Period Of Economic Stagnation Research Articles

William Blake on the Effects of Government Fiscal Policy on Activity and Prices

In 1823, William Blake (1774-1852) published the pamphlet Observations of the Effects Produced by the Expenditure of Government during the Restriction of Cash Payments, which made a significant contribution to debate about the economic effects of government fiscal policy during the French wars (1793-1815) and the postwar period of economic stagnation in Britain. This article is concerned with critically examining Blake’s arguments on the effect of British government war expenditure and taxes on economic activity and price inflation during the wars and then on the role of the subsequent retrenchment of government expenditure in explaining postwar economic stagnation. The essay shows that Blake was an ardent critic of Say’s law and argued that the postwar British economic depression characterized by a persistent general glut of commodities was the result of a lack of demand, which was mainly brought about by a policy of fiscal austerity. In this connection it is shown that Blake believed capital accumulation to be demand constrained, with many of his insights into the accumulation process essentially “Keynesian” (or “Kaleckian”) in spirit.

Reducing the sulfur content of coke by increasing the content of thermally conditioned g coal in the batch

In periods of economic growth, Ukrainian coke plants face a shortage of Zh and K coal, because of the high demand. In periods of economic stagnation, conversely, there is an excess of Zh coal, on account of the drop in demand. However, it is still important to introduce poorly clinkering coal in the batch. Ukrainian coal is known to have high sulfur content (up to 3.5% S). About 45–75% of that sulfur is passed on to the coke. Consequently, in order to reduce the sulfur content of the coke, it is expedient to include poorly clinkering coal in the batch, since typical low-carbon Donets Basin coal has a low desulfurization coefficient: 0.63. The corresponding figure for moderate-carbon coal is 0.70. Hence, by increasing the content of poorly clinkering coal in the batch, the sulfur content and cost of the coke may be reduced.

Western Pessimism, Asian Optimism: Three Perspectives on Global Governance

As of 2007 the world economy has been caught in the worst crisis since the 1930s. Yet after two years of only partly successful efforts to mobilize and coordinate global action of financial control and stimulus, ending with the G-20 meeting of March 2009, responsibility for corrective economic initiatives has essentially been left to individual countries, supported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU). Moreover, such support has been usually conditional on countries following financial policies of tough austerity. The United States took some actions to stimulate its economy, but by many accounts these were insufficient. Most of Europe has not even attempted stimulus measures and has been in a period of economic stagnation, with falling real incomes among the poorest parts of the population. Although some signs of “recovery” have been heralded in 2013 and 2014, growth has mostly been measured from a lower base. There is little evidence of broad-based economic recovery, let alone improvements in the situation of the poor or even of the middle-income groups.

Surtos e Ciclos Econômicos de Parintins (AM): Condicionantes à sua Organização Sócio-espacial e Estruturação Urbana

Opresente artigo aborda os resultados de esforços de uma pesquisa arespeito da história econômica e do processo de urbanização e das implicaçõesgeográficas a respeito de uma cidade amazônica. A ocupação da região amazônica teve como uma das particularidades em relação a outras porções do território latino-americano o fato de se dar por meio de surtos devassadores ligados à valorização momentânea de produtos no mercado internacional, sempre por iniciativas externas, seguidos de longos períodos de estagnação. Desde os primórdios de sua ocupação, com o povoamento agroextrativo, até alcançar, nos dias atuais, o patamar de cidade de atração de fluxo turístico cultural (sobretudo devido ao seu Festival Folclórico), Parintins (AM) atravessou, em seu processo de formação territorial e organização socioespacial, diferentes momentos de crescimento e declínio demográfico relacionados aos avanços e retrocessos de suas atividades econômicas locais. Constituída como uma ilha, ora com base na várzea, ora em terra firme, diferentes formas de trabalho humano foram empregadas, envolvendo uma mão de obra diversificada, de distintas origens e tendo sua produção proveniente de demandas das mais variadas escalas.

Determinants of changes in income-related health inequalities among working-age adults in Japan, 1986–2007: Time-trend study

This study aimed to quantify the contributions of the factors that have influenced changes in income-related health inequalities. We used data from a nationally representative sample of Japanese men and women aged 20–59 years who participated in eight repeated cross-sectional surveys between 1986 and 2007. A concentration index (CI) was used to measure income-related inequalities in self-rated health (SRH) and decomposed into contributing factors. We then examined temporal changes in CIs and their contributing factors. Results showed that income-related inequalities in SRH, unfavourable to low-income groups, persisted throughout the study period. Despite widening income inequalities, inequalities in SRH narrowed during the period of economic stagnation since the late 1990s because of the profound deterioration in SRH among middle- to high-income groups. Decomposition analysis showed that income itself and unemployment or economic inactivity were the most important contributors to inequalities in SRH for both sexes at almost all time points. However, from 1986 to 2007, the relative contribution of income to these inequalities decreased from 78% to 14% in men and from 85% to 38% in women. By contrast, the relative contribution of unemployment or economic inactivity increased from 18% to 77% in men and from 10% to 31% in women. Our results suggest that a reduction in avoidable health inequalities could be achieved by reducing the influence of unemployment or economic inactivity on health.

Trends in cause specific mortality across occupations in Japanese men of working age during period of economic stagnation, 1980-2005: retrospective cohort study

Objective To assess the temporal trends in occupation specific all causes and cause specific mortality in Japan between 1980 and 2005.Design Longitudinal analysis of individual death certificates by last occupation...

2. Lessons from the New Corporate Schooling

As the articles in this section indicate, the new corporate schooling in the United States combines many of the worst aspects of capitalist schooling in a period of economic stagnation, financialization, and militarization/securitization together with a strategy of privatization of the schools. Public education is being degraded, regimented, and increasingly racially segregated—while the resulting worsening conditions in the schools are used to justify the restructuring of the entire education system.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.

Can Portugal Escape Stagnation Without Opting Out from the Eurozone?

Since the creation of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the Portuguese economy has exhibited real divergence vis-a-vis the wealthier Euro-zone countries. We analyze the causes of the underperformance of the Portuguese economy in the last decade, discuss the different policy options available to the newly-elected Portuguese government, and make several proposals for institutional reform of the EMU. We argue that, in the absence of deep reform of the governance structure of the EMU, Portugal faces a long period of economic stagnation and unemployment. We conclude that, in the face of the tremendous legal, political, and practical obstacles that any single Euro-zone country would face were it to withdraw from the Euro-zone, pushing for reform of the EMU currently represents the best way forward to Portugal.

不動産バブルの教訓

The advent and collapse of real estate bubbles, or the sharp rises and falls in real estate prices, have posed major economic issues in many contries. Real estate prices soared sharply in Japan and Sweden in the 1990s and recently in many Western countries （until the mid─2000s）, until plunging in the wake of the financial crisis in the United States. The rapid rise and fall of real estate prices in Japan from the mid-1980s to the 1990s is said to represent the most significant real estate bubble of the 20th century. Following the collapse of this bubble, Japan experienced a long period of economic stagnation, often cynically described as the“l ost decades.” What have we learned from these ups and downs in the real estate market? Have recent real estate investment risk management efforts incorporated these lessons? To answer these questions, this paper would like to pay attention to the severalty of each real asset. The lesson learned from last century's economic bubble and from the expansion and shrinkage of the real estate market in the wake of the latest financial crisis is that real estate investment risks cannot be dispersed by diversifying investments, and major risks will remain unless assets are carefully selected.

Employment and Human Resource Management Developments in Japan

Abstract The last fifteen years has been a period of significant change in Japan brought on by a prolonged period of economic stagnation, increased levels of global competition, the hollowing out of manufacturing, and a variety of social and demographic changes. This paper focuses on the changes taking place in employment and human resource management in Japan. It is concluded that changes in managerial altitudes and strategic alternatives are driving employment and human resource management changes and it is likely that more changes will occur in the future. The most likely outcome is the cost containment models that typify Western firms.

Job Displacement Penalties in Japan

The costs of job displacement are examined on a sample of Japanese workers successfully provided job placement services from 2000 to 2003, a period of economic stagnation and structural change in Japan. We find that displaced workers suffer a loss of approximately $1,100 for each additional year of age. Workers also incur a large penalty when they change industries after being displaced. The age-earnings loss relationship is consistent with the operation of a delayed compensation scheme in large firms.

The Dictator and the Parties: A Study on Policy Co-operation in Mineral Economies

This paper develops a game to study the possibility of co-operative behaviour in a situation where the political system is dominated by two strong, opportunistic parties competing in an economy highly dependent on the export of a commodity. Since a binding agreement as an external solution is unlikely to succeed due to the close association between the incumbent party and the government (the guardian), the paper explores the extent to which co-operation between political parties that alternate in office can rely on self-enforcing strategies to provide an internal solution. For appropriate values of the probability of re-election and the discount factor, it is possible to rely on reciprocity to sustain an early-stopping equilibrium. However, co-operation is undermined by low values of re-election probability out of current revenues and party myopia. In those circumstances, the self-policing solution might not be viable and an institutional response would be necessary. The game also sheds some light on the apparent paradox of situations in some mineral-rich democracies (such as the recent Venezuelan experience) where the enjoyment of considerable external revenues is followed by a period of economic stagnation, a deterioration of political stability, and the surge of a dictatorship threat.

From Family Feud to Organised Crime: The Cultural Economy of Cannabis in Northeast Brazil

Abstract — Traditional family feuding and banditry as well as envy‐inspired violence associated with capitalised irrigation have been intensified by the introduction of cannabis farming and organised crime in the Sertão of Northeast Brazil to the point that today the cannabis producing zone is one of the most violent places in the world. These three interrelated forms of contemporary violence arose, respectively, in the pre‐1940 frontier setting, in the 1940 to 1980 period of rapid Brazilian industrialisation which depressed peasant sectors and stimulated the rise of capitalised irrigation and in the post‐1980 period of economic stagnation and social‐political crisis in Brazil which depressed consumer markets and induced the State to liberalise foreign trade policy to the detriment of periphery regions like the Northeast.

Does the Privatization of Social security Make Sense for Developing Nations?

We discuss the privatization schemes of Chile and Argentina following a review of three alternatives to privatization. Our major conclusions are as follows: (1) the Chilean scheme has performed very well during much of the past 15 years, but it is not yet clear what will happen during an extended period of economic stagnation and declining financial markets; (2) for many countries it would make more sense to reform existing public pension schemes than to replace them with privatized schemes, at least until one has a better idea how privatized schemes perform in adverse financial environments; (3) privatized schemes have important distributional effects that deserve more attention.

Recent Changes in the Social Rented Sector in The Netherlands

The Netherlands has a large and differentiated stock of social rented dwellings, forming more than 40 per cent of the total housing stock. Housing associations are by far the largest providers of housing services in this sector. Traditionally, these associations were subsidised heavily but since 1995 Dutch government has no longer directly subsidised these associations. This paper deals with changes in Dutch housing associations in a period (1988-95) characterised by government austerity, deregulation, market conformity, privatisation and promotion of home-ownership. It is explained how the housing associations were able to survive and even maintain prospects for a promising future in a political climate that threatened the social rented sector. It is clear that housing associations can now operate more independently than in the past. This is seen as a positive development, but the government is now discovering the drawbacks of complete privatisation. A firmer embedding in a public framework is considered desirable now. Recently the cabinet introduced a strengthening of public supervision. The housing associations' umbrella organisations presented their own National Housing Programme and published a business code for housing associations. A crucial issue has not been discussed so far: who will subsidise the housing investments for low-income households in periods of economic stagnation?

Municipal Reform in the Tel Aviv Metropolis: Metropolitan Government or Metropolitan Cooperation?

In this paper the influence of macrosocietal shifts on municipal reforms in metropolitan areas, as reflected by the cyclic swing from periods of increased efforts to rationalize metropolitan governance to periods of acceptance and promotion of a fragmented pattern, is demonstrated. An analogy between the changes in industrial organization and municipal organization is suggested. The paper is focused on Israel's economic core region—the Tel Aviv metropolis—with surveys of reports of commissions dealing with municipal reforms and of boundary commissions assessing claims for municipal boundary changes between 1960 and 1993. A unique feature of Tel Aviv is the region's past failure to implement proposals for major rationalization during a period when such reforms were common in countries with similar political systems. This failure was a result of specific political and geographical factors that counterbalanced the broad processes that supported reform. The subsequent period of economic stagnation weakened prospects for comprehensive reforms. Renewed growth in the 1990s has intensified pressures for municipal change but has not been associated with the comeback of old notions of metropolitan government. Rather, flexible modes of cooperation and coordination appear to be preferred, priority being given to reorganizing local government in the urban—rural fringes of the metropolis rather than dealing with the inner parts of the metropolis.

Economic Expansion in the Byzantine Empire, 900-1200.

In this book Dr Harvey shows that, if we broaden our comprehension of feudalism, the economic developments of the Byzantine Empire and of the medieval west were far more comparable than Byzantine historians have been prepared to admit. Previous interpretations have linked economic trends too closely to the political fortunes of the state, and have consequently regarded the twelfth century as a period of economic stagnation. Yet there is considerable evidence that the empire's population expanded steadily during the period covered by this book, and that agricultural production was intensified. A wealth of evidence serves to reinforce the point that the disintegration of the empire in the late twelfth century should no longer be associated with economic decline. Dr Harvey's conclusions, in particular that there is no incompatibility between the development of the landed wealth of a feudalising aristocracy and the growth of commerce and urbanisation, will affect all future interpretations of Byzantine history.

Social Class and Political Behavior during a Period of Economic Stagnation: Apathy and Radicalism in the Netherlands, 1985

Increased apathy (i. e., retreat from politics), instead of massive political protest among the classes that were hit most severely by the recent economic stagnation and ensuing retrenchment policies, is a neglected phenomenon in Dutch social research. In this article we theorize on this phenomenon. We formulate a model to explain political apathy among lower-class people in the Netherlands during the mid-80s. We also speculate on and formulate an explanatory model on the motives of those who, during this period, were still inclined toward political behavior, notably toward radical political activities. The models are tested with data gathered in the Netherlands in 1985. The results of the analyses indicate that being a member of a deprived class increases the likelihood of being more anomic. In turn, anomie brings about political apathy. On the other hand, education decreases political apathy. The analyses further suggest that persons who give priority to so-called postmaterialistic values are more prone to radical political behavior than others. This effect appears to be stronger to the extent that they have less confidence in policies.

Popular Aspects of Liberalism in Mexico, 1848-1888

Between 1855 and 1867, Liberalism grew from a minority movement to become the national political consensus.1 This apparent monopoly of ideological discourse enjoyed by Liberalism was, of course, helped by the disappearance of 'Conservatism' from the political vocabulary, disgraced by its association with the European Intervention. Liberalism, by contrast, emerged in 1867 re-enforced by its close association with the patriotic resistance to the Empire. It is nevertheless remarkable that Liberalism, a secular and individualistic doctrine, took such a hold in a country with such a profound Hispanic and Catholic legacy. It is all the more extraordinary when it is considered that liberal hegemony was achieved over a period of economic stagnation and relatively limited social change. Mexico's liberal consensus was achieved before the emergence of a substantial, economically influential middle class.

Evolución del empleo en México: 1895-1980

En este artículo se analizan las transformaciones que sufrieron en México, entre 1895 y 1980, tanto el nivel de ocupación como su estructura por sectores económicos. La base principal del trabajo son las cifras sobre ocupación que aparecen en los censos de población, previamente homogeneizadas por los autores. Además de señalar las tendencias de largo plazo en el empleo global y sectorial, el estudio muestra la existencia de tres periodos en la evolución del empleo. El primero (1985-1930) abarca el fin del auge asociado al proceso de acumulación sustentado en la exportación de metales y de determinados productos agrícolas, así como una prolongada etapa de estancamiento económico correspondiente a la crisis de ese estadio del desarrollo del país. El segundo periodo (1930-1970) cubre la fase expansiva del ciclo asociado a un patrón de acumulación que tiene como eje al sector manufacturero orientado al mercado interno; allí se distinguen dos etapas: de 1930 a 1950 ocurre la transición de un patrón a otro; y de 1950 a 1970, se consolida el desarrollo industrial. Por último, en el decenio de los setenta el proceso de desarrollo se encuentra con serios obstáculos para continuar. En cada uno de estos periodos la ocupación adquiere características distintivas en lo que respecta a su ritmo de crecimiento y a su estructura por ramas de actividad. A lo largo del texto se muestra la existencia de tendencias de largo plazo, manifiestas tanto en los cambios en el volumen como en la composición del empleo; asimismo, se plantea una serie de interrogantes respecto a las causas de algunas de las transformaciones en la ocupación que pueden observarse durante el periodo estudiado.