[Selections by Humberto Barreto for SHOE list.]
nep-hpe <https://nep.repec.org/nep-hpe.html> New Economics Papers
<https://nep.repec.org/> on History and Philosophy of Economics
Issue of 2024‒02‒19
papers chosen by
Erik Thomson <http://econpapers.repec.org/RAS/pth72.htm>,
University of Manitoba <http://umanitoba.ca/>
------------------------------
1. Bagehot's Classical Money View: A Reconstruction
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p1> By Perry
Mehrling
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Perry%20Mehrling>
2. Non-orthodox Economic Approaches to Labor Unions and Union Leadership
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p2> By
Drakopoulos,
Stavros A.
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Drakopoulos,%20Stavros%20A.>
3. El irrealismo en la Economía estándar: el supuesto de los
rendimientos decrecientes de escala, como caso paradigmático.
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p3> By
Vergés-Jaime,
Joaquim
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Verg%C3%A9s-Jaime,%20Joaquim>
4. Usury and simony Trading for no price: Thomas Aquinas on money loans,
sacraments and exchange - Chapter 7
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p4> By André
Lapidus
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Andr%C3%A9%20Lapidus>
; Pierre Januard
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Pierre%20Januard>
5. The Horizontal Merger Efficiency Fallacy
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p5> By Mark
Glick <http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Mark%20Glick>;
Gabriel
A. Lozada
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Gabriel%20A.%20Lozada>
; Pavitra Govindan
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Pavitra%20Govindan>;
Darren
Bush <http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Darren%20Bush>
6. Recent Temporal Dynamics in Economics: Empirical Analyses of Annual
Publications in Economic Fields
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p6> By Lutz
Bornmann
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Lutz%20Bornmann>; Klaus
Wohlrabe
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Klaus%20Wohlrabe>
7. The “institutional embeddedness” of prices and valuation in early
modern Europe
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p7> By Michela
Barbot
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Michela%20Barbot>
8. The Political Economy of Minimum Wage Setting: The Factories and
Shops Act of Victoria (Australia), 1896-1913
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p8> By Andrew
J. Seltzer
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Andrew%20J.%20Seltzer>
9. The City of Glasgow Bank failure and the case for liability reform
<https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#m_-1181457400962088365_p9> By Goodhart,
C. A. E.
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Goodhart,%20C.%20A.%20E.>
; Postel-Vinay, Natacha
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Postel-Vinay,%20Natacha>
------------------------------
1. Bagehot's Classical Money View: A Reconstruction
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp216>
By: Perry Mehrling
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Perry%20Mehrling> (Pardee
School of Global Studies at Boston University)
Abstract: Bagehot is difficult for modern economists to read with
understanding, for three reasons. He was a classical economist not
neoclassical, his orientation was global not national, and, most
importantly, his intellectual formation was as a practicing country banker
not an academic. This paper adopts all three perspectives, and uses this
frame to reinterpret his mature work, both Lombard Street and the
unfinished Economic Studies, as the origin of the key currency tradition
which continues as a minority view in modern economics.
Keywords: Bagehot Rule, key currency, money view, Lombard Street, Ricardo
JEL: B12 B17 B31
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?jel=B12%20B17%20B31>
Date: 2024–01–04
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp216&r=hpe
2. Non-orthodox Economic Approaches to Labor Unions and Union Leadership
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:119787>
By: Drakopoulos, Stavros A.
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Drakopoulos,%20Stavros%20A.>
Abstract: This short paper is the entry on Encyclopedia of Diversity,
Equity, Inclusion and Spirituality (edited by Marques, J.). Springer, Cham,
2024. The entry describes the role, function, and nature of labor unions
and their leadership from a non-orthodox perspective. It shows that since
the end of the 19th century, a division between orthodox and non-orthodox
approaches toward the study of labor unions can be discerned. The orthodox
framework was formed in the late 19th century with the gradual
establishment of Marginalism, and it consolidated itself with the dominance
of early neoclassical economics. Orthodox economic theory did not devote
much attention to the economic analysis of unions. On the contrary and
during the same period, non-orthodox economists such as Sidney and Beatrice
Webb and early institutionalists, had paid considerable attention to the
study of unions, perceiving them as politico-economic organizations and
emphasizing their wider role as social institutions. The legacy of those
two approaches continued in the 20th century and contemporary analyses of
labor unions. The orthodox approach (originating mainly from the work of
John Dunlop), generally conceives unions as purely economic units,
analogous to firms, which can be studied by applying the standard tools of
microeconomic theory. In this framework, the notion of union leadership
plays a minimum role. In contrast, the non-orthodox viewpoint (originating
mainly from Arthur Ross’ works), embraces a holistic,
institutional-political-based attitude to the study of labor unionism.
Keywords: Trade Unions; Labor Union Leadership, Gender inequality
JEL: J51 J70 M50
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?jel=J51%20J70%20M50>
Date: 2024–01
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:119787&r=hpe
3. El irrealismo en la Economía estándar: el supuesto de los
rendimientos decrecientes de escala, como caso paradigmático.
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:119890>
By: Vergés-Jaime, Joaquim
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Verg%C3%A9s-Jaime,%20Joaquim>
Abstract: En la economía académicamente dominante el paradigma del
equilibrio general de mercados competitivos (EG) juega un papel
fundamental. Aunque los manuales y textos de referencia dediquen páginas a
hablar de, por ejemplo, el equilibrio en el duopolio, el marco de
referencia es en el fondo el del paradigma del EG. Éste se basa
fundamentalmente en la teoría neoclásica de la producción: teoría de la
empresa y los costes, y de los mercados resultantes; además de en otros
constructos (homo economicus, información perfecta, etc.). Y a su vez, la
teoría neoclásica de la producción se sustenta en el axioma de los
rendimientos decrecientes de escala en la producción de cualquier bien. En
el presente artículo se expone un análisis de dicho axioma y de los
supuestos, generalmente implícitos, en los que se basa; y, como tema
central, se pone de manifiesto que las abrumadoras evidencias empíricas que
ofrece la observación de nuestras economías de mercado no sustentan en
absoluto dicho axioma y supuestos. Ni por tanto el modelo explicativo del
EG, ni las implicaciones normativas de tal paradigma. ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In
academic mainstream economics, the paradigm of the general equilibrium of
competitive markets (GE) plays a fundamental role. Although textbooks and
reference texts devote pages to talk about, for example, duopoly’s
equilibrium, the frame of reference is basically that of the GE paradigm;
which is based fundamentally on the neoclassical theory of production: a
theory of the firm and its costs, prices determination, and of the
resulting markets, as well as on other constructs (homo economicus, perfect
information, etc.). And, in turn, this neoclassical theory of production
relies on the axiom of the decreasing returns to scale in the production of
any product or service. This paper presents an analysis of such axiom and
of the assumptions, usually implicit, on which they rely; and, as a central
topic, it shows that the overwhelming empirical evidence offered by the
observation of our market economies does not support this axiom and
deductive assumptions at all. Neither therefore the GE’s explanatory model,
nor the normative implications of such a paradigm.
Keywords: Mainstream Economics and empirical testing; Assumptions and
axioms in Economics; Socio-political implications of Economics; The
traditional assumption of ‘decreasing returns to scale’.
JEL: A10 D01 D21 D22 D40
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?jel=A10%20D01%20D21%20D22%20D40>
Date: 2023
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:119890&r=hpe
4. Usury and simony Trading for no price: Thomas Aquinas on money loans,
sacraments and exchange - Chapter 7
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04396111>
By: André Lapidus
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Andr%C3%A9%20Lapidus>
(PHARE
- Philosophie, Histoire et Analyse des Représentations Économiques - UP1 -
Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne); Pierre Januard
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Pierre%20Januard>
Abstract: Throughout the Middle Ages, the charging of interest on
monetary loans, as well as the sale of sacraments, were generally
considered to be special types of sins: respectively, usury and simony. The
repeated condemnations of these acts suggests to the contemporary reader
that they could be viewed as prefigurations of contested commodities.
Relying on Thomas Aquinas's works written in the second half of the 13th
century, it is shown in this chapter that money and sacraments were indeed
viewed as exchanged, though, in a sense, as traded for no price. The result
is the existence, in the framework of exchange, of various situations which
might be ranked according to increasing commodification: first, an absolute
non-commodification for the money loan, whose price is zero due to the
prohibition of the payment of interest to the lender due to the loan
itself, although an indemnity can be paid for other reasons and, from an
economic viewpoint, appears as a counterpart for the opportunity cost of
the loan. Then, two ways of expressing a kind of commodification in dealing
with the sacraments: a lexical commodification in which sacraments do have
a "price", as Aquinas mentioned, but one that is out of reach on this
earth; and a partial operational commodification, again for sacraments
(especially for the Eucharist through mass offerings), in which something
like an exchange for sacraments takes place, not at an impossible price but
according to a kind of tariff which allows the priest to live.
Keywords: Thomas Aquinas, Simony, Usury, Money loans, Sacraments, Just
price, Commodification
Date: 2024
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04396111&r=hpe
5. The Horizontal Merger Efficiency Fallacy
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp212>
By: Mark Glick
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Mark%20Glick> (University
of Utah); Gabriel A. Lozada
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Gabriel%20A.%20Lozada>
(University
of Utah); Pavitra Govindan
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Pavitra%20Govindan>
(University
of Utah); Darren Bush
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Darren%20Bush>
(University
of Houston Law Center)
Abstract: The Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Merger
Guidelines (the "Merger Guidelines"), including the much improved latest
revision in 2023 (the "New Merger Guidelines"), have continued to
perpetrate what we call in this paper the horizontal merger efficiency
fallacy. The fallacy arises because in the Guidelines the term
"efficiencies" has become unmoored from its foundations in economic theory
and has been reduced to the business school construct of cost savings. We
show that cost savings can only be considered universally socially
beneficial by acceptance of what is termed "the Consumer Welfare Standard"
(antitrust) or "the surplus theory of welfare" (economics), a theory that
has been discredited and abandoned by welfare economists. In economic
theory, efficiency means Pareto Efficiency. We explore the various attempts
to tether the cost savings definition of efficiency to Pareto Efficiency
and explain why these attempts have failed. We conclude that there is no
sound way to theoretically reconcile cost savings with the economic meaning
of efficiencies. We then move beyond the efficiency fallacy and show how
modern welfare economics can be used to integrate Congressional antitrust
goals into the New Merger Guidelines. This requires abandoning the
unsupported "standard deduction" for efficiencies and replacing it with an
evidence-based assessment of how a specific merger under review potentially
impacts Congressional antitrust goals. This change renders the present
efficiency rebuttal section of the New Merger Guidelines superfluous, and
we provide specific reasons why this section as currently drafted is flawed
and should be jettisoned.
Keywords: Antitrust, Efficiency, Consumer Welfare, Merger Regulation,
Merger Guidelines
JEL: D4 D6 L4 L5
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?jel=D4%20D6%20L4%20L5>
Date: 2023–08–24
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp212&r=hpe
6. Recent Temporal Dynamics in Economics: Empirical Analyses of Annual
Publications in Economic Fields
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10881>
By: Lutz Bornmann
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Lutz%20Bornmann>; Klaus
Wohlrabe
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Klaus%20Wohlrabe>
Abstract: Differences in annual publication counts may reflect the
dynamic of scientific progress. Declining annual numbers of publications
may be interpreted as missing progress in field-specific knowledge. In this
paper, we present empirical results on dynamics of progress in economic
fields (defined by JEL codes) based on a methodological approach introduced
by Bornmann and Haunschild (2022). We focused on publications that have
been published between 2012 and 2021 and identified those fields in
economics with the highest dynamics (largest rates of change in paper
counts). We found that the field with the largest paper output across the
years is ‘Economic Development’. The results reveal that the field-specific
rates of changes are mostly similar. However, the two fields ‘Production
and Organizations’ and ‘Health’ show point estimators which are clearly
higher than the estimators for the other fields. We investigated the
publications in ‘Production and Organizations’ and ‘Health’ in more detail.
Keywords: scientometrics, bibliometrics, dynamics of research fields,
economics, JEL code
JEL: A10 A12 A14
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?jel=A10%20A12%20A14>
Date: 2024
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10881&r=hpe
7. The “institutional embeddedness” of prices and valuation in early
modern Europe <http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04373041>
By: Michela Barbot
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Michela%20Barbot> (IDHES
- Institutions et Dynamiques Historiques de l'Économie et de la Société -
UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - UP8 - Université Paris 8
Vincennes-Saint-Denis - UPN - Université Paris Nanterre - UEVE - Université
d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- ENS Paris Saclay - Ecole Normale Supérieure Paris-Saclay)
Abstract: How was the correlation between prices and value understood
before the birth of economic science? And what were the institutional and
material foundations of valuation procedures? The field of civil law offers
an interesting perspective to explore these questions as it allows to
analyse the plurality of means by which the preindustrial societies coped
with a common challenge: reducing the risk of price conflicts in order to
ensure the enforcement of contractual commitments.
Abstract: Comment la dialectique entre les prix et la valeur des biens
était-elle appréhendée avant d'entrer dans le giron de la science
économique ? Et quels étaient les fondements institutionnels et matériels
des opérations d'estimation ? La sphère du droit civil offre un angle
intéressant pour répondre à ces questions puisqu'elle permet d'observer la
pluralité des solutions que les sociétés d'Ancien Régime ont apportées à un
même défi : celui de réduire le risque de conflits sur les prix afin de
garantir le respect des accords contractuels.
Keywords: Price, values, institutions, law, contracts
Date: 2023
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hal:journl:hal-04373041&r=hpe
8. The Political Economy of Minimum Wage Setting: The Factories and
Shops Act of Victoria (Australia), 1896-1913
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:auu:hpaper:118>
By: Andrew J. Seltzer
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Andrew%20J.%20Seltzer>
Abstract: The Victorian Factories and Shops Act of 1896, the second
minimum wage law in the world, empowered administrative agencies ("Special
Boards") to set trade-specific minimum rates based on age, sex, and
occupation. Much like modern debates, Victorian supporters of minimum wages
argued that they would protect vulnerable workers while opponents argued
that they would increase employers’ costs, resulting in unintended
consequences for workers. Evidence from the actual minimum wages passed
under the Act suggests that Boards were loosely constrained by market
factors, but also that they had some discretion in minimum wage setting.
This discretion was used differently by individual Boards; some essentially
followed the market for their trades while others set minimum rates that
were binding for at least some workers. To the extent that rates were
binding, they tended to reduce inequality among adult male workers,
particularly after a 1907 Federal ruling established a living wage for
employers with operations in multiple states. However, minimum wages also
increased inequality across groups, increasing wages of adult men relative
to those of women and youths. The Act formally institutionalised
gender-based pay differences, a practice that continued in Australian
minimum wage setting for over 70 years.
Keywords: Minimum wages, Australia, Protective Legislation
JEL: N47 N37 J88
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?jel=N47%20N37%20J88>
Date: 2024–02
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:auu:hpaper:118&r=hpe
9. The City of Glasgow Bank failure and the case for liability reform
<http://econpapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:wpaper:121956>
By: Goodhart, C. A. E.
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Goodhart,%20C.%20A.%20E.>
; Postel-Vinay, Natacha
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?aus=Postel-Vinay,%20Natacha>
Abstract: The City of Glasgow Bank failure in 1878, which led to large
numbers of shareholders becoming insolvent, generated great public concern
about their plight, and led directly to the 1879 Companies Act, which paved
the way for the adoption of limited liability for all shareholders. In this
paper, we focus on the question of why the opportunity was not taken to
distinguish between the appropriate liability for ‘insiders, ’ i.e. those
with direct access to information and power over decisions, as contrasted
with ‘outsiders.’ We record that such issues were raised and discussed at
the time, and we report why proposals for any such graded liability were
turned down. We argue that the reasons for rejecting graded liability for
insiders were overstated, both then and subsequently. While we believe that
the case for such graded liability needs reconsideration, it does remain a
complex matter, as discussed in Section 4.
Keywords: corporate governance; limited liability; bank risk-taking;
financial regulation; financial crises; senior management regime; banks;
banking
JEL: G21 G28 G30 G32 G39 N23 K22 K29 L20
<http://econpapers.repec.org/scripts/search.pf?jel=G21%20G28%20G30%20G32%20G39%20N23%20K22%20K29%20L20>
Date: 2024–02–01
URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ehl:wpaper:121956&r=hpe
------------------------------
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<http://econpapers.repec.org/RAS/pth72.htm>. It is provided as is without
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