1,115 research outputs found
Is history of economics what historians economic of economic thought do? A quantitative investigation
No full textThis paper presents a quantitative investigation into the history of economic thought
(het). Building on previous work (Marcuzzo 2008; 2012), we propose an empirical
study with the aim of describing the dynamics of changes in het in recent years, detecting
three trends: 1) a sort of ‘stepping down from the shoulders of giants’, namely
a move towards studies of ‘minor’ figures and/or economists from a more recent
past; 2) the blossoming of archival research into unpublished work and correspondence;
3) less theory-laden investigations, connecting intellectual circles, linking
characters and events. Using data from Econlit we show the evolution of the overall
publication of het articles (1955-2013) and of het fully or partially specialized journals
(1993-2013); for the latter, by devising proxies which are amenable to quantitative assessment,
we demonstrate that there is some evidence to support these claims
The first great recession of the 21st century: Competing explanations
No full textThe First Great Recession of the 21st Century, fascinating, insightful and thought-provoking, will prove a challenging read for academics, students and researchers in the fields of economics, money, finance and banking, and the history of economics. It will also prove invaluable for economic policymakers at all levels. © Óscar Dejuán, Eladio Febrero and Maria Cristina Marcuzzo 2011. All rights reserved
Sraffa and his arguments against 'marginism'
No full textThe subtitle of Sraffa's most celebrated work, Production of Commodities by Means of Commodities, is prelude to a critique of economic theory. Given that no later work was ever published by Sraffa, we are left to wonder what would have come after the prelude. This paper suggests that the core of the critique might have been the marginal method itself. By carefully distinguishing between published and unpublished work, we shows that Sraffa's opposition to the marginal method follows several threads, some of which were developed over a period of nearly 35 years, such as the belief that economic theory should use only measurable and observable magnitudes, the critique of the 'fundamental' symmetry between production and consumption, and the disagreement with the Marshallian concept of equilibrium. Although none of the arguments reached a stage that Sraffa considered satisfactory enough to be worth publishing, our reconstruction sheds light on his research programme and on otherwise rather obscure passages in his works. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.
Still in fashion?: a study on Facebook usage
No full textThe authors investigate the current state and future prospects of Facebook usage
by means of data that they have collected using a survey at an Italian University. The authors
show that usage is unaffected by how long users have used Facebook. The authors also
examine a number of plausible determinants eventually showing that age, network size, and
perceived usefulness all play an important part in explaining usage. Surprisingly, perceived
privacy does not
Introduction
No full textIn this paper we present the main results of an investigation into the correspondence exchanged among the group of economists active and influential at Cambridge in the first half of the 20th century. Our purpose is to analyse them as a group rather than as individuals, by studying the relations between authors pair-wise. Our main interest lies in tracing the links between various theoretical developments, reconstructing the “referential context” from which certain concepts and ideas emerged. By referential context we mean the common language evolving from the professional and personal relationships established within a group, and self-validated when exposed to external influences. Since language and style germinate and grow in a network of intellectual and personal relations, the material to draw upon to this end consists of published and unpublished material but mainly of the correspondence.
Our main point is that these Cambridge authors should be seen as a group rather than a school. The former term does not necessarily imply –as does the latter - adherence to a common body of doctrine, but it does convey the ideas of cohesion and sharing among its components. Rather than constructing a common denominator of the various positions, in this paper we look at the issues they disagreed about in the course of their interchange, which was carried out orally, in published writings and in correspondence. At the same time we look at what they shared, which in the main were values, lifestyles and approach to work.
We suggest a metaphor to capture the gestalt of this group – a set of intertwining circles, each intersecting at least one of the others, none intersecting all the others
Is there a Cambridge Approach to Economics
No full text“Cambridge capital controversy”, “Cambridge monetary theory of business cycle”, “Cambridge equation” are some of the geographical reference used to characterize the economic theories and approaches that developed in Cambridge (UK) between the 1920s and the 1960s. The question arises which are, if any, the shared aspects in these developments that point to the idea of a Cambridge approach to economics.
I have been arguing for some time that the group of economists renowned as representative the “Cambridge school” (Keynes, Sraffa, Kahn and Joan Robinson) or the “Cambridge Keynesians” with the inclusion of Kaldor, as they are also named (see Pasinetti, 2007) should be best defined as a “group” rather than a “school”; the reason of the distinction is to convey the idea of both cohesion and sharing, rather than adhesion to a common body of doctrine The implication is that “the Cambridge approach to economics” is an alternative to neoclassical economics, but not as cohesive and a fully-fledged system of thought; its rather a legacy with many threads. Several aspects of method, “style” and content of the economics associated with the Cambridge tradition, whose imprinting is to be traced to Marshall, make it well recognizable, when compared with the so called “mainstream” economics and other schools of thought. This is what will present in this paper, drawing on my previous wor
Against the Stream: Ajit Singh and His Battles
No full textThis book pays homage to Ajit Singh, economist and intellectual fighter for
many causes. It does so through intertwined narratives including, among the
major strands, Singh’s life and works, the Faculty of Economics and Politics
in Cambridge, and the Punjab and Sikhism — all of which the author manages
to weave together with rich prose, fine scholarship and passionate commitment
to the subject
The history of economic thought through gender lenses
No full textNegli ultimi trent’anni la storia dell’economia, come quella di molte altre scienze, è stata oggetto di una rilettura critica volta ad evidenziare come i pregiudizi di genere abbiano influenzato sia le teorie economiche che la ricostruzione della loro evoluzione. In questo paper ci proponiamo di fare il punto sui principali risultati raggiunti da questo filone di studi, al cui interno identifichiamo quattro tipi di ricerca. Il primo riguarda la riscoperta del contributo che le donne hanno dato alla disciplina e che spesso è stato sminuito o del tutto dimenticato. Il secondo analizza il ruolo delle istituzioni scientifiche nel trasformare l’economia in una scienza prevalentemente maschile e le strategie adottate dalle donne per far fronte al limitato accesso alle risorse necessarie per la ricerca. Una particolare attenzione è dedicata a Joan Robinson, la cui vita e attività scientifica ed accademica costituiscono un interessante case-study di quella che è stata definita la strategia dell’overperformance. Il terzo tipo di ricerca si interroga su cosa la scienza economica ha detto sul ruolo sociale ed economico delle donne. Il quarto si propone di evidenziare come la mancanza di una presenza significativa delle donne nella costruzione della scienza economica abbia introdotto pregiudizi di genere all’interno dei contenuti e del metodo di indagine della scienza stessa
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