Economics: Research Guide

This paper studies, both theoretically and empirically, tradable (T) and non-tradable (N) profit rates dynamics in a small, price-taker peripheral economy under foreign exchange controls and parallel exchange rates (ER). Using a state-space econometric representation of the Argentine economy for the period April 2016- April 2023, we found evidence to support three main hypotheses derived from the theoretical models. First, an official exchange rate depreciation increases tradable goods profit rates, but has no effect on non-tradeable goods profitability. Second, the rise of the financial exchange rate increases sector N’s profit rate but has no effect on T’s. Moreover, this effect depend..

We propose a new model of mixed oligopoly where a workers’ cooperative firms competes with a number of profit maximising companies. Building upon a large empirical evidence, we innovate as compared to the traditional literature on the objective function of the cooperative; moreover, its membership is treated as endogenous in the Cournot-Nash equilibrium. We show which factors may be responsible of the degeneration of the workers’ cooperative firms, which occurs when the number of members shrinks with respect to the overall employees.

In light of the dynamic challenges facing agricultural land markets, the conventional analytical frameworks fall short in capturing the intricate interplay of strategic decisions and evolving complexities. This necessitates the development of a novel method, integrating deep learning into Agent-based Modelling, to provide a more realistic and nuanced understanding of land market dynamics, enabling informed policy assessments and contributing to a comprehensive discourse on agricultural structural change. In this paper, different deep learning models are tested and evaluated, as emulators of AgriPoliS (Agricultural Policy Simulator). AgriPoliS is an agent-based model used to model the evoluti..

We present an updated, stock-flow consistent version of the 'Dystopian Schumpeter meeting Keynes' agent-based integrated assessment model. By embedding the model in a fully specified accounting system, all balance sheet items and financial flows can be explicitly and consistently tracked throughout a simulation. This allows for an improved analysis of climate change and climate policy scenarios in terms of their systemic implications for agent and sector-level balance sheet dynamics and financial stability. We provide an extensive description of the updated model, representing the most detailed outline of a model from the well-established 'Keynes + Schumpeter' family available to date. Follo..

We extend the Schumpeter meeting Keynes (K+S; see Dosi et al., 2010, 2013, 2015) to model the emergence and the dynamics of an interbank network in the money market. The extended model allows banks to directly exchange funds, while evaluating their interbank positions using a network- based clearing mechanism (NEVA, see Barucca et al., 2020). These novel adds on, allow us to better measure financial contagion and systemic risk events in the model and to study the possible interactions between micro-prudential and macro-prudential policies. We find that the model can replicate new stylized facts concerning the topology of the interbank network, as well as the dynamics of individual banksââ..

Latin American Structuralism is an important strain in development theory, one which focuses on the center-periphery dynamics arising from an international economy ridden by technological, financial and power asymmetries. This paper discusses recent Structuralist contributions around the concept of sustainable development, defined as a growth path that is sustainable in three dimensions: economic, social and environmental. The economic dimension of sustainability means that the effective rate of growth is compatible with the Balance-of-Payments constraint; the social dimension means that growth is inclusive and reduces inequality; and the environmental dimension means that it respects the ec..

The main idea of liberalism – the inviolability of “inalienable human rights” – is considered in a historical context, not as an eternal principle, but as a changing moral and legal norm. It is argued that the economic success of the West during the transition to capitalism is associated not so much with the expansion of human rights (the abolition of slavery and serfdom, guarantees of property rights and contracts), but with an increase in the rate of savings and investment resulting from the destruction of the community and growing inequality in income distribution. The expansion of human rights becomes a consequence of economic success, a kind of luxury that successful and competi..

We introduce loss aversion into a model of conspicuous consumption in networks. Agents allocate heterogeneous incomes between a conventional good and a status good. They interact over a connected network and compare their status consumption to their neighbors’ average consumption. We find that aversion to lying below the social reference point has a profound impact. If loss aversion is large relative to income heterogeneity, a continuum of conformist Nash equilibria emerges. Agents have the same status consumption, despite differences in incomes and network positions, and the equilibrium is indeterminate. Otherwise, there is a unique Nash equilibrium and status consumption depends on ..

The paper introduces an integrated approach, blending Opinion Dynamics with a Macroeconomic Agent-Based Model (OD-MABM). It aims to explore the co-evolution of climate change mitigation policy and public support. The OD-MABM links a novel opinion dynamics model that is calibrated for European countries using panel survey data to the Dystopian Schumpeter meeting Keynes model (DSK). Opinion dynamics regarding stringent climate policy arise from complex interactions among social, political, economic and climate systems where a household's opinion is affected by individual economic conditions, perception of climate change, industry-led (mis-)information and social influence. We examine 133 polic..

We incorporate tax evasion to a demand-led macrodynamic model of capacity utilization and output growth rate. The frequency of tax evaders is endogenously time-varying, driven by imitation-augmented satisficing evolutionary dynamics involving pecuniary and non-pecuniary factors reflecting the distribution of tax morale across taxpayers. Consequently, the microdiversity of tax compliance behavior and the macrodynamics of economic activity are co-evolutionarily coupled. Matching empirical evidence, long-run heterogeneity in tax compliance is a stable evolutionary equilibrium, and the higher the median tax morale, the lower the frequency of tax evaders. Other comparative statics matching empiri..

Post-Marx, social scientists have tended to define ‘labour’ by reference to working for others in return for a wage, rather than to a harmonious Durkheimian-style co-dependency. This mini-review of recent anthropological literature considers whether, in a world where the ‘standard employment contract’ is dwindling and many are out of work, ‘division of labour’ has any continuing relevance.

Scientific publishing has become a complex economic engine intertwined with prestige and power. While publicly funded research fuels prestigious journals owned by private entities, the success of scientists and institutions becomes intimately tied to a cycle of increasing publication costs and limited access. The initial section of this article employs a satirical analogy, drawing parallels between the scientific publishing industry and the familiar framework of social media platforms. It offers a succinct historical overview, elucidating the progression of the present publishing structure. The final section delves into the paradoxical realities of this system. (1) Nation-funded research, pu..

Two of the canonical approaches in regional studies are global production networks (GPNs) and evolutionary economic geography (EEG). Recent geopolitical and economic events have shown the importance of both theories in explaining regional economic change. Yet they remain discrete and separate, and there is now consensus that, together, they could explain more. A vibrant debate on the relationship between these two approaches is needed, starting with identifying unifying themes and areas of analytical difference, to develop a research agenda for future work which can better explain regional change.

This paper aims at sketching what should be, in terms of actors, objects and structures, the evolution of the existing social dialogue in order to contribute to triggering and managing the radical changes needed in the field of environment. Our elaboration takes place in a context of little, if any, existing reflection on the connection between the functionning of the labour markets and the urgent changes needed in production and consumption, beyond the so-called "green" or "greening" jobs and the idea of a corporate social and environmental responsibility. We proceed in three steps. We start from the French situation and briefly asset recent changes (1), then introduce a normative theoretic..

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the integration of unpaid care-giving in the household into short- and long-term macroeconomic theory and, in particular, the theoretical structure of production on the supply-side of the economy. The ambition of the project is to furnish a general theoretical representation of how unpaid care giving and its (gendered) social structure contributes to the technical conditions of production in the sphere of marketed output. In so doing, it aims to provide macro theorists with an apparatus that allows consistent description of both short-term (levels of activity) and long-term (rates of growth) macro outcomes in a manner that routinely integrates fe..

Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a modeling tool that has increased its use in different sciences as well as in economics. Among othe reasons, this is due to the extension of the complex systems paradigm indifferent sciences and the increase in multidisciplinary work. This phenomenon manifests itself in the social sciences from the realiation that social organizations are interactive systems of multiple agents, with feedback, reflexivity, and non-linear effects on the rest of the system. The way in which information is structured is conditional on the paradigms applied and the problem addressed. Since economies are assumed to becomplex adaptive systems, theories and their representations must b..

James Buchanan advocated that societies should be based on a social contract. He rejected anarchy, seeing it as a “Hobbesian jungle” that calls for government intervention to maintain social order. He also opposed to theories of spontaneous order. These views led to debates about the compatibility of Buchanan’s works with classical liberalism, and even with democracy. This paper contributes to this discussion by exploring the development of Buchanan's views on anarchy from a historical viewpoint. We argue that Buchanan's earlier works contain a theory of spontaneous cooperation, and that Buchanan held to this theory until the 1970s. Then, the deteriorating conditions of American societ..

Climate change has sparked a vivid discussion on its socio-economic risks, capturing the attention of academic circles and policymakers. While it is widely argued that a low-carbon transition should be socially just, the precise criteria that policies must adhere to, in order to be universally accepted as `just', remain insufficiently defined. We draw on relevant theories of distributive justice to provide a formal definition of a just transition. According to our definition, just transition policies should minimise costs for the most vulnerable groups and also take into account the uneven responsibility for causing damages.

This lecture explores the evolution of economics as a discipline during 1870-1920, focusing on the critical question of wealth creation from knowledge. It highlights the tension between understanding economic structures and their transformative growth, with special attention to Alfred Marshall and Joseph Schumpeter's insights on the evolving nature of capitalism and innovation's role in economic development. By contrasting their views — Schumpeter's emphasis on disruptive innovation and Marshall's on gradual change — the lecture underscores the significance of innovation and knowledge in driving economic transformation. This discussion aims to illuminate the complex relationshi..

Economic theory often assumes that traders sell or buy within a market but do not organise it: organising remains separate from trading, in an implicit dualism. This paper argues that we never see organising-trading dualism outside a hypothetical ideal – what we see is duality, whereby organising and trading are distinct but entwined. While the voluntary exchange of property rights is regulated centrally, many details of market trade are decided locally by traders. Such semi‑decentralised organising generates other dualities, including stability-change, continuity-creativity and standardisation-differentiation. A duality perspective can encompass the apparent contradictions cal..

What gives complexity economics its identity is the relationships and hierarchy among its ontological, epistemological, methodological, and conceptual aspects. This paper explores each one of these aspects and their interplays, to precise the contours of the complexity approach. This paper aims to stress the coherent articulation and architecture of these four dimensions. In particular, ontology matters, it comes first as an indispensable pre-scientific analysis that conditions the adoption of an adequate criterion of scientific explanation with methodological consequences in terms of relevant tools and key concepts. Reflections on the concept of emergence are particularly symptomatic of the..

We extend the Schumpeter meeting Keynes (K+S; see Dosi et al., 2010, 2013, 2015) to model the emergence and the dynamics of an interbank network in the money market. The extended model allows banks to directly exchange funds, while evaluating their interbank positions using a network-based clearing mechanism (NEVA, see Barucca et al., 2020). These novel adds on, allow us to better measure financial contagion and systemic risk events in the model and to study the possible interactions between micro-prudential and macro-prudential policies. We find that the model can replicate new stylized facts concerning the topology of the interbank network, as well as the dynamics of individual banks' bala..

The essay begins with Hayek's grappling with the equilibrium framework as the starting point for the analysis of cyclical fluctuations and the fundamental methodological challenge raised by Lowe's attack against the construction of business-cycle theory within the system of general economic equilibrium. It then shows that Hayek elaborated his Austrian theory of the business cycle on the innovative combination of five building blocks: (1) Wicksell's theory of the cumulative process where price changes are caused by the discrepancy between the market rate and the natural (equilibrium) rate of interest; (2) Mises's theory of money and credit in which banks artificially lowering the money (marke..

We contribute to the long-standing debate on the Italian North–South divide by assessing the impact of public spending on social infrastructure - including education, healthcare, childcare and social assistance - on the gender employment gap over the last two decades, using a P-SVAR analysis. These investments, while not explicitly targeting women, may increase both their labour supply - by reducing the unpaid care work burden - and pro-women labour demand through job creation in care sectors that predominantly employ women. Our research reveals a positive and long-lasting impact of social infrastructure expenditure on private investment, GDP and employment in all areas of the country..

What does a deep structural causal explanation for uneven development deliver ? To answer this question, we must ask: How are relatively deeper scientific explanations to be distinguished from superficial or shallower ones? Furthermore, what roles can counterfactual analysis play in social sciences and policy making which can help overcome uneven and unequal development? For a competent, morally motivated scientific policy maker in Development Economics, it is important to avoid inflicting harm and promote the common good. The purpose of this paper is to clarify how the idea of depth can play a role in finding the more "approximately true" explanation through causal comparisons and counterfa..

We define Trans-development as an overcoming of maldevelopment under capitalism towards building a planetary ecological civilization that is equitable, life-affirming and can ensure flourishing of humans along with nature and other species. How can such a planetary ecological counterhegemony be established in the Global South? I answer this question through exploring a fairly comprehensive strategy for development as freedom beyond the ecological and other crises-filled capitalism in the 21st century. Accordingly, I try to find a way to integrate useful markets with the key characteristics of the Enabling Ecological Trans-developmental State(EETDS) for the 21st Century in order to build a gr..

The belief in meritocracy – that advancement is based solely on individual capabilities and hard work – remains ingrained in organizations despite evidence it is a flawed concept that perpetuates gender and other social inequalities. Critical streams of research have highlighted the ideological character of meritocracy discourse, its entrenched nature and acceptance as ‘common-sense'. Less is known about how this ‘meritocracy myth' is maintained, that is, how this hegemonic discourse retains its potency in day-to-day talk in organizations. We argue that leaders, given their active discursive roles and opportunities to establish and control discourses, play an important but underexami..

Sukuk are considered to be hybrid bonds; they can be splited into two main features of stocks and bonds. They are similar to stocks, they precise the type of partnerships and owners of Sukuk for a specific asset or project for finance, in which the Sukuk have been issued. In this paper we will discuss the main different features between the Sukuk and conventional bonds by conducting an appropriate econometric model. Sukuk are new assets in the islamic finance and they are fastly growing in the market, especially with people who follow shari'a law, as they aim to find an asset such as conventional bonds. The paper will use a multiple regression model to see how major macroeconomics variables ..

Using a critical approach, this article analyses the statements regulating the subsumption of the financial logic on the logic of production of wealth (goods and services), then it considers the perception of this subsumption by employees (interpretative approach) and finally it exposes other logics of production (inventive approach). The forces which push to maintain, in disregard of all justice, rules of appropriation of the means of production which are totally advantageous to the shareholders (see Article (C-1-a) Critique of the shareholder and Marxist discourse on the processes of acquisition and enrichment) are certainly the same as those which subsume the logic of production and provi..

The first characteristic of the capitalist is his objective of monetary accumulation. For this purpose, the first thing to be done is the acquisition of the means of production (which are then profit-making). The second characteristic of capitalism are the rules, the ways of acquiring its means of production for profit. The first characteristic leads to the exploitation of workers, a subject which has been widely studied. The second characteristic leads to the increasing concentration of wealth, a concentration which has been widely observed without considering the rules of acquisition which are the cause, as if they were self-evident. This characteristic also ensures the monopoly of acquisi..