Discipline Of Economics Research Articles

The emerging discipline of public economics in postwar France

After the Second World War, optimal pricing in the public sector became an important topic internationally. The welfare enhancing properties of marginal pricing were a key concern, yet, the technical computation of marginal costs also proved difficult. It was unclear how to compute marginal costs, mainly in view of the discontinuities of the cost function. In the context of post-war reconstruction and of practically implementing a marginal pricing policy, this technical debate was closely linked in France to the “Calais traveller paradox” and the emergence of a new generation of engineer-economists contributing at the same time to the theoretical debate and to the practical implementation of marginal cost pricing. Maurice Allais and Marcel Boiteux, as well as Gabriel Dessus and Roger Hutter contributed to developing national solutions that also spread theoretical thinking internationally. This debate connects with the history of economic calculus and the rise of public economics, as well as the possibility of computing optimal welfare enhancing prices in the face of market failures.

Appetizers in development economics

First paragraph: In Edible Economics, South Korean development economist Ha-Joon Chang argues against the neoliberal philosophy that “has normalized self-serving behavior” (p. xxii). He contends that the discipline of economics is a determinant factor in idea creation and in the organization of our lives, and therefore it is useful to understand how economic theory translates into reality. He also believes that a broad understanding of economics can help “make our society a better place to live for us and the coming generations” (p. xxiv). Food, the author admits, does not fit seamlessly into this objective and is instead a device to reel in the attention of the reader before expanding on development economic theory. The marriage between personal food stories and economics can sometimes feel disjointed; the reader may wonder how a chapter beginning with the history of rye leads to Otto von Bismarck’s establishment of the welfare state. But, with Chang’s palpable gregariousness, love of food, and general self-awareness, his essays succeed in making economics more “edible.” . . .

The Hierarchies of Global Finance: An Anti-Disciplinary Research Agenda

ABSTRACT This article critically assesses the economics discipline’s capacity to capture the structural features and political economy implications of contemporary financial processes in the global South, with a particular focus on South Africa. Delving into the complexities of financial processes in South Africa, the article proposes an alternative, anti-disciplinary framework for understanding drivers and impacts of financial processes. We show how such an approach cannot simply be about adding social or political perspectives to mainstream economics, but rather about interrogating how we think about economic systems themselves, drawing on a variety of theoretical and disciplinary insights. This is about taking an open and holistic approach that centers history, power, structures, and social relations. With an issue such as finance, critical political economy approaches from a variety of disciplines allow us to see that finance cannot be separated from the wider economy or from the social relations it forms part of today and historically. This becomes particularly clear when considering how racial, gender and class relations both impact and are impacted by financial processes in South Africa. We conclude with recommendations for studies of changing financial processes globally and in the global South.

A novel multi-dimensional analysis of reply, response and rejoinder articles: When discipline meets time

The purpose of this study is to profile the genre of reply, response, and rejoinder articles (3R) on a corpus of 480 texts sourced from the disciplines of History, Linguistics, Biology, Psychology, Chemistry, Physics, Politics, and Economics. A novel multi-dimensional model based on 124 linguistic features was developed on five functional dimensions: i. Literate vs. oral production, ii. Non-technical stance vs. specialized informational density, iii. Ethos-oriented non-narrative vs. logos-oriented narrative concerns, iv. Elaborated persuasion, and v. Overt expression of evaluation. The findings concerning disciplinary and diachronic variations across dimensions suggest: i. provided that 3R articles are heavily stance-loaded, relatively informative, and eloquently persuasive forms of academic discourse in nature, the genre of 3R in soft disciplines is literal, non-technical attitudinal, ethos-oriented non-narrative, elaborately persuasive and overtly evaluative, whereas it is oral, specialized information-dense narrative, logos-oriented persuasive and evaluative in hard disciplines; ii. the dimensions of evaluation, informativeness, and persuasiveness are the functional constants of the 3R genre across disciplines and time, despite significant discrepancies detected in the functional representation of oral/literate style and elaborated persuasion. These findings are relevant to the study of disciplinary rhetoric and may contribute to advanced genre pedagogy in EAP, ESP and EPP studies.

Hidden female figures in the organisation for European economic co-operation, and the reconstruction of Europe after WWII

The study of female economists during the post-World War II reconstruction of Western Europe is as yet unresearched. A small but substantial collection of publications discusses the role of male economists within the European institutions created after World War II. However, none of them analyzes contributions made by female economists. This paper aims to shed some light on female economists who participated in the reconstruction of Europe through their work in the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), which was created by the Marshall Plan following the Conference of Sixteen (Conference for European Economic Co-operation). Firstly, we searched for names of female economists who served the institution, hoping that some relevant hidden female figures in the OEEC would resurface. Secondly, through oral history archives and personal documents, we reconstructed the biographies of three female economists who contributed, in different ways, to the activities of the OEEC: Miriam Camp, Florence Kirlin, and Vera Cao Pinna. By comparing these three figures, in terms of their educational and social backgrounds, their narrative, as well as their connections with international networks of experts, we defined their similarities and differences in order to identify the main characteristics that allowed them, even if at different levels and with different roles, to participate in international diplomacy and technical support deployed in the construction and diffusion of the idea of the peaceful, united, and prosperous Europe which we live in today. Tracing back the presence of women in OEEC, this article aims to bring some light on: what did being a woman economist entails in the after WWII in the newborn European institutions and what did it mean in terms of the kind of work and experience a woman could be doing within the process of professionalisation of the economics discipline in the international organisations. We are interested in describing the experiences and self-perceptions of women economists working in male dominated international institutions. Female international thinkers and experts, well known in their own time, were largely overlooked and neglected by scholars, politics, and international history later.

Factors in the development of smart villages regarding tourism in the Baltic states

PurposeThis study aims to examine the nature of smart villages and the factors in their development in relation to the tourism industry in the Baltic states.Design/methodology/approachThis research employed theoretical literature analysis to conceptualize the factors contributing to smart village development, discourse analysis (analysis of good smart village branding practice), a qualitative approach and descriptive analysis to analyse semi-structured expert survey e-questionnaires to identify the nature of smart villages, as well as to analyse factors in the development of smart villages in relation to tourism in the Baltic states. Specialists who represent tourism, other businesses and the discipline of economics were chosen as experts.FindingsThe experts indicated that the development of smart villages can contribute to essential and important factors in the development of tourism such as the growth of a creative economy, the development of community culture, values, traditions and symbols, the production of local food, the establishment of unique natural, cultural and recreational objects, as well as improvement in infrastructure and the introduction of new technologies.Originality/valueThe study contributes to an understanding of the development of smart villages, given the important factors that were examined. The smart village approach is a relatively new approach to sustainable rural development and tourism promotion. In Europe, it is a better-known approach to developing local areas and tourism, yet each region has its own distinctive features.

Digital innovations in tourism: the perceptions of stakeholders

PurposeThis study aims to examine the main aspects of innovation development regarding digital tools used in the tourism industry in a local area.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative approach and the descriptive analysis technique was employed to analyse completed semi-structured expert survey questionnaires created in Google Forms. The aim is to examine the opportunities and potential for digital innovation in tourism in the Baltic region. Specialists representing tourism and hotel businesses, the guide profession as well as the disciplines of business and economics were selected as experts.FindingsThe experts indicated that digital marketing was very important for tourism development, and it is still considered a new field of science with huge potential. The research results showed that when introducing/developing digital innovations in a local area, tourism companies were faced with low-quality or no data analytics at all. In addition, long-term maintenance of digital tools was not considered, and the investment outweighed the benefits of implementing the technologies.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the development of digital innovation and the identification of problems in a local area.

“Economic Education Must Be for the Good of the People and the Planet.” Interview with Sonal Raghuvanshi, Economists for Future

In August 2018, a series of climate strikes were organized across schools under the banner of Fridays for Future. Later, this sense of urgency was supported by the academic and scientific communities at large, which called upon governments around the world to reduce global carbon emissions (the Scientists for Future movement). Within the economics discipline, a network of students and scholars from several countries joined forces–advocating for change and aiming to mobilize economists and the influence they have, to help arrest the planetary emergency and giving rise to Economists for Future, a movement that believes the economics community must become a driving force toward a just and equitable post-carbon world.

A Case for Design and Speculative Economics: Leveraging Interdisciplinary Pressure to Disrupt Economic Orthodoxy

This article provides historical context for the current state of discourse in academic economics and an assessment of disparate and viable heterodox economic methodologies to support a proposal for establishing the disciplines of design economics and speculative economics. Coherent, modern, and viable academic challenges to economic orthodoxy exist but are largely ignored by departments of economics. This proposal addresses the disconnect between economics and the rest of academia with a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort based on three tenets. Borrowing from established foresight methods design economics and speculative economics create a framework from which economics can evolve to embrace paradigm change.

Primary research using quantitative methods in social sciences

Empirical processes based on data from secondary or primary sources are characteristic of research in social sciences in the discipline of economics and finance. The difference between the two forms lies in the use of extraneous or so-called proprietary, or author’s data in the analysis. Primary research is a research process in which the author of the study conducts research using proprietary measurement tools created for the study and with reference to the adopted research method. In the field of economics, mainly quantitative methods are used and the most egalitarian method is the survey method, while the research technique - survey questionnaires. In this publication, the authors presented a typology of quantitative research methods used in the discipline of economics and finance.

Whatever Happened to the Affluent Society? Or, the Dynamics of Consumer-Driven Capitalism Revealed

Abstract: This article is an exploration of the ways in which affluence undermines itself, based on a reexamination of two influential books: John Kenneth Galbraith’s Affluent Society (1958) and Tibor Scotivsky’s Joyless Economy (1976). Galbraith’s book offered blueprints for the reform of both the American economy and the discipline of economics based on his understanding that the affluent society was driven increasingly by the consumer rather than the producer. The essay explores the strengths and weaknesses of Galbraith’s analysis based on an account of the course of American public policy in the decades since he wrote. He had advocated for an expansion of public goods; what emerged instead was an expansion of transfer payments. Scitovsky’s account of consumer behavior sought to explain why rising income led to dissatisfied—joyless—consumers. Expanding on his approach, I identify the dynamic of consumer demand that acts to undermine the condition of affluence itself.

Tafsir of Qur'anic Verses on Consumption

The Qur'an is a source of excavation and development of Islamic teachings in various dimensions of human life. This paper tries to develop economic studies from an economic point of view based on the interpretation of the Qur'an. As a methodology, tafsir plays an important role in order to develop the discipline of Islamic economics. The model of economic interpretation derived from the thematic interpretation of the Qur'an is developed through four phases including; Classification of Qur'anic verses related to economics, understanding them based on chronology, micro and macro context, and socioeconomic contextualization. In summary, this paper reveals that consumption behavior in the Qur'an is harmoniously regulated, gradual and systematically to propose a new model of consumption for Muslims through Islamic consumption behavior.

Anxiety Related to Online and Remote Exams among Spanish University Students

Exams are a common part of university studies, and they often generate a significant amount of anxiety, which can increase when they are taken remotely and online. The aim of this multi-centric, cross sectional study was to provide additional knowledge on this subject. The sample consisted of 1,024 Spanish university students with a mean age of 20.34 (SD: 1.78), 66.4% of them women. They were recruited from seven different universities and six areas of study. The instruments applied were the Exams Anxiety Self-Assessment Questionnaire and the Anxiety subscale of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21). For the purposes of data analysis, frequency and descriptive statistics were used. The results showed moderate to high rates of anxiety related to online and remote exams in 50.1% of the sample for generalized symptoms, levels not explicable by anxiety related to the person and their context, which was 32.9%. Anxiety is greater among women and among students in the disciplines of economics, business and law, followed by arts and humanities and health sciences. Based on the results, interventions to reduce anxiety related to online and remote examination techniques are recommended.

Labour Market Outcomes of Graduates in Economics in Australia*

The discipline of economics encompasses broad skillsets with diverse applications in employment markets and industries. Studies of labour market prospects for economics graduates are relatively dated particularly in the light of developments such as declining interest in economics in high school and university. This study examines the labour market outcomes of Australian economics graduates, at the bachelor and postgraduate levels, using a national dataset. We observe strong employment prospects for graduates in economics after graduation, in terms of full‐time employment and salaries. Obtaining a postgraduate qualification appears to pay off, with master's and PhD graduates experiencing more favourable employment outcomes than bachelor's graduates. Substantial proportions report being overqualified for their jobs although this proportion is comparable to those reported for the broader Australian graduate labour market. Reassuringly, those initially overqualified transition out and overqualification reduces in the longer term. Most economics graduates become economists, but many others enter a wide array of other occupations. Of those who start out in non‐economist professions, there is a 42 per cent chance that they transition to economist roles after 2.5 years. In summary, an economics degree leads to favourable employment and earnings and should still be considered an attractive choice for prospective students.

Studying financial literacy of university students of non-economic specialties

Introduction. The urgent and complex issue of ensuring personal financial security is currently being addressed in a variety of ways, including in the form of various financial literacy training activities introduced in the educational process of higher education institutions. The aim of the research is the analysis of financial literacy of non-economic profile university students and their relevant competences in the field of personal security and online shopping. Materials and methods. The research material is represented by the questioning data obtained from 427 full-time 3rd and 4th year students of non-economic profile, as well as the data of continuous observation of academic performance of 693 non-economic profile students of Immanuel Kant Federal Baltic University (Russian Federation) trained in 2019-2022 in financial security within the framework of disciplines in basic economics and entrepreneurship which included a distance course “Money and its management”. Results. The analysis of data obtained in the course of the survey is evident of the demand for knowledge and competencies in financial literacy in the students of non-economic specialties (more than 60% of the respondents), demonstrates a sustainable aspiration to improve its level (90% of the respondents). The research confirmed the assumption that the students without special training have no due system of knowledge and competencies in the field of personal financial security and safe online shopping. In particular, 68% of the respondents did not have even a general idea about the system to ensure financial security in Russia; most of the respondents did not know about online shopping site checking services (96%) and 25% of the respondents did not think about online shopping security at all. The analysis of students’ opinions enabled the authors to update the materials on the subject of the research by adding relevant content. Conclusion. The system of personal financial security is an important component of the country’s economic security to be maintained by the younger generation. It is advisable to make separate training course on the basis of the financial literacy section included in the disciplines covering the fundamentals of economics and entrepreneurship. Keywords: students of non-economic profile, financial literacy, personal financial security, “safe online shopping” competence

Handbook of Behavioral Economics and Climate Change

The past three decades have witnessed an exponential increase in academic literature pertaining to the behavioural economics discipline (Mesa-Vázquez et al., 2021). This comes in the wake of increasing systematic evidence of the potential for behavioural economics—with its underpinnings in psychology—to significantly improve standard neoclassical economics models and predictions of human behaviour in varying economic contexts (Thaler and Sunstein, 2008; Thaler, 2015). In tandem, a similar revolutionary trend has been seen in climate change research, motivated by an increasingly urgent concern for self-preservation of current and future generations. Whilst the two fields are now well-established strands in academic literature, the extent and nature of recent advancements at the intersection of behavioural economics and climate change research are less clear. The Handbook of Behavioral Economics and Climate Change (Seo, 2022a) (the Handbook henceforth) is a timely edited collection of frontier research that attempts to fill this gap, confronting the complex relationship amongst anthropogenic climate change, climate policy and decision-making behaviours of economic agents.

Bioeconomic modelling in tilapia aquaculture: A review

AbstractThe global production of aquatic resources is increasing at the rate of 3.3 million tons per year, main thanks to aquaculture. However, this industry is considered by financial institutions as high risk due to failures caused by epizootics, natural disasters and poor planning and monitoring. Bioeconomic modelling is a progressive branch of social science that seeks to integrate the disciplines of economics and biology to create theories that better explain economic events using a biological basis and vice versa. This should be used in aquaculture to plan, monitor, and determine cost‐effectiveness and risk, to reduce uncertainty and increase profits of ongoing or new projects. A meta‐analysis of the literature on bioeconomic modelling in aquaculture during 26 years (1994─2020) was performed, using four search engines. Sixty‐eight articles were published in 23 journals, on 25 groups of species or species. The most studied were shrimp, tilapia, seabream, salmon and carp. From these, 12 articles dealt with tilapia models that shared similar biological, management and economic sub‐models. In the 26‐year analysis, the global scientific productivity in this field is low (2.6 articles/year) in relation to the growth of world aquaculture. Bioeconomic modelling peaked during the decade from 2004 to 2014 with 5.6 papers/year, but then declined to only 0.83 articles/year from 2015 to 2020. This is possibly due to the low diffusion among producers, planners and financial institutions of the advantages of the models and the difficulty to use them if friendly and readily available software is lacking.

On classical liberalism and democratic optimism: James M. Buchanan and Elinor Ostrom

We recently marked the 60th anniversary of the book that established the field of public choice – The Calculus of Consent by James M. Buchanan and Gordon Tullock. It was also the 30th anniversary of Elinor Ostrom et al’s ‘Covenants with and without a sword’, in which she demonstrated the capacity of individuals for self-governance without submission to an external authority. This article considers these two foundational works as a starting point from which to explore the intellectual tradition of ‘democratic optimism’ in public choice. The Buchanan/Ostrom legacy is an unshakable faith in the capacity of individuals for self-governance, a significant departure from more orthodox thinking that presumed the necessity of a social planner to oversee, coordinate and enforce collective actions. Their work also illustrates the importance of questioning the assumptions of economic models and modes of thought. Examination of antecedent assumptions is useful not only for understanding the depth and complexity of economic and political choices, but also for thinking about the history of the economics discipline, the viability of research programmes and the ‘danger of self-evident truths’.

Putting Morals into Economics: From Value Neutrality to the Moral Economy and the Economization of Morality

AbstractThe economic discipline plays a performative role in constructing the moral order of market society. Yet, little attention has been paid to what economists explicitly regard as moral or how they conceive of morality. This article reflects a recent attempt to put morals into economics, that is, to introduce morality as a research topic in behavioural and experimental economics. It maps three research programs that theorize the moral economy. The programs emphasize the moral foundations of market society, the moral limits of market expansion, and the moral consequences of market trading and, thus, appear irreconcilable with classifications of economists as market enthusiasts or moral agnostics. At the same time, however, the literature centres on an “economized” form of morality that is corrective to market inefficiencies, attributed to the responsibility of the individual, and expressed in rational terms. In doing so, this literature contributes to redefining moral problems in economic terms.

Keynesian expectations, epistemic authority and pluralism in economics: placebo and nocebo effects in normal and abnormal times

AbstractProminent economists may provide expert guidance to assist the public in forming expectations. Using both Keynes’ theory of conventional expectations formation and lay epistemology, this article argues that prominent economists may have sufficient ‘epistemic authority’ to encourage a self-fulfilling ‘placebo/nocebo effect’, meaning that widely and confidently-held expectations congruent with prominent economists’ guidance encourage economic behaviours that promote the economic outcomes predicted by these economists. This article examines the peripherality of pluralism in the economics discipline as supporting these self-fulfilling dynamics insofar as it: (i) contributes to the public’s capacity to identify and attribute epistemic authority to prominent economists, (ii) encourages sufficient convergence of prominent economists’ expectational guidance that the public can adopt coherent and confident expectations based on this guidance and (iii) facilitates the public dissemination of this expectational guidance. The conclusion considers Keynesian ‘abnormal times’ (such as a Minskian expectational scenario) that may discredit the epistemic authority of prominent economists (and perhaps expert economic knowledge in general) and considers some implications of these circumstances for disciplinary pluralism.