A shackled revolution? The Bubble Act and financial regulation in 18th century England

Revisionist estimates of growth rates during the British industrial revolution, though largely successful in presenting a more modest picture of Britain's 'take-off' prior to the 1830s, have also posed fresh analytical difficulties for champions of the new economic history. If 18th-century Britain was witness to a diffuse explosion of 'useful knowledge', why did aggregate growth rates or industrial output growth rates not more closely shadow the pace of technological change? In effort to explain this paradox, Peter Temin and Hans-Joachim Voth have claimed that a few key institutional restrictions on financial markets - namely the Bubble Act, and tightening of usury laws in 1714 - served to amplify the crowding out impact of government borrowing. Against this vision, the present paper contends that the adverse impact of financial regulation and state borrowing in 18th century Britain has been greatly overstated. To this end, the paper first briefly outlines the historical context in which the Bubble Act emerged, before turning to survey the existing diversity of perspectives on the Act's lasting impact. It is then argued that there is little evidence to support the view that the Bubble Act significantly restricted firms' access to capital. Following this, it is suggested that the crowding out model, theoretical shortcomings aside, is largely inapplicable to 18th century Britain. The savings-constrained vision of British capital markets significantly downplays the extent to which the Bank of England, though founded as an institution to manage the public debt, provided the entire financial system with liquidity in the 18th century

Marx's appreciation of James Steuart: A theory of history and value

This paper argues that despite a growing body of scholarly literature on Sir James Steuart, his theory of history and influence on Marxian political economy has been largely ignored. The approach of this paper is motivated, in part, by Marx's sympathetic treatment of Steuart found in the opening of his Theories of Surplus Value, and in scattered asides throughout the remainder of his work. We argue that Steuart's importance to students of the history of political economy is three-fold: First, following Marx, we consider the unique and dynamic role played by history in Steuart's system. Steuart appears to have been the first thinker in political economy to both recognize the historical specificity of capitalism, and to conspicuously incorporate that realization into his system. Secondly, in Steuart's approach to the question of value and profit we find conceptions that defy easy classification. Steuart is seen to plainly abandon the mercantilist understanding of profit as determined in the sphere of exchange alone, and to treat what he calls the real value of a commodity as intimately related to its necessary labor time. Finally, we argue that Steuart's contemporary notoriety made him far more influential than is commonly recognized. In particular, we contend that Steuart, via Hegel, may have exercised an indirect influence on Marx's own theory of history, in ways that Marx could not have recognized

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe dissertation is comprised of three essays exploring topics in the history of economic thought and macroeconomics. The first essay contends that despite a growing body of scholarly literature on Sir James Steuart, his theory of history and influence on Marxian political economy have been largely ignored. It is argued that Steuart's importance to students of the history of political economy is three-fold: First, Steuart appears to have been the first thinker in political economy to both recognize the historical specificity of capitalism, and to conspicuously incorporate that realization into his system. Secondly, in Steuart's approach to the question of value and profit, we find conceptions that defy easy classification. Steuart is seen to plainly abandon the mercantilist understanding of profit as determined in the sphere of exchange alone, and to treat what he calls the real value of a commodity as intimately related to its necessary labor time. Finally, we argue that Steuart's contemporary notoriety made him far more influential than is commonly recognized. In particular, we contend that Steuart, via Hegel, may have exercised an indirect influence on Marx's own theory of history in ways that Marx could not have recognized. The second essay offers a reinterpretation of the central figure of the ‘older' German Historical School, Wilhelm Rosher. The essay contends that the heterodox aspects of Roscher's thought have been greatly overstated, and that much of his proposed historical narrative should be seen as protoneoclassical. Having outlined Roscher's approach to historical economics, the paper surveys the alternative approach of one of Roscher's contemporaries: Richard Jones. In Jones' system, we find a much richer approach to historical economics, one that has been overshadowed by the School of Roscher and Schmoller. The third essay presents a critical survey of two distinct families of post-Keynesian growth models, drawing their basic inspiration from either Nicholas Kaldor or Michael Kalecki and Joan Robinson. A fundamental distinction between these families of models lies in their treatment of investment. In Kaldor's ‘mature' work, which adopts John Hick's concept of the supermultiplier, investment is derived demand attuned to the growth autonomous demand. In contrast, with Kaleckian-Robinsonian models, investment takes a life of its own in the form of an independent investment function dependent on the rate of profit. The result of this modeling choice is that changes in distribution can have ambiguous effects on the rate of accumulation, effects which depend on the specification of the investment function. Modern Kaleckian-Robinsonian models, following Steven Marglin and Amit Bhaduri, draw the distinction between profit- and wage-led growth regimes. In the wage-led case, a rising wage-share bolsters demand and increases the rate of capacity utilization which, in turn, induces firms to invest. In the profit-led case, however, a rise in the profit share serves as the stimulus to investment, and ultimately growth. Against an empirical literature that seeks to understand the neoliberal era in these terms, it is argued that recent US growth may be better understood in the context of a simple Kaldorian supermultiplier framework. While the profit share has risen significantly over the past 30 years, the conjecture that the US growth regime has been profit-led is largely based upon spurious correlations. Instead, investment has remained demand-led, as consumer spending was (unsustainably) bolstered by rising debt-income levels

The Gospel of Co-operative Capitalism: Acolytes and Apostates

The present paper seeks to locate the Bhaduri-Marglin (B-M) model as an historical outcome of the Left\u27s internal disputes over the prospects for social democracy. In better contextualizing the B-M model as a historical response to the perceived political economic failings of the social compromises upon which the growth of post-War advanced capitalist economies had rested, both the model’s popularity and its potential limitations can more easily be understood. Though the B-M framework has frequently come to be referred to as the neo- or post-Kaleckian growth model, such labels perhaps obscure the model\u27s diverse ancestry. The model constituted an attempt to reconcile seemingly incompatible theoretical perspectives, and to highlight those special conditions that made possible a ‘Golden Age’ of social democracy. Moreover, they sought to show that the conclusions of Keynesian social democrats and of radical Marxists could be viewed as two possible outcomes of the same broadly Keynesian theoretical framework in which investment played a leading role. While this synthesis has fostered a vast literature and useful dialogue, it is argued that it should, nevertheless, be seen as the outcome of a generation Left social scientists that had become deeply skeptical of the possibility of egalitarian redistribution under capitalism, and of the political ambitions of Keynesian and social democratic parties

Thorstein Veblen: A marxist starting point

As existing literature attests, in spite of methodological differences Marx and Veblen draw strikingly similar conclusions regarding production, conflict, and alienation in modern existence. We here attempt to establish that similarity in conclusion stems from similarity in approach. After reviewing the existing literature on a Marx-Veblen methodological reconciliation, we recapitulate Marx's method, making the mediated starting point the locus of discussion. From this vantage point, we then examine Veblen's own approach to analysis in The Theory of Business Enterprise and the conclusions that emerge as they resemble those of Marx. In taking a kindred approach Veblen is able to arrive at an understanding of capitalism in accordance with, and complementary to, Marx's rendering of the inverted nature of economic life in modernity

An Aristotelian View of Marx's method

A number of Marxist scholars have tied aspects of Marx's thought to certain Aristotelian categories, yet remarkably little is said of Marx's dialectical materialism in this literature. Here we attempt to lay a foundation for such an effort, paying particular attention to the way in which Aristotle's mediated starting point resonates in Marx's method. While Hegel is able to grasp man's self-creation as a process, his dialectical method proceeds from an unmediated starting point, and impresses Idealism upon the Aristotelian categories. In rejecting the Idealist dimensions of Hegel's dialectic, Marx implicitly reclaims the materialist dimensions of Aristotle's system. It will be argued here that such an interpretation sheds important light on the nature of Marx's departure from Hegel, and on his method in Capital

Effect of certain minerals on fire assay of lead

Our problem was to determine the affect in the lead assay of certain minerals commonly accompanying lead ores. The minerals used were calcite, pyrite, blende and chalcocite --pag

Self-Esteem, Forced Compliance, and Attitude Change

Psycholog

Oral Care Interventions to Prevent Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia in Mechanically-Ventilated Adults

Background: Ventilator-associated pneumonia is a common and costly problem in acute care settings. Each case has an increased chance for mortality and may result in further complications. Purpose: To review relevant literature about the methods of providing oral care for ventilated patients to prevent the incidence of VAP in acute care settings. Methods: Literature published between 2008 and 2013 was reviewed using PUBMED, MEDLINE, CINAHL, Cochrane, and Up To Date using the key words “oral care,” “ventilator- associated pneumonia,” “toothbrushing,” “VAP,” “oral hygiene,” “hydrogen peroxide,” and “pneumonia.” Setting: Mechanically ventilated adult patients in acute care settings. Sample Size: The literature review was conducted on five meta-analyses, four randomized control trials, one cohort study, and one non-randomized control trial. Findings: This literature review found that research supports the use of chlorhexidine in acute healthcare settings in the prevention of VAP. Conclusions: Reduction in the incidence of VAP occurred with Chlorhexidine use added to patient oral care but more research is needed in the area of prophylactic oral care. Clinical Relevance: The findings provide direction for future research done on the subject, and support the recommendation of the use of chlorhexidine in oral care for mechanically ventilated patients