptual tools for managing this process which are quite distinct from those associated with the analytical approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic crises carry a substantial impact on population health and health systems, but little is known on how these transmit to health workers (HWs). Addressing such a gap is timely as HWs are pivotal resources, particularly during pandemics or the ensuing recessions. Drawing from the empirical literature, we aimed to provide a framework for understanding the impact of recessions on HWs and their reactions. We use a systematic review and best-fit framework synthesis approach to identify the relevant qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods evidence, and refine an a priori, theory-based conceptual framework. Eight relevant databases were searched, and four reviewers employed to independently review full texts, extract data and appraise the quality of the evidence retrieved. A total of 57 peer-reviewed publications were included, referring to six economic recessions. The 2010-15 Great Recession in Europe was the subject of most (52%) of the papers. Our consolidated framework suggests that recessions transmit to HWs through three channels: (1) an increase in the demand for services; (2) the impacts of austerity measures; and (3) changes in the health labour market. Some of the evidence appeared specific to the context of crises; demand for health services and employment increased during economic recessions in North America and Oceania, but stagnated or declined in Europe in connection with the austerity measures adopted. Burn-out, lay-offs, migration and multiple jobholding were the reactions observed in Europe, but job opportunities never dwindled for physicians during recessions in North America, with nurses re-entering labour markets during such crises. Loss of motivation, absenteeism and abuse of health systems were documented during recessions in low-income countries. Although the impacts of recessions may vary across economic events, health systems, labour markets and policy responses, our review and framework provide an evidence base for policies to mitigate the effects on HWs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Commission (EC) has recently announced its intention to issue Guidelines on exclusionary abuses. In this paper, we explain how economics can and should be used to inform a sound and effects-based approach in the enforcement of Article 102 TFEU. In particular, the EC should be guided only by a consumer welfare standard; exclusive dealing and exclusivity rebates should be subject to a (rebuttable) presumption of harm; price–cost tests are meaningful only for predation and other practices that do not reference rivals; essentiality of the input should not be a requirement for vertical foreclosure cases of any type, but such cases should be limited only to dominant firms that satisfy certain criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to limited resources and constant, ever-changing healthcare challenges, health economics is essential to support healthcare decisions while improving health outcomes. Economic evaluation methodology facilitates informed decision-making related to the efficient allocation of resources while positively impacting clinical practice. In this paper, we provide an overview of economic evaluation methods and a real-world example applying one method of economic evaluation (cost-utility analysis) in nursing research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents information on the books related to social psychology. Some of the books enlisted are: A Neighborhood Finds Itself," by Julia Abrahamson; "Confidentiality in Social Work," by Joseph T. Alves; "The Family: Its Function and destiny," edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen; "Youth Looks at Marriage and the Family: A Study of Changing Japanese Attitudes," by Ray E. Barber; "The American Funeral" by Le Roy Bowmen; "The Forgotten Class" by Valentine T. Bill; "The Remarking of the Culture: Life and Education in Puerto Rico; "Indonasian Town," by Mook van Brand; "Health in Mexican-American Culture: A Commodity Study," by Margaret Clark; "American Marriage," by Ruth Shonle Cavan; "Introduction to the New Economics," by Bernard L. Cohen; "The Origin of Civilized Societies," by Rushton Coulborn; "Sociology: A Synopsis of Principles," 4th ed, by John F. Cuber; "Reason for Living," by Walter R. Dent; "The Role of the Opthalmologist in the Rehabilitation of Blind Patients," by Samuel Finestone and Sonia Gold; and "Twenty Years of Public Housing," by Robert Moore Fisher.

Health management information systems (HMIS) produce large amounts of data about health service provision and population health, and provide opportunities for data-based decision-making in decentralized health systems. Yet the data are little-used locally. A well-defined approach to district-level decision-making using health data would help better meet the needs of the local population. In this second of four papers on district decision-making for health in low-income settings, our aim was to explore ways in which district administrators and health managers in low- and lower-middle-income countries use health data to make decisions, to describe the decision-making tools they used and identify challenges encountered when using these tools. A systematic literature review, following PRISMA guidelines, was undertaken. Experts were consulted about key sources of information. A search strategy was developed for 14 online databases of peer reviewed and grey literature. The resources were screened independently by two reviewers using pre-defined inclusion criteria. The 14 papers included were assessed for the quality of reported evidence and a descriptive evidence synthesis of the review findings was undertaken. We found 12 examples of tools to assist district-level decision-making, all of which included two key stages-identification of priorities, and development of an action plan to address them. Of those tools with more steps, four included steps to review or monitor the action plan agreed, suggesting the use of HMIS data. In eight papers HMIS data were used for prioritization. Challenges to decision-making processes fell into three main categories: the availability and quality of health and health facility data; human dynamics and financial constraints. Our findings suggest that evidence is available about a limited range of processes that include the use of data for decision-making at district level. Standardization and pre-testing in diverse settings would increase the potential that these tools could be used more widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the China/Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) arrangement between Pakistan and China from a legal and policy standpoint. It takes into account the Chinese Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime SilkRoad Vision under whichCPECis set. The paper highlights the relevance of the application of both Pakistani law and international law to CPEC. In particular the paper focuses on some fundamental legal questions, for example the very legal character of CPEC. The discussion on the fundamental legal questions is followed by the various streams of legal frameworks that have a bearing on CPEC including the Pakistani Constitution and world trade and international investment norms. The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework of issues raised by CPEC. It is not intended as an exhaustive analysis of all the issues raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Back cover of the journal "Oxford Economic Papers" is presented.

Applying 'standard' publication and citation measures to the social sciences is fast becoming an outmoded practice, yet we have still to develop credible quantitative alternatives to inform research evaluation exercises. This paper reports the outcomes of a comparative pilot study of five Australian economics departments which tested data produced using novel bibliometric, esteem, and 'user engagement' measures. The results were presented to a group of expert peers drawn from the economics groups studied. There was support for developing some novel bibliometric indicators and 'user engagement' measures, but esteem indicators were roundly rejected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent paper in this Journal, Ed Nell presented a theory of circulation intended to unify 'the theories of money, production, and effective demand'. The current comment uses a very simple leakage and injection approach to arrive at some of Nell's results. In doing so, we are able to correct a small slip in Nell's original paper. More importantly, with the slip corrected, the money supply and multiplier processes are seen to be one and the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The four papers in the July 2004 issue of the journal "Economic Policy" were presented at the Economic Policy Panel hosted by the Bank of Italy in Rome in October 2003. The contributions of the papers to scientific understanding and to current policy debates were discussed. The entry of the European Union's new members on May 1, 2004 is one of the most important political and constitutional development of recent years. The distribution of voting power between European Union members was examined. Social unrest related to attempted reform of pension systems has been a recent feature of the political scene in a number of European countries. The impact of pensions contributions on the functioning of labor markets was outlined. The paper by Felix Eschenbach and Ludger Schuknecht sheds important light on the issue by considering a broad range of theoretical possibilities and empirical experiences.

How do public health advocates and practitioners encourage policy actors to address the social determinants of health? What strategies can be used to elevate healthy social policies onto government agendas? In this paper, we examine the case of Australia's first national paid parental leave scheme, announced in 2009 after decades of policy advocacy. This scheme provides job-protected leave and government-funded pay at the minimum wage for 18 weeks for eligible primary care givers on the birth of an infant, and has been shown to reduce health inequities. Drawing on documentary sources and interviews (n  = 25) with key policy actors, this paper traces the evolution of this landmark social policy in Australia, focusing on the role of actors, institutions and policy framings in setting the policy agenda. We find that advocates strategically deployed three different framings—for economy, gender equality and health—to drive paid parental leave onto the Government's agenda. They navigated barriers linked to power, gender ideology and cost, shifting tactics along the way by adopting different frames in various institutional settings and broadening their coalitions. Health arguments varied in different institutional settings and, at times, advocates selectively argued the economic or gender equality framing over health. The case illustrates the successful use of strategic pragmatism to provoke action, and raises broader lessons for advancing action on the social determinants of health. In particular, the case highlights the importance of adopting multiple synergistic policy framings to draw support from non-traditional allies and building coalitions to secure public policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faster and more widespread implementation could help more patients to benefit more quickly from known effective treatments. So could more effective implementation of better assessment methods, service delivery models, treatments and services. Implementation at scale and 'descaling' are ways for hospitals and health systems to respond to rising demands and costs. The paper proposes ways to provide leaders with the information that would help them to decide whether and how to scale up a proven improvement. We draw on our knowledge of the improvement and implementation literature on the subject and on our experience of scale up programs in Kaiser Permanente, in Swedish county health systems, and in international health. We describe a '3S' scale up infrastructure and other ingredients that appear necessary for successful widespread improvement, and list the resources that we have found useful for developing scale up programs. The paper aims to encourage more actionable research into scale up, and shows the opportunities for researchers to both advance implementation and improvement science and contribute to reducing suffering and costs in a more timely and effective way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the increased use of the utility-maximizing representative agent in both contemporary macroeconomics (DSGE in particular) and microeconomics (revealed preference theory in particular). It is argued that the economists who developed Walrasian general equilibrium theory and revealed preference theory during the middle of the twentieth century were aware that the use of a single representative agent would simplify their analysis, but sill resisted employing it. The paper discusses a number of developments-both within economic theory and more broadly-that accommodated the rise of the representative agent in more recent economic theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the behaviour of ‘evolutionary’ models with ϵ-noise like those which have been used recently to discuss the evolution of social conventions. The paper is built around two main observations: that the ‘long run stochastic stability’ of a convention is related to the speed with which evolution toward and away from the convention occurs, and that evolution is more rapid (and hence more powerful) when it may proceed via a series of small steps between intermediate steady states. The formal analysis uses two new measures, the radius and modified coradius, to characterize the long run stochastically stable set of an evolutionary model and to bound the speed with which evolutionary change occurs. Though not universally powerful, the result can be used to make many previous analyses more transparent and extends them by providing results on waiting times. A number of applications are also discussed. The selection of the risk dominant equilibrium in 2 ⊗ 2 games is generalized to the selection of ½-dominant equilibria in arbitrary games. Other applications involve two-dimensional local interaction and cycles as long run stochastically stable sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International research and collaboration has been a part of the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) mission since its creation in 1937. Early on, efforts were limited to international exchange of information to ensure that US cancer patients could benefit from advances in other countries. As NCI's research grant portfolio grew in the 1950s, it included a modest number of grants to foreign institutions, primarily in the United Kingdom and Europe. In the 1960s, the development of geographic pathology, which aimed to study cancer etiology through variations in cancer incidence and risk factors, led to an increase in NCI-funded international research, including research in low- and middle-income countries. In this paper, we review key international research programs, focusing particularly on the first 50 years of NCI history. The first NCI-led overseas research programs, established in the 1960s in Ghana and Uganda, generated influential research but also struggled with logistical challenges and political instability. The 1971 National Cancer Act was followed by the creation of a number of bilateral agreements with foreign governments, including China, Japan, and Russia, to support cooperation in technology and medicine. Although these agreements were broad without specific scientific goals, they provided an important mechanism for sustained collaborations in specific areas. With the creation of the NCI Center for Global Health in 2011, NCI's global cancer research efforts gained sustained focus. Because the global cancer burden has evolved over time, increasingly impacting low- and middle-income countries, NCI's role in global cancer research remains more important than ever. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses various topics published within the issue including one on linkages between schools of thought within economics and another which argues that trust is embedded in cultural and ethnic/linguistic interactions.

Although weather has been shown to affect financial markets and financial decision making, a still open question is the channel through which such influence is exerted. By employing a multiple price list method, this paper provides direct experimental evidence that sunshine and good weather promote risk-taking behavior. This effect is present whether relying on objective measures of meteorological conditions or subjective weather assessments. Finally, employing a psychological test, we find evidence that weather may affect individual risk tolerance through its effect on mood. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Prisons offer policymakers an opportunity to address the pre-existing high prevalence of physical and mental health issues among prisoners. This notion has been widely integrated into international and national prison health policies, including the Healthy Prisons Agenda, which calls for governments to address the health needs of prisoners and safeguard their health entitlement during imprisonment, and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 concerning reducing inequality among disadvantaged populations. However, the implementation of the austerity policy in the United Kingdom since the re-emergence of the global financial crisis in 2008 has impeded this aspiration. This interdisciplinary paper critically evaluates the impact of austerity on prison health. The aforementioned policy has obstructed prisoners' access to healthcare, exacerbated the degradation of their living conditions, impeded their purposeful activities and subjected them to an increasing level of violence. This paper calls for alternatives to imprisonment, initiating a more informed economic recovery policy, and relying on transnational and national organizations to scrutinize prisoners' entitlement to health. These systemic solutions could act as a springboard for political and policy discussions at national and international forums with regard to improving prisoners' health and simultaneously meeting the aspirations of the Healthy Prisons Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tony Lawson's writings, including those in the history of economics, have an ontological orientation. Several scholars influenced by him likewise practice an ontologically oriented history of economic thought. However, the programme for this sort of history has not been explicitly articulated. In the present paper, we argue that Lawson's The nature of heterodox economics contains implicitly an ontologically oriented programme in the history of economic thought. We also illustrate the achievements of this programme by reviewing the writings on the later Austrians by Lawson and his associates. Finally, we assess the programme and its achievements in the light of Lawson's comments on the importance of doing social-scientific ontology and doing history of economic thought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the assessment of mergers and in particular on unilateral effects analysis where innovation plays an important role. The paper discusses the economic theories behind innovation, how we move from the traditional product-by-product market definition to pipeline competition and innovation competition and the concept of innovation space. The paper provides a structural analysis of unilateral effects in such markets analyzing how competition authorities should assess a transaction where the main theory of harm is based on innovation considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

R.S. Peters and Paul Hirst were the most influential figures in philosophy of education in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The claim in this paper is that their rationalist's approach was often misleading and unilluminating. They believed they were preparing children for life beyond school, but to a large extent they failed because they did not take into account the diversity of values and practices of life in general. The paper contains some reflections by Rush Rhees, a student of Wittgenstein, on some of their writings. Rhees had first met Wittgenstein when he attended his classes in 1936. They formed a lifelong friendship, and Rhees subsequently devoted much of his life to the dissemination, interpretation, and criticism of Wittgenstein's work. The reflections discussed here derive primarily from views Rhees expressed in the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between value and price, a central focus of classical political economy, has fallen into the shadows of neglect in contemporary economics. This paper builds on a critical realist framework and findings from the economics of conventions and the sociology of valuation to develop a theory of value that returns to the relation between value and price. It argues that value is best understood as a view of the price that something ought to exchange at, and that these views are shaped normatively by a host of lay theories of value and the groups and organisations that advance them. Through their effects on our assessments of value, these theories also influence the determination of prices. Although prices in open systems are determined by many interacting factors, lay theories of value play a crucial role in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper implements the competent demand-pull hypothesis that grafts the advances of the economics of knowledge on the Kaldor–Schmookler demand-pull approach. Demand-pulling effects occur only if the increase of derived demand for both capital and intermediary inputs is accompanied by knowledge interactions carried by market transactions. The competent demand-pull hypothesis rejuvenates the standard demand-pull approach through the focus on the sectoral architecture of market-embedded inter-sectoral knowledge linkages between competent users and innovative producers. We measure such market-embedded and competent influence with the derived demand for intermediates—taken from input–output tables—accounting for productivity increases downstream. The empirical evidence from dynamic panel estimations for the European Union (EU) over the period 1995–2007 suggests the presence of strong and positive competent demand impulses, but the effects vary between three EU sectoral systems, the EU core, the East and the South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the career and works of Italian economist Giovanni Dosi. It presents ideas on two of his unpublished papers as well as insight into his philosophical ideas on economics and global issues. Dosi's time spent teaching at the University of Sussex is chronicled. Topics include Dosi's impact on other economists, his contribution to the study of innovation and evolutionary economics, his mentoring of students, the theory of knowledge, the policy-oriented focus in his works, and

Within the diversification literature the concept of corporate coherence has been referred to as the ability of the firm to generate and explore synergies of various types. However, the empirical studies have insofar provided only approaches taking explicitly into account the product/market side of the phenomenon. The present paper operationalizes the concept of corporate coherence as a dynamic interconnectedness between the company's technological competencies and its downstream activities. It also provides some further empirical evidence on the widely discussed relationship between corporate diversification and performance. Specifically, it offers some (albeit rather weak) evidence that economic performance is positively influenced not by the degree of diversification per se, but by the ability of the company to increase its corporate coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper a conceptual framework for the analysis of economic learning is developed. Economic learning, by analogy with organizational learning, results in the development of economic competences, or capabilities, shared between firms, which rest on a foundation of economic resources, from which value is generated, and economic routines, through which resources are utilized. It is the mobility of resources, nd their exchange and production dynamics, long evolutionary pathways, which underpins the plausibility of a notion of economic learning. The paper elaborates this framework as a 'resource-based view' (RBV) of the economy as a whole, as an extension of the RBV of the firm. Such a framework captures the dynamics of exchange and circulation of technologies, know-how and intangible assets, as well as of tangible assets and capital goods; it is concerned with investment behavior by entrepreneurs rather than with the behavior of producers and consumers in goods and services markets. Within this resource economy framework, it is possible to generate an account of the resource dynamics that underpin production of goods and services—including resource propagation, diffusion, imitation, replication and recombination. These processes encompass evolutionary pressures, experienced through resource variation, selection and retention. Entrepreneurial initiatives take the form of resource recombinations, while resource innovation captures the creation of new economic resources, such as technological standards. Such a perspective brings into focus the resource specialization and configurations that drive real economies, within firms and between firms, that translates into enhanced or diminished performance of the economy as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public subsidies in support of new firm foundation are among the most frequently used instruments of industrial policy in the Euro zone. This paper analyses their effectiveness and efficiency vis-à-vis some features of the overall process of industry dynamics in Italian manufacturing. To this end, the survival and growth patterns of new small firms are investigated using a unique dataset on electrical and electronic engineering in Italy. As regards survival, our results confirm the findings of other studies, namely that the hazard rates are particularly high in the early stages of firm's lifecycle. As far as growth is concerned, the main finding in this study is that Gibrat's Law fails to hold in the years immediately following start-up, when smaller firms must 'rush' in order to achieve a size large enough to enhance their likelihood of survival; conversely, in later stages of a firm's lifecycle this Law cannot be ignored. These results radically question the use of subsidies as an optimal policy for the support of new entries, since the subsidy brings about a major bias in the process of market selection (including substitution and deadweight effects) and hampers the post-entry scale adjustment of newborn firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The back cover page of the journal "Oxford Economic Papers" is presented.

This paper contributes to the current debate on industrial policies, by discussing the potential scope and design principles of efficiency-enhancing industrial policies and providing a framework of assessment based on the European experience with State aid control. It argues four main points. First, there is scope for efficiency-enhancing industrial policies that address well-defined market failures. Second, the design of any industrial policy must achieve its objective in the most efficient way possible, in particular avoiding unnecessary distortions to competition. Third, European Union (EU) State aid control rules, as part of competition policy, reflect the economic principles of efficiency-enhancing industrial policies and provide a blueprint that could be applied more broadly to improve the design of industrial policies. Fourth, the pressure from industrial policies of non-EU governments comes with risks of global subsidy races that would produce a suboptimal outcome for all. Some limiting principles must therefore be found. We then illustrate how State aid control can contribute to a more efficient design of climate and industrial policies, contributing to a more efficient green transition, preserving competitive markets, and fostering industrial competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economics profession has been heavily criticised for not anticipating the economic crisis that began in 2007. And even now economists seem unable to suggest ways out of this crisis. It is widely acknowledged that the emphasis of modern economics over the last 50 years has been heavily mathematical and formalistic. The aim of this paper is to examine whether, in the wake of the crisis, academic economists have examined this emphasis on mathematics and further to investigate the extent to which they are considering changing their methodological orientation. The results of our field study show that many economists have tended to reaffirm their position and argued for the use of newer, better mathematical models in economics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

There is growing concern that presently dominant frameworks in economics no longer provide a way of adequately addressing and analysing the problems of today's globalising and rapidly changing world. This article makes a number of fundamental proposals about how we might reframe economics to move it towards a clearer focus on human well-being. It develops arguments for a change in the basic ontological proposition and for the need to see 'the economy' as an instituted process of resource allocation. From this viewpoint, economics is then the study of resource allocation decisions and processes and the forces that guide these: from a human perspective it is about understanding who gets what, under what conditions and why? The paper argues that a pluralist approach to understanding the economy is necessary for political, analytical and technical reasons. Drawing on a range of contributions to heterodox economics, the paper argues that if we are to understand current crises and challenges, then our understanding of resource allocation in society must have a broader scope than is present in mainstream economics; it proposes a rethinking of economic agency and provides a critique of rational behaviour that is founded in shifting the emphasis from a narrow conception of welfare to well-being. Acknowledging human well-being as a multidimensional concept, the relationship between the well-being of the person and the collective is reconsidered and the methodological implications for the issue of aggregation are discussed. The article seeks to serve as a point of departure for formulating new research questions, exploring the relationships between human well-being and economic development and analysing economic behaviour and interactions in such a way as to bring us closer to peoples' realities on the ground. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In standard approaches to the political economy of inequality, the income distribution and the preferences of households are taken as fixed when studying how incomes are determined within and between nations. This paper makes the income distribution endogenous by supposing that aspirational parents can socialize children into having aspirational preferences which are modelled as a reference point in income space. The model looks at the endogenous determination of the level of income, income inequality and income redistribution where the proportion of aspirational individuals evolves endogenously according to pay-offs along the equilibrium path. The paper discusses implications of the model for intergenerational mobility. It also shows how the income generation process is critical for the dynamics and welfare conclusions. Finally, it looks at some evidence from the World Values Survey in light of the theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces the topics of the papers featured in the October 1993 issue of "Economic Policy." The first paper focuses on economic reform in Sweden. It discusses the restoration of efficiency through enhanced competition in all sectors of the economy. The author of the second paper presents the idea of a new geographical identity in Europe. The author likewise proposes that all secessions be organized under the principle of distributive neutrality. The third paper concerns the republics of the former Soviet Union, many of which face spiraling inflation and shrinking output.

This paper uses data on unemployment flows and job vacancies to shed light on the phenomenal rise of unemployment in Britain, from under 3% in the 1960s to over 15% (male) unemployment in the 1980s. It finds that most of the rise is due to a fall in the demand for labour. A more expansionary fiscal policy and improved international competitiveness would have ameliorated this fall. Some of the fall, however, can also be attributed to supply pressure, which stopped wages from falling fast enough. Social security and a more relaxed attitude by the state in the provision of unemployment and supplementary benefits also contributed to the rise in unemployment, by making workers more choosey. The paper investigates whether it is possible for any given set of underlying factors to give rise to more than one equilibrium unemployment rate. If so, a temporary stimulus might release the economy from a low-level equilibrium. However the conditions necessary for this do not appear to hold in practice. Thus fiscal and monetary policy can permanently affect unemployment only if they can permanently alter aggregate demand. Microeconomic policy, like marginal employment subsidies, can, however, have a permanent effect on unemployment and the paper investigates whether there are any grounds for wishing to use such policy tools to alter the free-market equilibrium unemployment rate. There is evidence that the allocation of workers to jobs is done more efficiently at a fairly high level of overall labour demand. It follows that, unless job vacancies exceed unemployment, job creating policy measures will be beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the contribution of Nicholas Kaldor to political economy. Insights into the malfunctioning of the international monetary and economic system; Impact and influence of the work of Kaldor as an economist; Relevance of the work of Kaldor for policy-making.

Notwithstanding the growing body of evidence documenting the persistent differences in the dynamism of economies, our understanding of their drivers is still rather limited. This paper contributes to closing this gap, shedding light on the role played by labour regulation and financial development in shaping the distribution of firm growth. Using unique harmonised micro-aggregated data for eleven countries, we look beyond differences in average growth rates and examine the impact that institutional factors have across the distribution of firms, showing that improvements in a country's institutional framework create both winners and losers, even when the economy as a whole benefits. Specifically, our results are twofold. First, we find that stringent employment protection legislation is linked to a less dynamic firm growth distribution in sectors which are labour and research intensive. This is reflected in a higher share of stable firms, as well as in slower growth and contraction at the extremes of the distribution. Second, a well-functioning financial system is associated with a more dynamic firm growth distribution in finance-dependent sectors. This is driven by faster growth among the best performing firms, faster contraction of under-performing ones, and a smaller share of stable firms in the middle. Overall, these results suggest that framework conditions have a heterogeneous impact along the distribution of firm growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses problems associated with economic growth at maximal rate. The main purpose of the present article is expository. Drawing where needed on the studies cited, the authors utilize a diagrammatic device that makes it possible to exhibit, in terms of a two-commodity world, the essentials of the model by economist John von Neumann and its maximal growth properties. It is reported that in 1936 von Neumann presented orally, for subsequent publication in an Austrian mathematical periodical little known to economists, a paper that has greatly influenced economic theory up to the present time, and of which all the ramifications have perhaps not yet become fully apparent. Paradoxically, von Neumann's paper shows that for a piece of work to spark several new developments in economic theory, it is not necessary that it have any particular claim to realism in its portrayal of economic life. Subsequent developments have fully vindicated the intuitions that led von Neumann to make these drastic and arbitrary-looking simplifications.

This paper argues that the received interpretation of Sraffa’s prices as classical ‘natural prices’ that would prevail when the system is at the centre of gravitation cannot be retained. It offers an alternative interpretation in which Sraffa’s prices are completely independent of demand considerations or the condition of equilibrium of demand and supply. The requirement of the uniform rate of profits in Sraffa’s price equations is argued to be a logical consequence of the assumption that wages are uniform and fixed from outside the system. The paper provides evidence from Sraffa’s published and unpublished writings to buttress its new interpretation. It also provides answers to the major criticisms and questions raised against the new interpretation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on several books. Some of the books are "The Nature of Prejudice," by Gordon W. Allport, "Recent American History," by Leland D. Baldwin, "Science and Man's Behavior: The Contribution of Phylobiology," by Trigant Burrow, "The South African Way of Life: Values and Ideals of a Multi Racial Society," by G.H. Calpin, "Medical Research May Save Your Life!," by Gilbert Cant, "The Sea Around Us," by Rachel L. Carson, "Out of Confusion," by Manamatha Nath Chatterjee. Some other books mentioned in the list are "How to Make a Success of Your Marriage," by Eustace Chesser, "Small Business: Its Role and Its Problems," by the Committee on Economic Policy, "An Introduction to Statistics for the Social Sciences," by T.G. Connolly and W. Sluckin, "The United States Political System and How It Works," by David Cushman Coyle. Some other books mentioned in the list are "The Social Economics of Agriculture," "Patterns of Industrial Bureaucracy," "Seven Years in Tibet," by Heinrich Harrer, "Eastern and Western World," edited by S. Hofstra.

Developing an evolutionary perspective towards the changing anatomy of the banking sector reveals the enduring tensions and contradictions between spatial centralisation and the possibilities for decentralisation before, during and after the British banking crisis. The shift from banking boom to crisis in 2007 is conceptualised as a significant and on-going moment in the long-term evolution of the historical institutional–spatial dominance of London over other city-regions in Britain. The analysis demonstrates the importance of the institutional and geographical legacies of the British national political economy and variegation of capitalism established in the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in shaping contemporary geographical outcomes. Regulatory changes combined with financial innovation in the latter years of the twentieth century to create an opportunity for English regional and Scottish banks excluded from previous institutional–spatial centralisation to expand excessively and consequently several failed in the banking crisis. The paper considers the future trajectory of institutional–spatial centralisation in the banking sector amidst the continued spatial restructuring of the banking crisis, involving a re-drawing of organisational boundaries, overlapping institutional and technological changes and unprecedented uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on Britain's wider political and economic landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disagreements over the systemic implications—the future—of financialization can be traced in part to the absence of sustained attention to the role of banking firms in driving this secular shift forward. That is, the financialization literature lacks an adequate microfoundation. Accounting for the drivers of financialization processes solely at the macro level overlooks the problems of how these processes came about and whether they are sustainable. This paper addresses this explanatory gap, arguing that a key independent microeconomic driver of increasing financialization did exist: the incessant efforts by money-centre banks in the USA to break out of Depression-era restrictions on their size, activities, and markets. These banks' growth strategies in turbulent times led to an institutional (meso) shift—the rise of a megabank-centred shadow banking system—that now shapes global financial architecture even while operating in ways that are unsustainable. In short, too-big-to-manage megabanks are at the heart of the fragility and instability of the economy today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper deals with the evolution of place-based division of labour, considering in particular the dynamics of differentiated pools of knowledge that can be embedded in local production systems such as industrial districts. Drawing on conceptual framework of Marshallian industrial districts, the paper develops a model that links knowledge dynamics to possible tendencies towards either industrial progress, lock-in, transition or decline of such systems. The model is complemented by a related new statistical method that allows us to analyse the evolution of the multiplicity of production know-how nuclei inside industrial districts. The methodology is applied to two cases: the ceramics district of Stoke-on-Trent (UK) and the textile district of Prato (ITA) over the period 2005–2013. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in the area of public policy towards entrepreneurial finance has traditionally been focused on financing gaps, and whether or not government programmes successfully address or mitigate those financing gaps. More recently, a growing literature has identified externalities across different forms of entrepreneurial finance. These externalities include but are not limited to spillovers from one form of finance to another (such as from crowdfunding to venture capital, etc.), spillovers from domestic to international investment, and spillovers from early stage to late stage investment. Sometimes these externalities are positive and at other times they are negative. In this paper, we review what is known about these spillovers and highlight a need to better understand these spillovers for the optimal design of a government's portfolio of policy towards entrepreneurial finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]