Dear All,
The next session of the INET Young Scholars Initiative
*Online Seminar in History of Economic Thought and Philosophy of Economics*
on the theme
*Old Institutionalism and Anglo-American Economic History*
is taking place this coming *Thursday, 17th of March, at 16h UTC. *
The session will contain young scholar presentations by Denilson Beal and
Aqdas Afzal. Anne Mayhew and Geoffrey Hodgson will discuss the papers
followed by a general discussion (detailed program below).
The papers, as well as the session itself, on Thursday, can be accessed
from the event page (anyone with an internet connection can join the
session):
[image: image]
<http://ineteconomics.org/community/events/old-institutionalism-and-anglo-american-economic-history>
Old Institutionalism and Anglo-American Economic History
<http://ineteconomics.org/community/events/old-institutionalism-and-anglo-american-economic-history>
The webinar will contain young scholar presentations by Denilson Beal and
Aqdas Afzal. Anne Mayhew and Geoffrey Hodgson will discuss the papers
followed by a ge...
View on ineteconomics.org
<http://ineteconomics.org/community/events/old-institutionalism-and-anglo-american-economic-history>
16h UTC is morning/noon in America, afternoon in Europe and Africa, and
evening in Asia; please check precise corresponding time
<http://www.timeanddate.com/time/map/> at your location.
Our following session, on *The Influence of Mechanics and Cybernetics on
20th Century Economics *will contain presentations by Gabriel Oliva and
Mark Kirstein, discussed by Jack Birner and J. Barkley Rosser (detailed
program below).
Here the full *2016 Program* of the webinar:
[image: image]
<http://cms.ineteconomics.org/community/young-scholars/working-groups/history-of-economic-thought/news/schedule-announced-for-monthly-history-of-economic-thought-webinar>
2016 Program Online Seminar in History of Economic Thought
<http://cms.ineteconomics.org/community/young-scholars/working-groups/history-of-economic-thought/news/schedule-announced-for-monthly-history-of-economic-thought-webinar>
The INET Young Scholar Online Seminar in History of Economic Thought and
Philosophy of Economics is a monthly webinar held by the YSI History of
Economic Th...
View on ineteconomics.org
<http://www.ineteconomics.org/community/young-scholars/working-groups/history-of-economic-thought/news/schedule-announced-for-monthly-history-of-economic-thought-webinar>
Hoping to see many of you on Thursday,
Best regards,
Jérôme
Thursday 17th of March at 16h UTC
*Old Institutionalism and Anglo-American Economic History*
Denilson Beal, *Universidade Federal do Paraná*
*Institutional Economics and Political Communitarianism on the Discontent
of American Farmers in the Late Nineteenth-Century*
This presentation claims that the post-Civil War period in the United
States was characterized by large-scale commercialization-led institutional
change that prompted the emergence of a quantitative business ethic based
on individualism and monetary canons of value. Therefore, we build upon the
case study of the discontent of American farmers in such context to
evidence potential spaces for constructive dialogue between the school of
original institutional economics and the political communitarianism of
Michael J. Sandel. We uphold that these strands of thought may be
reasonably treated as complementary to one another, especially in respect
to the concepts of individual, community and freedom. The parallels
proposed herein might contribute to both scientific fields and to
contemporary philosophy of economics, particularly over the importance of
bringing the civic consequences of economic arrangements back to public
debate.
Discussant: Anne Mayhew, *University of Tennessee (Professor Emerita)*
Aqdas Afzal, *University of Missouri - Kansas City*
*What Does the Glorious Revolution Really Tell Us About Economic
Institutions?*
This paper critically examines the relative merits of New Institutional
Economics (NIE, hereafter) versus the “critical institutionalist” method of
institutional analysis. I sketch how the Glorious Revolution, a seminal
event in British economic and political history, has been analyzed by NIE.
I argue that the examination, in general, and that of the Glorious
Revolution, in particular, shows a considerable amount of theoretical
weakness. Instead, I use the critical institutionalist method to present a
comprehensive institutional analysis of the Glorious Revolution. I forward
the changing nature of resource distribution and culture in Britain as key
variables. I also highlight the role of the “Whigs” as key agents in
bringing about the necessary events of the Glorious Revolution.
Discussant: Geoffrey Hodgson, *University of Hertfordshire*
April
*The Influence of Mechanics and Cybernetics on 20th Century Economics*
Gabriel Oliva, *Universidade de **São **Paolo*
*The Road to Servomechanisms: The Influence of Cybernetics on Hayek, from
the Sensory Order to the Social Order*
It is widely recognized inside the specialized History of Economic Thought
literature that the Austrian economist F. A. Hayek formed his views on
complexity under the influence from the scientific movements of cybernetics
and general system theory. Despite this general recognition, almost no work
exists to the moment that explores in greater detail how neither one is
related to Hayek’s ideas. Our investigation tries to contribute to fill
this gap. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first, we focus
mainly on Hayek’s attempt of giving an explanation of the principle to the
emergence of human purposive behavior with the use of the concepts of
negative feedback and equifinality, borrowed from cybernetics and general
system theory, respectively. In the second part, we turn to Hayek’s later
uses of related ideas in his works on what he called the twin ideas of
evolution and of spontaneous formation of order. importance of bringing the
civic consequences of economic arrangements back to public debate.
Discussant: Jack Birner, *Università degli Studi di Trento*
Mark Kirstein, *Technische Universität Dresden*
*From the Ergodic Hypothesis in Physics to the Ergodic Axiom in Economics*
Despite its foundational character, the assumption of ergodicity is either
unknown or virtually unrecognised in the economic discipline. Ergodicity, a
mathematical property of a dynamic system originated from statistical
mechanics and is fulfilled, if the time average of a system equals its
ensemble average. If the time average of a system is unequal to its
ensemble average, the system is called nonergodic. Nonergodicity puts
emphasis on the crucial role of time through which a certain amount of
uncertainty enters into economic reasoning. The change of status from an
hypothesis in theoretical physics to an axiom in common mathematical
economics is analysed. We follow the idea from rational mechanics of Gibbs
to Samuelson's idea of a rational science of economics as its only possible
form. This methodological spillover lead to and enabled the mathematisation
of economics since the 1940s.
Discussant: J. Barkley Rosser, *James Madison University*