----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- 
 
CALL FOR PAPER 
The "New" Political Economies 
 
In 1651, 350 years ago, a French writer named Montchretien wrote a 
book on the subject of  "political economy."  This expression stuck 
and important multi-volume treatises on political economy appeared 
during the following centuries.  In 1890,  Alfred Marshall entitled 
his masterwork simply Principles of Economics, reflecting a trend at 
Cambridge University to remove politics from economics.  But this 
trend was not just at Cambridge. During the 1920s the German society 
known as the Verein fur Sozialpolitik heard from such economists as 
Max Weber and Ludwig von Mises who argued for "value-free"  social 
sciences. the American Journal of Economics and Sociology is now  
planning an entire gala  issue on the connections between politics, 
political science, government and economic theory.  You are invited to participate.  
 
It is clear that, throughout the centuries, economists have understood  
the influence that  institutions, customs, and varying legal rules have 
on incentives and the role they play in giving shape to different market  
outcomes.  Indeed, economists giving "policy advice" have served as advisers  
to statesmen, legislators, and dictators.  This is still a common practice.   
Professional economists claim a privileged status for their craft.  But do  
they really stand outside the legislative process with a talent for seeing  
things "objectively"? 
 
After World War II, the governments of the developed nations were  
assigned the difficult task of "stabilizing" the business economy.  In 
recent years, economists have come to appreciate that macro-policymaking, whether in J. M.
Keynes' time or our own time, is mostly a "sequence of decisions" made over time.  Private
citizens often understand more than
they are told.  The decisions that governments undertake to follow may be "consistent" or
"inconsistent" and the broader public form decisions
based on one set of expectations or another. The difference this makes to macroeconomic
policy and performance is now a burgeoning area of research
which also links economists to political scientists in some important 
ways (see Allen Drazen 2000, Political Economy in Macroeconomy, Princeton University
Press).
 
Some social scientists have provided deep insights into ordinary  
political methods and institutions by modeling collective action as the  
outcome of rational choice.  The Public Choice school has developed tools 
and conceptual distinctions that allow its practitioners to propose modifications for the
rules and devices within which modern democratic
orders operate and function. In a recent work, Mancur Olson applies the 
insights of the Public Choice approach to both communist and capitalist 
dictatorships with obvious implications for the future of East-West 
political relations (see M. Olson 2000, Power and Prosperity,. Basic Books). 
But does all this about the "new" political economy really add up to 
anything new or has it been Montchretien's "political economy" all 
the time in various disguises? 
 
The Winter 2001 - 2002 issue of The American Journal of Economics and  
Sociology will offer a selection of  papers on the "New" Political Economies  
from a variety of perspectives on the connection(s) between economics and  
politics.  For those wishing to participate--and all faculties are  
invited--please send your proposals in the form of 200-250 world abstract to  
the editor by April 15, 2001.  The target date for delivering the papers is  
July 15, 2001.  Please contact the editor:  Professor Laurence S. Moss /  
Babson College/ Babson Park, 02457 USA. 617 728 4949 or [log in to unmask] for  
additional information. 
 
------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ 
For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]