The Undecidability of a Computable General Equilibrium - A Contemporary Philosophical Aspect

Undecidability is a longstanding problem in mathematical logic and computability theory. Gödel, Turing, Church, Tarski and others delved into concerns and issues surrounding an algorithm capable of providing a correct decision when presented with a binary option. The article will first present different aspects of this problem and proceed to analyse the issue in the context of economic theory. Ever since economic science set itself the task of solving the recursive computability problem of a general equilibrium point, engaging the minds of scholars from Walras, Pareto, and Lange to Hayek, Arrow, and Debreu, to name but a few, the area has been the focus of much research. Kumaraswamy Vela Velupillai’s significant work has recently pointed out that the strictly constructive mathematical application of Uzawa Equivalence Theorem, successfully used as scaffolding for various economic models (CGE, DSGE, ABE) to induce a “constructed” equilibrium point, rests on the assumption that lead to its (algorithmic uncomputable) undecidability. Reliance on Zorn's Lemma (Axiom of Choice) to resolve the undecidable suggests convergence, deep implications and consequences also for contemporary philosophy. Therefore, the second part of the paper will shift the object of knowledge to the contemporary political philosophy of Alain Badiou – his life’s oeuvre proposing the “mathematics is ontology” axiom. Endorsing and innovatively reapplying his formalization – encircling the concept of undecidability, and simultaneously complementing it with the use of ZFC set theory, especially rethinking the use of the axiom of choice in Badiou’s theorizing – the article will try to show that the economic general equilibrium theory necessarily proceeds, echoing Badiou, with a decision of a subject, pushing the alleged subject-less scientificity of general equilibrium economics into an ethics of political economy. In turn, the paper will conclude that such an outcome can be directly linked to the political and ideological dimensions of presumably “neutral and objective” means-to-an-end economic theorizing

Integration Strategies for Mergers and Acquisitions in the United Kingdom Housing Sector

Many letting and factoring company leaders face challenges in the United Kingdom housing sector, necessitating mergers and acquisitions (M&As) to adopt hybrid growth models. Yet, the company leaders typically lack M&A integration strategies to achieve sustainable growth. Grounded in the theory of the competitive forces, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore M&A integration strategies business leaders used to achieve sustainable growth in the United Kingdom social housing sector. The participants were four executive-level leaders of a for-profit housing and property factoring organization representing 17 of 32 local authority locations throughout Scotland, United Kingdom. Data were gathered using semistructured interviews, personal conversations, content analysis of publicly available documents, and organizational data. Data were analyzed using Yin’s 5-step thematic analysis approach, and three themes emerged: (1) cooperative synergies of M&A assets, (2) measured executive communication and direction, and (3) effectively leveraging organizational resources. A key recommendation to the organization’s leaders is to expand their cooperative synergy strategy to include complementary hybrid business models to increase market presence within the United Kingdom and drive excitement in the communities where cooperative synergies are applied. The implications for positive social change include the potential to provide property leaders and the communities with improved, sustainable infrastructure, leading to improved basic-needs items, such as safe, affordable housing

Risk Analysis of Emergency Supply Chains

Unknowns and uncertainties are integral to any disaster relief operation. Activities of the emergency supply chain are usually performed in highly volatile environments and are prone to risks. Due to the complexity of the operating relief environment, relief organizations can only anticipate some supply chain disruptions. As such, they must take a comprehensive and proactive approach to uncertainties to manage multiple unexpected events. Therefore, this research aims to develop a comprehensive framework for risk management in emergency supply chains. This study adopts a comprehensive and rigorous procedure to explore the risk factors and mitigation strategies for emergency supply chains. The research design is divided into three phases; first, the risk factors and mitigation strategies are collected through an extensive literature review; next, the risk factors and risk mitigation strategies are verified with experts through high-level surveys and semi-structured interviews. Finally, based on the weight of risk factors estimated using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process, risk factors mitigation strategies to overcome the risk factors are prioritized using the fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution that considers uncertainty and impreciseness rather than a crisp value. This study found and verified 28 emergency supply chain risk factors, which are categorised into two main categories: internal and external risks; four sub-categories: demand, supply, infrastructural, and environmental risks; and 11 risk types: forecast, inventory, procurement, supplier, quality, transportation, warehousing, systems, disruption, social, and political risks. War and terrorism, the impact of follow-up disasters, poor relief supplies, and sanctions and constraints that hinder stakeholder cooperation and coordination are the most significant risks. Finally, eight risk factor mitigation strategies; strategic stock, prepositioning of resources, collaboration and coordination, flexible transportation, flexible supply bases, logistics outsourcing, flexible supply contracts, and risk awareness/knowledge management were proposed and prioritised to overcome the risk factors so decision-makers can focus on these mitigation strategies. This study provides a more efficient, effective, robust, and systematic way to overcome risk factors and improve the effectiveness of emergency supply chains in disaster relief operations. This study is the first to objectively identify, categorise, and analyse emergency supply chains’ risk nature and frequency. Practitioners and policymakers can use the research findings to spot significant risk factors and appropriate mitigation strategies to reduce their effects. The risk profile will be a new database of risk factors affecting the emergency supply chain and allow stakeholders to immediately identify the disrupted emergency supply chain component