Ricardian political economy and the 'varieties of capitalism' approach : specialization, trade and comparative institutional advantage

The ‘varieties of capitalism’ approach offers key insights into the institutional embeddedness of economic experiences. It performs an important function in providing a conceptual framework for empirical analyses of the way in which the economy both manifests, and itself is a manifestation of, a whole series of different experiences. However, I argue that the Ricardian themes evident in Hall and Soskice’s Varieties of Capitalism limit the potential effectiveness of the empirical analyses that the approach makes possible. Within the context of this latent Ricardianism, the economy is understood to be international, and the important differences within the economic system are those between different national ‘models’. I expose such assumptions to critical scrutiny, both analytical and empirical, before offering the outline of an alternative basis on which to ground the ‘varieties of capitalism’ approach. In contrast to the major themes of the Ricardian tradition, I argue for an approach that is sensitive to the social relations of production, the study of which requires political economists to transcend the artificial reification of ‘the national’ as a discrete unit of economic analysis

The evolution of markets and the revolution of industry : a quantitative model of England’s development, 1300-2000

This paper argues that an economy's transition from Malthusian stagnation to modern growth requires markets to reach a critical size, and competition to reach a critical level of intensity. By allowing an economy to produce a greater variety of goods, a larger market makes goods more substitutable, raising the price elasticity of demand, and lowering mark-ups. Firms must then become larger to break even, which facilitates amortizing the fixed costs of innovation. We demonstrate our theory in a dynamic general equilibrium model calibrated to England's long-run development and explore how various factors affect the timing of takeoff.European Community's Seventh Framework ProgramFinancial aid from the European Commission (EFIGE Grant 225343 and HI-POD Grant 225551), the Comunidad de Madrid (PROCIUDAD-CM), and the Spanish Ministry of Science (ECO2008-01300) is acknowledged

Two Varieties of Moral Exemplarism

References to moral exemplars run deep into the history of philosophy, as we find them featured in rather disparate context and approaches which span from virtue ethics to moral perfectionism, from existentialism to moral particularism. In the varied and growing contemporary literature on moral exemplarism, we find a number of options that can be brought down to the two rather broad yet distinctive categories of theoretical and anti-theoretical approaches. In the paper, I showcase and contrast these two varieties by taking the views of Zagzebski and Rorty as representative of, respectively, the reference to exemplars as most perfect beings to aspire to and get guidance from, and the use of them as next yet foreign beings to experiment with and get provocation from. Finally, I will draw some consequences for a conception of moral education hinged on unsettlement and transformation rather than on imitation and reproduction

Language attitudes and use in a transplanted setting: Greek Cypriots in London

In this paper we explore language attitudes and use in the Greek Cypriot community in London, England. Our study is based on an earlier survey carried out in Nicosia, Cyprus and we compare attitudes to language and reported language use in the two communities. We thereby highlight the significance of sociolinguistic variables on similar groups of speakers. We further extend our investigation to include codeswitching practices in the London community. \ud Analysis of language attitudes and use within the Greek-Cypriot population of London, and comparisons with findings in Nicosia, reflect symbolic forces operating in the two contexts. Despite obvious differences between the two communities, (most obviously the official languages and distinct cultural backgrounds of the two nations), the Greek Cypriot Dialect continues to play an active role in both. English is however the ‘default choice‘ for young Cypriots in the UK and Standard Modern Greek occupies a much more limited role than in Cyprus. It is argued that differences in language attitudes and use can be interpreted in light of different market forces operating in the nation (i.e. Cyprus) and the Diaspora (i.e. UK)

Optimal Product Proliferation in Monopoly: A Dynamic Analysis

The monopolist's incentives towards product proliferation are evaluated in an optimal control model considering three alternative regimes: profit-seeking; social planning; and a hybrid case with monopoly pricing and a regulator setting product innovation to maximize welfare. In equilibrium, the profit-seeking firm supplies a socially suboptimal number of varieties to reduce cannibalization while the social planner exploits the same effect to satisfy consumersÕ love for variety and decrease the market price of all products. In terms of the Schumpeter vs Arrow debate on the relationship between market structure and innovation incentives, the results obtained in this model have a definite Arrovian flavour.multiproduct firm, product innovation, optimal control

Do Excessive Wage Increases Raise Imports? Theory and Evidence

This paper uses a model of trade in vertically differentiated products to examine the effects of “excessive wage” increases (i.e. above productivity) on the volume of commodity imports. The model predicts that for commodities, in which the country has comparative advantage in high quality varieties, an increase in “excessive wages” may result in a decrease in the volume of imports. The empirical validity of the model's predictions is demonstrated with the use of disaggregated Japanese import data for the period 1967-95. We also find that the aggregate volume of Japanese imports is not responsive to "excessive wage" changes.

Farmer willingness to pay for seed-related information: rice varieties in Nigeria and Benin

"A typical private good is defined by its excludability and rivalry characteristics. Information embodied in a technology might not generate rivalry among its users. By contrast, excludability is certainly a characteristic of this kind of information and its delivery can generate incentives for private participation. This study examines farmers' preferences for seed of new rice varieties and their willingness to pay for seed-related information in villages of Nigeria and Benin. Conjoint analysis is used to estimate the structure of farmers' preferences for rice seed given a set of alternatives. Farmers are considered to be consumers of seed as a production input, preferring one variety over another based on the utility they obtain from its attributes, which depends on their own social and economic characteristics, including whether or not they sell rice. Contingent methods are used to elicit preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for rice seed. The marginal values of attributes, with and without information about the seed, are estimated with an ordered probit regression. WTP for information is derived from the analysis of WTP for rice seed. The results have implications for the best way to finance research and extension services in the areas of intervention, particularly for new rice varieties. " Authors' AbstractWillingnes to pay (WTP), seed-related information, conjoint analysis, rice attributes, farmers' preferences, technology,

Health related effects of wheat varieties

Summarises the different effects wheat digestion has on human healt