The new EP Library Catalogue allows you to search the EP collection for:
- Journals, books and articles in paper or electronic format
- EPRS and Policy Department publications
Abstract by the authors: Economic theories are often encoded in equilibrium models that cannot be directly estimated because they lack features that, while inessential to the theoretical mechanism that is central to the specific theory, would be essential to fit the data well. We propose an econometric approach that confronts such theories with data through the lens of a time series model that is a good description of macroeconomic reality. Our approach explicitly acknowledges misspecification as well as measurement error. We highlight in two applications that household heterogeneity greatly helps to fit aggregate data, independently of whether or not nominal rigidities are considered.
Abstract by the author: Economic theory and institutional approaches lack a close connection. Efforts to develop an analysis of institutions within a neo-classical framework have shown serious limitations. A stronger relationship could be developed with classical and post-Keynesian economics, that provides the conditions for developing a unified theoretical framework in which to place the economic analysis of social institutions.
Abstract by the author: Frank Hahn was both a Keynesian economist, active in policy debates, and an economic theorist. Placing his work in the context of attempts to make theoretical sense of Keynesian economics, this article explores the way Hahn used abstract general equilibrium theory to draw conclusions relevant to policy in an ‘imperfect’ world that does not conform to the assumptions made in the theory. Hahn’s rigorous approach to theorizing as the route to understanding is assessed in relation to the different approaches of Robert Lucas, Milton Friedman, Paul Samuelson and Axel Leijonhufvud.
Abstract by the authors: The following is the transcript of a debate, entitled ‘Pensare un’alternativa’ (Thinking of an Alternative), between Olivier Blanchard, former Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund and a leading exponent of mainstream macroeconomics, and Emiliano Brancaccio, author of the book Anti-Blanchard and advocate of ‘The Economists’ Warning’ against European deflationary policies. The debate examines, from two different theoretical perspectives, the global great recession, the Eurozone crisis, the effects of austerity and deflation, increased social inequality, and political conflict. It took place at the Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Foundation in Milan, Italy, on 19 December 2018, and was moderated by the journalist Pietro Raitano.
Abstract by the author: The articles in this issue cover various aspects of economic theory, practice, and policy: and the important link between these categories, not least the importance of having realistic and appropriate theory, based on – and able to analyse – actual practice, the better to inform the process of policy making.
Abstract by the author: Here I address several questions raised by Ajit Sinha's book A Revolution in Economic Theory: The Economics of Piero Sraffa. I focus on the contribution brought by the book, and the way in which it is positioned against other contributions, especially in what concerns the methodology presupposed in Sraffa's contribution, within what can be termed a Sraffian Methodenstreit, given the role of theory and history in the controversies surrounding Sraffian analysis. In so doing, I address the geometrical approach advanced by Sraffa, which is emphasised by Sinha in his critique of interpretations of Sraffa drawing on the notion of equilibrium. I also address the connections between Sraffa and Ludwig Wittgenstein, which are discussed by Sinha, taking into special consideration what Wittgenstein saw as Sraffa's ethnological or anthropological approach, and its implications for the use of Sraffa's methodology in economics.
Abstract by the author: This essay develops three central points: 1. Buddhist economics (BE), like most religion-based economics, is not only an extrapolation from the basic texts but is also how BE has recently been practiced. Examples of that practice include the application of the concept of "Gross National Happiness" in Bhutan, the implementation of a "sufficiency economy" in Thailand, and action based on the principle of the Unification of King and People in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 2. BE as a concept comes originally from an outside understanding of Buddhism that entails perspectives that text-based BE might not have. 3. Buddhism, as such, is at odds with standard textbook economics (STE). BE thus potentially forms its own economic paradigm but BE as practiced often coexists with STE. Discussing these points will hopefully result in seeing that there is considerable diversity within BE and that there is such a thing as real, existing BE that truly does matter.
Abstract by the author: Ordoliberalism is a German tradition of economic and political theory whose influence on the post-2008 European landscape has been substantial. Ordoliberalism professes a strong state to safeguarding competition against monopolies, argues for a strict anti-inflationary policy and for the rigid enforcement of debtor obligations. This reflects the early ordoliberalism’s deep concern with the political and economic crises in Germany during the interwar years. The article demonstrates that early ordoliberalism was simultaneously deeply concerned with religious issues related to social order. Rather than seeing religious and economic engagements as two separate spheres, the article shows their deep interrelatedness in early ordoliberal thought. More specifically, the article seeks to challenge the established view that the religious inspirations of early ordoliberalism were predominantly Catholic, as reflected in the Thomist notion of ordo. By contrast, the article argues that ordo was largely an invention of the post-war strategy of the alliance with Catholic social thought and that the deeper concern of the early ordoliberals was predominantly with Lutheran Evangelical Ordnung.
Abstract by the author: This article expands Michel Foucault's genealogy of liberalism and neoliberalism by analysing the concept of competition. It addresses four key liberal conceptions of competition in turn: the idea of competition as a destructive but progressive and thus necessary force (roughly 1830–90); economic theories of market equilibrium that theorize competition mathematically (1870 onwards); socio-biological ideas of competition as something natural (1850–1900); and sociological arguments that see competition as adding value to the social (1900–20). From this starting point, the article considers the ways in which three main trajectories of neoliberal thought that emerged from the early 1920s onwards – Austrian, German and American – developed and responded to these conceptualizations of competition. In conclusion, it is argued that this history of the concept of competition leads to a new understanding of the tensions that lie at the heart of neoliberal thought, and which are largely missing from Foucault's account.
Abstract by the author: In 2002, Professor Luigi L. Pasinetti gave a keynote address at the Raffaele Mattioli Foundation and Library in honour of their acquisition of a rare third edition of François Quesnay’s Tableau Économique. This lecture subsequently appeared as a chapter in Italian in the conference volume edited by Giancarlo De Vivo in 2009. In honour of Luigi Pasinetti’s 90th birthday, Professor Coffman has offered the first English translation of Pasinetti’s essay on Quesnay, which she also introduces by reflecting on its rhetorical strategy, argumentative structure, and Pasinetti’s use of Quesnay to critique mainstream neoclassical economics. She ends her introduction by drawing attention to the place of the Tableau within contemporary debates about taxation and the optimal scale and capacities of the state.
| Data Protection Notice | Cookie Policy & Inventory |
 |
 |
 |
Journals on all devices |
Books, articles, EPRS publications & more |
Newspapers on all devices |