Avner Offer Research Articles

Avner Offer, Understanding the Private-Public Divide: Markets, Governments and Time Horizons

Avner Offer, Understanding the Private-Public Divide: Markets, Governments and Time Horizons

The Signal of Regard: William Godwin’s Correspondence Networks

ABSTRACTThe letter is a gift of attention, in which the writer seeks to communicate regard by means of a signal crafted uniquely for the recipient. The concept of regard, as developed by the economic historian Avner Offer, indicates both attention and approbation. Adam Smith took it to be the driver of human exchange in emotions as much as in commerce. The exchange of regard captures the logic of a prodigious correspondent like William Godwin. The personalization of the gift signal is an attempt to convey an obligation to reciprocate. Godwin was attuned to this obligation and worked hard to fulfil it—with varying degrees of success. His correspondents encompassed almost every significant literary and political figure on the political left from the era of the French Revolution to the 1832 Reform Act. The children of the Godwin household were nourished by bonds of reciprocity, which they developed and extended when, in adulthood, they dispersed across Europe. The letters of Godwin and his correspondents embody a larger conversation, allowing intimacy to be preserved at a distance. The signals they once created for each other may now be received by us.

Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg. The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn.

Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg. The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn.

The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn, by Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg

The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn, by Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg

The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn by Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg

The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn by Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg

Avner Offer & Gabriel Söderberg, The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and The Market Turn

Abstract. Avner Offer and Gabriel Soderberg have written a history of the Swedish National Bank’s Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel that considers its establishment, important administrative figures, and ideological change. The book frames the history of 20 th century economic thought into liberal Swedish Social Democracy and neo-liberal economics. Keywords. Nobel factor, Nobel prize, Social democracy. JEL. B10, L66, Q18.

The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn. By Avner Offer and Gabriel Soderberg

<i>The Nobel Factor: The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and the Market Turn</i>. By Avner Offer and Gabriel Soderberg

The magic market and the Nobel turn: a review article

This is a Review Article of The Nobel Factor—The Prize in Economics, Social Democracy, and The Market Turn by Avner Offer & Gabriel Soderberg. The authors make an excellent case for tempering the individual, welfare-based, market-mechanism dominated orthodox economics, buttressed by ill-conceived bracketing of a Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, with the social democracy of political economy. A vast array of relevant literature, both technical and more-common journalistic sources, is harnessed to make their case. This reviewer believes the authors have succeeded in their aims—if with qualifications.

Book Review: The Nobel Factor by Avner Offer and Gabriel Söderberg

Avner Offer and Gabriel Soderberg The Nobel Factor, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016; xv1 1 +323 pp.: ISBN 9780691166032 (hbk), 24.95[pounds sterling] Avner Offer and Gabriel Soderberg pose the question, Is the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel (more often referred to, albeit incorrectly, as the Nobel Prize in Economics) more like the Nobel Prize in physics or in literature? The Nobel raised the profile of economics, in particular economics of a neoliberal variety. But it also demonstrated that the discipline of economics does not hang together as a consistent set of scientific 'laws'. As Offer and Soderberg put it, On three occasions [the prize] ... was given to scholars whose doctrines were incompatible with each other. Prize winners have dismissed the work of other prize winners ... Eight NPWs [Nobel Prize Winners] have argued that the core doctrines of economics are wrong, and three others have expressed reservations, (p. 260) The authors point out that in the hard sciences this lack of a central core of theory upon which scholars can agree would be unthinkable. The conclusion that Offer and Soderberg draw us to in this book is that economics is not a dismal science. It is not science at all. Offer and Soderberg demonstrate that if the Nobel exposed fundamental tensions at the heart of economics, it nevertheless served to give the discipline a heightened profile. Through a series of Bass diagrams, populated with data relating to the publications of Nobel winners, the authors demonstrate that the prize invariably been awarded at the peak of its winners' publishing careers. Its award codifies, Soloman-like, what counts as excellence within economics (pp. 125-148). Cast in the reflected glory of the prizes that were established by Alfred Nobel, the economics prize, as 'Peter Nobel, Alfred's great-great nephew, later wrote ...: has nestled itself in and is awarded as if it were a Nobel Prize. But it is a PR coup by the economists to improve their reputation' (p. 103). And given the lavish ostentation and broad publicity that accompanies the prize's award, with full page spreads in the financial and popular press, the coup seems to have been a success. Offer and Soderberg demonstrate that, interestingly, only a few Nobel winners have had 'staying power' in terms of citations after the award of the prize. Milton Friedman is one example (pp. 132-133). And just occasionally, a Nobel restored a flagging citation count as in the case of Friedrich Hayek (whose Bass diagram therefore enjoys two curves, one pre- and one post-Nobel). But, of course, the Nobel Prize cannot recognize the achievements of those economists who pre-dated the award of the prize. Offer and Soderberg show that year-on-year, Keynes performs well against the top Nobel Prize winners, judged by citations, and Adam Smith and Karl Marx dwarf even the highest cited prize winners such as Friedman and Hayek. Yet Marx would not have been awarded the Nobel. And even J. K. Galbraith's economics was too radical for the committee. Nevertheless, economics is a broad church and so Offer and Soderberg investigate what aspects of economics the Nobel validated. The headline news is that the Nobel favours market-liberal (to use Offer and Soderberg's terminology, readers of Capital and Class will read for this neoliberal') economics. However, this is not because the majority of the prizes are awarded to economists of a market-liberal bent. …

HughRockoff, America's economic way of war: war and the US economy from the Spanish‐American War to the Persian Gulf War (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Pp. xii + 357. 4 boxes. 29 figs. 18 tabs. ISBN 9780521676731 Pbk. £50)

The Economic History ReviewVolume 66, Issue 4 p. 1223-1224 Book Review Rockoff, Hugh, America's economic way of war: war and the US economy from the Spanish-American War to the Persian Gulf War ( New York: Cambridge University Press, 2012. Pp. xii + 357. 4 boxes. 29 figs. 18 tabs. ISBN 9780521676731 Pbk. £50) Avner Offer, Avner Offer All Souls College, OxfordSearch for more papers by this author Avner Offer, Avner Offer All Souls College, OxfordSearch for more papers by this author First published: 09 October 2013 https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0289.12034_30Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume66, Issue4November 2013Pages 1223-1224 RelatedInformation

Teaching &amp; Learning Guide for: The British Nutrition Transition and its Histories

Teaching &amp; Learning Guide for: The British Nutrition Transition and its Histories

THE FISCAL POLITICS OF SAVINGS AND SHARE OWNERSHIP IN BRITAIN, 1970–1980

ABSTRACTBetween 1907 and 1984 unearned income in Britain was taxed at higher rates than wages and salaries, a bias that was supported intermittently by limiting shareholders’ dividends and attempting to tax capital wealth. Although apparently accepted as part of the fiscal order until 1979, Margaret Thatcher's government was able to complete the dismantling of the bias in favour of earned income by 1984. This article examines the events and politics of the 1970s to explain the volte-face. The article initially charts the role of political prejudice against rentiers in maintaining higher taxes on unearned income in the context of 1970s economic turmoil and inflation. The article then considers the 1970s fiscal shift from the perspective of equity shareholdings, juxtaposing the use of tax and dividend restraint as a mechanism for control of investment capital with pressure for wider share ownership, particularly for employees. Finally, Avner Offer's theories on prudent financial behaviour are imported as a backdrop for the trend away from tax relief for long-term, illiquid savings towards market-driven incentives. Ultimately, the article detects a change of approach in both main political parties which in turn creates a more stable environment for future policy formation.

Explaining Trends in Body Weight: Offer's Rational and Myopic Choice vs Elias' Theory of Civilizing Processes

Avner Offer argues that the current increase in average body weight arises from a problem of self-control. Self-control is a central concept in Norbert Elias' theory of civilizing processes, but Offer rejects this theory as an explanation for the trend. I show in this paper that Offer's rejection of this theory is based on invalid arguments. Furthermore, considering the empirical data, I demonstrate that the new environment of abundance is not accompanied by a general decline in self-control, as Offer argues, but leads to a differentiated increase in new forms of self-control, as can be explained by Elias' theory. Like Offer, I argue for an explanation for the trends in body weight from an anthropometric historical perspective. The starting point, however, should be social differentiation. Finally, I clarify the concept of self-control, as this is a debated issue.

The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain since 1950. By Avner Offer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. xviii + 454 pp.)

The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain since 1950. By Avner Offer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. xviii + 454 pp.)

BOOK REVIEWS

Books reviewed in this issue. Visions of America PAUL AUERBACHGood Capitalism, Bad Capitalism and the Economics of Growth and Prosperity, by William J. Baumol, Robert E. Litan and Carl J. Schramm.The Challenge of Affluence Self‐control and Well‐being in the United States and Britain since 1950, by Avner Offer. A great world disorder Andrew Gamble Global Challenges for Leviathan: A Political Philosophy of Nuclear Weapons and Global Warming, by Furio Cerutti. Let's do it by lot Andrew Blick The Athenian Option: Radical Reform for the House of Lords, by Anthony Barnett and Peter Carty. A People's Parliament, by Keith Sutherland. The lawyer's responsibility Caroline Fournet Torture Team: Deception, Cruelty and the Compromise of Law, by Philippe Sands. The journalist's responsibilities John Lloyd Why Democracies Need an Unlovable Press, by Michael Schudson. Red in tooth and claw Dick Pountain The Predator State: How Conservatives Abandoned the Free Market and Why Liberals Should Too, by James K. Galbraith. The quandaries of the Nazi empire Richard Mullender Hitler's Empire: Nazi Rule in Occupied Europe, by Mark Mazower. The colour‐coding of American elections Gianfranco Pasquino Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State: Why Americans Vote the Way They Do, by Andrew Gelman. Organising warring parties John Ramsden Parties at War: Political Organisation in Second World War Britain, by Andrew Thorpe. The United States since Vietnam: a life on the wire Vassilis K. Fouskas World Out of Balance: International Relations and the Challenge of American Primacy, by Stephen G. Brooks and William C. Wohlforth.

The Challenge of Affluence: Self Control and Wellbeing in the United States and Britain since 1950. By AVNER OFFER

The Challenge of Affluence: Self Control and Wellbeing in the United States and Britain since 1950. By AVNER OFFER

The Challenge of Affluence: Self‐Control and Well‐Being in the United States and Britain since 1950. By Avner Offer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. xviii+454. $45.00 (cloth); $25.00 (paper).

Previous articleNext article No AccessBook ReviewThe Challenge of Affluence: Self‐Control and Well‐Being in the United States and Britain since 1950. By Avner Offer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. xviii+454. $45.00 (cloth); $25.00 (paper).Bruce G. CarruthersBruce G. CarruthersNorthwestern University Search for more articles by this author Northwestern UniversityPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by American Journal of Sociology Volume 113, Number 5March 2008 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/588225 Views: 22Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref © 2008 by The University of Chicago Press. All rights reserved. For permission to reuse, please contact [email protected]PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Ian Loader, Richard Sparks Beyond Lamentation: Towards a Democratic Egalitarian Politics of Crime and Justice, SSRN Electronic Journal (Jan 2012).https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2158171

The moral consequences of economic growth – By Benjamin M. Friedman

The Economic History ReviewVolume 61, Issue 1 p. 271-272 The moral consequences of economic growth – By Benjamin M. Friedman Avner Offer, Avner Offer All Souls College, OxfordSearch for more papers by this author Avner Offer, Avner Offer All Souls College, OxfordSearch for more papers by this author First published: 02 January 2008 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2007.00419_32.xRead the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Volume61, Issue1February 2008Pages 271-272 RelatedInformation

The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Great Britain since 1950. By Avner Offer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. xviii, 454. $45.00, cloth; $25.00, paper.

The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Great Britain since 1950. By Avner Offer. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006. Pp. xviii, 454. 25.00, paper. - Volume 67 Issue 4

The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain since 1950 - By Avner Offer

The Challenge of Affluence: Self-Control and Well-Being in the United States and Britain since 1950 - By Avner Offer