The Economic Consequences of the Klassical Caricature

This essay is part of a wider investigation into the macroeconomic creation myth; and this introductory section provides only a very brief summary of Pigou\u27s work. The reader\u27s indulgence is therefore requested: full justification for my assertions will be provided in a forthcoming book. Limitations of space prohibit me from doing justice to my thesis about Pigou at the same time as addressing my allocated topic. ISBN: 978-0-7923-8149-

Dynamics and Spatial Distribution of Global Nighttime Lights

Using open source data, we observe the fascinating dynamics of nighttime light. Following a global economic regime shift, the planetary center of light can be seen moving eastwards at a pace of about 60 km per year. Introducing spatial light Gini coefficients, we find a universal pattern of human settlements across different countries and see a global centralization of light. Observing 160 different countries we document the expansion of developing countries, the growth of new agglomerations, the regression in countries suffering from demographic decline and the success of light pollution abatement programs in western countries

In Favor of Rigor and Relevance. A Reply to Mark Blaug

The paper discusses Mark Blaug’s recent criticisms of “Sraffian economics”. It is shown that none of the criticisms stand up to close examination. Blaug commits a number of elementary blunders and mistakes the mathematical form of an argument for its content. He variously contradicts himself and puts forward bold contentions that cannot be sustained. The paper concludes with an obvious plea for rigor and relevance.Piero Sraffa;Mark Blaug; General Equilibrium

The Competitiveness of Central and Eastern European (CEE) Financial Markets

Although there has been vivid academic debate as to what extent Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) are motivated by political reasons, it is rather clear that countries can use state-owned investment funds as a tool of their foreign policy. Even Barack Obama, during his initial presidential campaign in 2008 commented: “I am obviously concerned if these… sovereign wealth funds are motivated by more than just market consideration and that’s obviously a possibility”. This book looks at SWF activities in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) to determine the main motives for SWF presence in CEE. Are the potential financial gains the only reason behind their investments? Are SWF activities in the region dangerous for the stability and security of the CEE countries? The book is pioneering analyses of SWFs behaviour in the region, based on empirical data collected from the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute Transaction Database, arguably the most comprehensive and authoritative resource tracking SWF investment behaviour globally.Rozdział pochodzi z książki: Political Players? Sovereign Wealth Funds’ Investments in Central and Eastern Europe, T. Kamiński (ed.), Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, Łódź 2017.The research seeks to gauge the global competitiveness of Central and Eastern European (CEE) financial markets. The assessment is made using quantitative and hybrid metrics of financial centre development while placing particular emphasis on competitiveness drivers relevant to the activity of global sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) in the CEE region.This book was published in frames of project “Political significance of the Sovereign Wealth Funds’ investments in the Central and Eastern Europe”. The project was financed by the Polish National Science Centre (Decision no. DEC-2012/07/B/HS5/03797)

You say you want a revolution? : Popular music and revolt in France, the United States, and Britain during the late 1960s

It is almost impossible to understand the youth protest movements of the 1960s without some appreciation of the importance of that decade's popular music. This music and ideas of personal and political liberation and self-expression were closely linked. This article analyses the role of popular music (rock music) in the 1960s' counterculture. It adopts an explicitly comparative historical approach to the phenomenon, utilising case studies of three contrasting societies – two in Western Europe, plus the United States. The argument here is that despite that this music challenged many social convention and helped to 'emancipate' its consumers, its uses and role in the USA, Britain, and France were frequently dissimilar. Often, these were determined by differing national circumstances and traditions. The piece disputes also the notion of a united and radical counterculture and attempts to illuminate the nature of youth rebellion in each of the countries that it examines. This paper seeks to suggest that the 1960s' youth-based movements for social change were frequently responding to local or parochial problems in their protests. 1968 is taken as the main focus here, partly because it permits an examination of the intense Parisian revolt that broke out in that year, but also because it is frequently conceptualised as the decade's hinge. 1968 is the year when the optimistic mind-set of the preceding five or so years started to give way to frustration and disillusionment

Spirituality, Economics, and Education A Dialogic Critique of Spiritual Capital

This paper consists of a conversation between a philosopher specialising in ethics and religion and an educational researcher with an interest in cultural studies and contemporary social theory. Dialogic in form, this paper employs an interdisciplinary response to an interdisciplinary project and offers the following components: a dialogic theorizing of the implications for education of a research project on spiritual capital; a continuation of the project of analyzing moral thinking in various cultural and societal settings; a continuation of the project of analyzing political rhetoric (towards an understanding of the polemics of political rhetoric); a reaffirmation of the value of recognizing difference and ambiguity in the global moment

Spatial economy: high-tech glossary or new regional economics?

"The Spatial Economy Cities, Regions and International Trade", by Masahisa Fujita, Paul Krugman and Anthony J. Venables, has been seen as the best synthesis of the so-called new economic geography. The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to review the book; and second, to place it in the current debate on regional economics. The first part of the paper is a brief introduction that situates the book in the history of regional economics. In the second part, a description and analysis of the basic models, their variations and applications are presented. The debate on regional economics concerning the theory proposed in the book is in the third part. Two aspects are stressed: the criticisms on the core-periphery model and how it incorporates regional diversity The fourth topic is a critical assessment of the achievements and originality of the new economic geography analysis.regional economics; economic geography; industrial agglomerations; monopolistic competition

Guest Introduction Quaker Business, Industry and Commerce: New Critical Perspectives and Pathways

This themed edition of Quaker Studies assembles a collection of papers by Quaker and other scholars from the fields of management and organisation to examine Quakerism in business, industry and commerce. These papers arise out of the joint Quaker Studies Research Association/Centre for Research in Quaker Studies conference held at Woodbrooke on 21 June 2018. The themes explored in them cover a wide, and previously under-explored, terrain that encompasses both a retrospective look at the influence and impact of Quaker-owned businesses and practices on society and vice versa and the often uneasy relationship between contemporary management theory and practice and Quaker tradition. Furthermore, the papers I have selected for this themed issue either adopt a critical perspective or elaborate new and interesting ways to understand the interface between Quakerism and business, with the ambition to open new pathways for future research. In other words, it has been the intention both to break new ground in Quaker Studies and to excite and interest management scholars to (re)turn to Quaker practice as a means to interpret contemporary phenomena