Individual and regulatory ethics: an economic-ethical and theoretical-historical analysis of ordoliberalism

Based on Foucault’s analysis of German Neoliberalism and his thesis of ambiguity, the following paper draws a two-level distinction between individual and regulatory ethics. The individual ethics level – which has received surprisingly little attention – contains the Christian foundation of values and the liberal-Kantian heritage of so called Ordoliberalism – as one variety of neoliberalism. The regulatory or formal-institutional ethics level on the contrary refers to the ordoliberal framework of a socio-economic order. By differentiating these two levels of ethics incorporated in German Neoliberalism, it is feasible to distinguish dissimilar varieties of neoliberalism and to link Ordoliberalism to modern economic ethics. Furthermore, it allows a revision of the dominant reception of Ordoliberalism which focuses solely on the formal-institutional level while mainly neglecting the individual ethics level

Introduction to Data Ethics

An Introduction to data ethics, focusing on questions of privacy and personal identity in the economic world as it is defined by big data technologies, artificial intelligence, and algorithmic capitalism. Originally published in The Business Ethics Workshop, 3rd Edition, by Boston Acacdemic Publishing / FlatWorld Knowledge

Economic thinking and ethics: an ethical approach for economical issues

The worldwide economic crisis of 2007/2008 popularised the ethical questions within economics. Currently, few mainstream economists tackle these questions and the typical curriculum of economics often lacks input on philosophy, ethics and the history of economic thoughts. However, economists confronted with ethical questions believe themeslves capable of answering them. As a result, the popular discussion about ethics and economics becomes a discussion about regulations. In contrast to that, in the context of the “Economics and Ethics” discussion in Germany, the article shows an alternative approach, which concentrates on the question of why something is to be labelled as “moral”. On the base of Peter Ulrich's integrative economic ethics, the relevance of the right of subsistence on the ethical legitimacy of economic decisions, recommendations etc. is explained. The insights are discussed with respect to labour market theories and the German labour market reforms of 2005. Finally, the question of ethical legitimation is connected to the question of democracy and economics.Peter Ulrich, integrative economic ethics, discourse, ethical legitimation, Karl Polanyi, Subsistence, Viablity, Right of Subsistence

Determining Conformity to Islamic Ethical Principles in Economic Practices: A Case of Pakistan

The paper discuses sources of income permitted and prohibited in the faith of Islam. Under ethical constraints i.e. the allowed framework in which an individual or group of individuals can undertake economic pursuits, the Islamic teachings relating to the right conduct in economic pursuits are provided. Then, when the person in his/her economic pursuits becomes an earning individual, the Islamic teachings to an earning individual are provided in the light of Quran and Hadith. The paper also compares secular and Islamic ethics briefly. The paper also analyzes conformity of economic practices with Islamic principles and identifies specific ethical issues and deviations in specific sectors of economy at the sector and industry level.Islamic Ethics, Islamic Morality, Secular Ethics, Moral Relativism, Ethical Relativism.

Perceived Economic Pressures and Farmer Ethics

We consider the effect of perceived economic pressures on the ethical attitudes of farmers. We hypothesize that an increase in the economic pressures a farmer faces could result in that farmer being more tolerant of unethical conduct than farmers not experiencing economic pressures. To test this hypothesis, we use data from a survey of 3,000 Missouri farmers with farm sales in excess of $10,000 in 2005 in which farmers were asked how acceptable they considered various unethical or questionable farming practices. The survey also contained questions designed to measure perceived economic pressures. We find evidence that economic pressures result in a greater willingness of farmers to tolerate unethical conduct, particularly in the case of actions that have the potential of causing harm or that are influenced by law or contract. We also find that the more frequently a farmer reports observing an unethical action, the more acceptable he is of it.Farm Management,

CORPORATE ETHICAL IDENTITY AS DETERMINANT OF FIRM PERFORMANCE: A TEST OF THE MEDIATING ROLE OF STAKEHOLDER SATISFACTION

In this article, we empirically assess the impact of the Corporate Ethical Identity (CEI) on the firm’s financial performance. Drawing on formulation of both normative and instrumental stakeholder theory, we argue that firms with a strong ethical identity achieve greater degree of stakeholder satisfaction, which in turn, positively influence the firms’ financial performance. We further analyze two different dimensions of the CEI of firms: corporate revealed ethics and corporate applied ethics. Our results indicate that while revealed ethics has informational worth and enhance shareholder value, applied ethics has a positive impact through the improvement of stakeholder satisfaction. However, revealed ethics by itself (i.e. decoupled from ethical initiatives) is not sufficient to boost economic performance.

Ethics and OR: Operationalising Discourse Ethics

Operational researchers help managers decide what they ought to do and yet this is generally evaluated in terms of efficiency or effectiveness, not ethicality. However, the combination of the tremendous power of global corporations and the financial markets, and the problems the world faces in terms of economic and environmental sustainability, has led to a revival of interest in ethical approaches. This paper explores a relatively recent and innovative process called discourse ethics. This is very different from traditional ethical systems in taking ethical decisions away from individuals or committees and putting them in the hands of the actual people who are involved and affected through processes of debate and deliberation. The paper demonstrates that discourse ethics has strong connections to OR, especially in the areas of soft and critical systems, and that OR can actually contribute to the practical operationalisation of discourse ethics. At the same time, discourse ethics can provide a rigorous discursive framework for “ethics beyond the model"

Cherry Picking in Bhutan

What this paper focuses on is the way that orthodox economic policies can erode and destroy the happiness of a society and its people. It also outlines a range of economic policies and ethics which have the potential to provide a structure within which Gross National Happiness (GNH) might be more effectively created. This is by avoiding some of the mistakes of orthodoxy, and considering alternative 'New Economic' policies that provide room for the many subtle elements that contribute to GNH to emerge

“Veiling The Controversies with Dubious Moral Attitudes”? Creditors and Debtors in Keynes’s Ethics of International Economic Relations

This paper addresses the enduring insistence on the moral dimension of international economic relations in Keynes’s economics and diplomacy. The issue has so far raised scarce attention in the literature, which tend to attribute some outstanding failures of Keynes’s economic diplomacy to the presumed instrumental use Keynes made of moral arguments. The paper provides a comprehensive account of the ethical arguments used by Keynes in his lifelong attempt to design a fair international order, and aims to demonstrate that this moral dimension is part of a well-defined ethics of international relations which privileges national policy space and freedom to choose.John Maynard Keynes, international economic relations, ethics, complexity