Say's Law of Markets: What Did It Mean and Why Should We Care?

When the Classical economists asserted the "impossibility of general overproduction," or what we now call Say's Law of Markets, they had in mind not periodic crises or business cycles but secular stagnation. Could the capitalist system absorb the constant increases in output without breakdown from limits inherent in the system? Say's Law supplied an affirmative answer to the question: with flexible prices, the system is forever tending to full employment, full-capacity equilibrium. The issue of what was meant by Say's Law has been hopelessly misunderstood in modern times, first by a Keynesian reading but more by a Walrasian reading of the doctrine.Business Cycles; Cycle; Employment; Full Employment; Prices; Stagnation

Prospects for the Progress of Heterodox Economics

While progress in orthodox economics is understood as an internal concept, progress in heterodox economics has both an internal and external dimension, where the latter refers to persuasive success. This broader understanding of progress reflects the fundamental, methodological level at which we distinguish between orthodox and heterodox economics. Regarding internal progress, orthodox economics retains cohesion at the level of formalism, but this cohesion is showing strains because of the inevitable limitations imposed by formalism. While more apparently disparate, heterodox economics can be seen to be more methodologically cohesive; this is explained in terms of a qualified form of pluralism at a range of levels. A discussion of progress of ideas in terms of persuasion (with sociological and institutional, as well as linguistic, dimensions) provides the basis for a considering a pluralist strategy for promoting the progress of heterodox economics

Economics of education research: a review and future prospects

In this paper we offer an appraisal of the economics of education research area, charting its history as a field and discussing the ways in which economists have contributed both to education research and to education policy-making. In particular, we highlight the theoretical and methodological contributions that economists have made to the field of education during the last 50 years. Despite the success of the economics of education as a field of inquiry, we argue that some of the contributions made by economists could be limited if the economics of education is seen as quite distinct from the other disciplines working in the field of education. In these areas of common interest, economists need to work side by side with the other major disciplines in the field of education if their contribution to the field is to be maximised, particularly in terms of applying improved methodology. We conclude that the study of education acquisition and its economic and social impact in the economics of education research area is very likely to remain a fertile research ground. Acknowledgement

Wage returns to university disciplines in Greece: are Greek Higher Education degrees Trojan Horses?

This paper examines the wage returns to qualifications and academic disciplines in the Greek labour market. Exploring wage responsiveness across various degree subjects in Greece is interesting, as it is characterised by high levels of graduate unemployment, which vary considerably by field of study, and relatively low levels of wage flexibility. Using micro-data from recently available waves (2002-2003) of the Greek Labour Force Survey (LFS), the returns to academic disciplines are estimated by gender and public/private sector. Quantile regressions and cohort interactions are also used to capture the heterogeneity in wage returns across the various disciplines. The results show considerable variation in wage premiums across the fields of study, with lower returns for those that have a marginal role to play in an economy with a rising services/shrinking public sector. Educational reforms that pay closer attention to the future prospects of university disciplines are advocated