Economics in Times of Crisis. In Search of a New Paradigm

JEL Codes: B41, B50The relationship between the development of economics and economic performance is not reducible to any set of simple rules. Among the historians of economic thought there is even a handful of those who perceive the progress in economics mostly as an outcome of the attempts to solve the problems, inconsistencies and paradoxes within economic theory itself. Seen from this perspective, economic reality has minor (or no) importance. On the other hand, the endeavours to modify a mainstream approach are significantly greater in times of economic downturns. Seeing that economics is in such a state of ‘intellectual ferment’ nowadays, it is worth reconsidering the connection between economics and the economy. Thus the main aim of the paper is to analyse the current state of economic science in relation to the last economic slump. Although it is of course not possible to predict the future trajectories of economic theorising, taking into consideration the nature of the crisis the most feasible and potentially most fruitful areas are indicated

Alfred Marshall’s Puzzles. Between Economics as a Positive Science and Economic Chivalry

Alfred Marshall’s approach to economics hides a paradox. On one hand, the ‘father’ of neoclassical economics strongly favoured conducting economics as a positive science. However, the fact that Marshall was such a consistent and determined advocate of this ideal of economic research is puzzling for at least two reasons. Firstly, even a quick glance at his publications allows to notice that his texts are sated with moral teachings. What is more, in referring to the problems of economic policy he not only took into account ethical aspects, but also frequently gave pre-eminence to ethical arguments over conclusions stemming from research grounded solely on the theory of economics. The paper aims to explain the paradox and argues that the complexity of Marshall’s approach arises from his attempts to combine two approaches pointed by Amartya Sen of binding economics and ethics over the centuries: ‘the ethics-related tradition’ with ‘the engineering approach’

Diversity of transition paths in Central and Eastern Europe in light of contemporary economic theories

Zainicjowany ponad ćwierć wieku temu proces transformacji ustrojowej krajów byłego bloku wschodniego miał charakter bezprecedensowy. Wyjaśnienie jego wymiaru ekonomicznego – możliwych i ostatecznie obieranych dróg przejścia od gospodarki nakazowo-rozdzielczej do gospodarki rynkowej – już przez samą tę bezprecedensowość, ale i niezwykłą złożoność stanowiło i wciąż stanowi wyzwanie dla nauk ekonomicznych. Celem artykułu jest ocena, w jakiej mierze współczesna ekonomia poradziła sobie z tym wyzwaniem i próba uzasadnienia tezy, iż przy objaśnianiu zróżnicowanych trajektorii rozwojowych krajów transformacji i tłumaczeniu przyczyn osiąganych na tym polu sukcesów (lub ich braku) zdecydowanie bardziej adekwatne okazały się koncepcje stworzone przez reprezentantów szkół leżących na obrzeżach lub poza głównym nurtem badań ekonomicznych.The process of systemic transformation in the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, spearheaded about a quarter of a century ago, was unprecedented in the economic history of the world. Its economic dimension – the available, and ultimately chosen, paths of transition from socialism to market economy – has challenged economic sciences. The challenge has been all the greater not only because of the novelty of the phenomenon, but also because of its unusual complexity. The paper aims to assess to what extent contemporary economics has succeeded in responding to this challenge and to prove that the concepts proposed by the representatives of schools from the margin of, or beyond, the mainstream economics turn out to be significantly more appropriate for explaining the diversity of transformation paths and elucidating the reasons behind the achievements (or lack thereof) of some [email protected]ł Ekonomiczno-Socjologiczny, Uniwersytet Łódzki, Instytut Ekonomii, Katedra Historii Myśli Ekonomicznej i Historii GospodarczejAcemoglu D., Robinson J. A. 2013 Why Nations Fail. The Origins of Power, Prosperity and Poverty, Crown Publishers, London (wyd. polskie: Dlaczego narody przegrywają. Źródła władzy, pomyślności i ubóstwa, tłum. J. Łoziński, Wydawnictwo Zysk i S-ka, Poznań 2014).Arthur B. 1989 Competing Technologies, Increasing Returns, and Lock-In by Historical Small Events, „Economic Journal”, no. 1.Aspromourgos T. 1986 On the Origin of the Term ‘Neoclassical, „Cambridge Journal of Economics”, vol. 10, no. 30.Colander D. C. 2000 The Death of Neoclassical Economics, „Journal of the History of Economic Thought”, vol. 22, no. 2.David P. 1985 Clio and the Economics of QWERTY, „American Economic Review”, vol. 75, no. 2.Dzionek-Kozłowska J. 2009 Transformacja ustrojowa z perspektywy koncepcji path dependence, „Ekonomia”, vol. 3.Dzionek-Kozłowska J. 2010 Rynek versus państwo w świetle dyskusji o path dependence, „Ekonomia i Prawo”, vol. 6.Galbraith J. K. 1990 The Rush to Capitalism, „The New York Review of Books”, 25th October.Godłów-Legiędź J. 1989 Z historii sporu o racjonalność gospodarki socjalistycznej, „Ekonomista”, nr 5-6.Godłów-Legiędź J. 2010 Współczesna ekonomia. Ku nowemu paradygmatowi?, Wydawnictwo C. H. Beck, Warszawa.Hodgson G.M. 2007 Evolutionary and Institutional Economics as the New Mainstream?, „Evolutionary and Institutional Economic Review”, vol. 4, no. 1.Huntington S. 2008 Zderzenie cywilizacji i nowy kształt ładu światowego, Warszawskie Wydawnictwo Literackie Muza, Warszawa.Hurwicz L. 1973 The design of mechanisms for resource allocation, „American Economic Review”, vol. 63, no. 2.Hurwicz L. 1979 Socialism and Incentives: Developing a Framework, „Journal of Comparative Economics”, vol. 3, no. 3.Kostro K. 2001 Hayek kontra socjalizm. Debata socjalistyczna a rozwój teorii społeczno-ekonomicznych Friedricha Augusta von Hayeka, „DiG”, Warszawa.Kyriazis N.C., Zouboulakis M.S. 2005 Modeling institutional change in transition economies, „Communist and Post-Communist Studies”, vol. 38, no. 1.Landes D. S. 1998 The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor, W. W. Norton, New York (wyd. polskie: 2000 Bogactwo i nędza narodów. Dlaczego jedni są tak bogaci, a inni tak ubodzy, tłum. H. Jankowska, Warszawskie Wydawnictwo Literackie Muza, Warszawa).Lazear, E.P. 2000 Economic Imperialism, „Quarterly Journal of Economics”, vol. 115, no. 1.Legiędź T. 2013 Nowa ekonomia instytucjonalna a zmiany paradygmatu rozwoju gospodarczego, „Ekonomia”, nr 4.Liebowitz S. J., Margolis S.E. 1990 The Fable of the Keys, „Journal of Law and Economics”, vol. 33, no. 1.Liebowitz S. J., Margolis S.E. 1995 Path Dependence, Lock-In, and History, „Journal of Law, Economics and Organization”, vol. 11, no. 1.Maślak E. 2000 Paradygmat ekonomii ewolucyjnej, „Gospodarka Narodowa”, nr 1-2.Matera R. 2014 Studia nad bogactwem i ubóstwem narodów na przełomie mileniów – wkład Darona Acemoglu i Jamesa A. Robinsona, „Ruch prawniczy, ekonomiczny i socjologiczny”, vol. 76, nr 1.Nelson R. R., Winter S. G. 1982 An Evolutionary Theory of Economic Change, W. W. Norton, Cambridge, MA, London.North D. C. 1990 Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.North D. C. 1991 Institutions, „Journal of Economic Perspectives”, vol. 5, no. 1.North D. C. 2010 Understanding the Process of Institutional Change, Princeton University Press, Princeton.Olson M. 1982 The Rise and Decline of Nations: Economic Growth, Stagflation, and Social Rigidities, Yale University Press, New Haven, London.Olson M. 1992 The Hidden Path to a Successful Economy, [in:] The Emergence of Market Economies in Eastern Europe, C. Clague, G. C. Rausser (eds.), Blackwell, Cambridge.Puffert D. J. 2004 Path Dependence, Network Form and Technological Change, [in:] History Matters: Essays on Economic Growth, Technology and Demographic Change, W. Sundstrom, T. Guinnane, W. Whatley (eds.), Stanford University Press, Stanford.Snowdon B., Vane H., Wynarczyk P. 1998 Współczesne nurty teorii makroekonomii, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.Snowdon B., Vane H. 2005 Modern macroeconomics. Its origins, development and current state, E. Elgar, Cheltenham UK, Northampton MA.Teoria wyboru publicznego. Główne nurty i zastosowania, J. Wilkin (red.), Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, Warszawa.Wilkin J. 1995 Jaki kapitalizm, jaka Polska?, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa.Wilkin J. 2012 Teoria wyboru publicznego – homo oeconomicus w sferze polityki, [w:] Teoria wyboru publicznego. Główne nurty i zastosowania, J. Wilkin (red.), Wydawnictwo Naukowe Scholar, Warszawa.Williamson J. 1990 What Washington Means by Policy Reform, [in:] Latin American Adjustment: How Much Has Happened? , J. Williamson (ed.), Institute for International Economics, Washington.Williamson J. 2005 The Strange History of the Washington Consensus, „Journal of Post- Keynesians Economics”, vol. 27, no. 2.Winiecki J. 2004 Determinants of Catching up or Falling Behind. Interaction of Formal and Informal Institutions, „Post-Communies Economies”, vol. 16, no. 2.Winiecki J. 2012 Transformacja postkomunistyczna. Studium przypadku zmian instytucjonalnych, Wydawnictwo C. H. Beck, Warszawa.Zukowski R. 2005 Routes out of Socialism as Path-Dependent Process: Central Europe’s Experiences and Lessons for Cuba, „Cuba in Transition”, vol. 15.Zweynert J., Goldschmidt N. 2006 The Two Transitions in Central and Eastern Europe, „Journal of Economic Issues”, vol. 15, no. 4.1(73)142

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The early stages in the evolution of Economic Man. Millian and marginal approaches

The homo economicus (Economic Man) concept is one of the best-known components of economic theorising frequently recognised as a part of the “hard core” of the mainstream 20th-century economics. This model gained such a high status in times of the marginal revolution, although it was coined in the 1830s by the classical economist John S. Mill. Nowadays, homo economicus is commonly perceived as a model of rational economic agent maximising utility or preferences. The article aims to show that both the Millian approach and the marginal approach were more complex than the contemporary incarnation of Economic Man. One of the key differences between the early stages in the evolution of homo oeconomicus and the modern version of it refers to the notion of rationality. Whereas it is the constitutive element of the 20th-century homo oeconomicus, the requirement of full rationality was never explicitly articulated by Mill and marginal economists. Therefore, at the early stages of its evolution, the homo economicus model would have been much more resistant to the objections formulated against it by the 20th-century critics.Publication of English-language versions of the volumes of the "Annales. Ethics in Economic Life" financed through contract no. 501/1/P-DUN/2017 from the funds of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education devoted to the promotion of scholarship

Economics as a Positive Science. Reflections after Reading Tomáš Sedláček’s ‛Economics of Good and Evil’

One of the fundamental methodological problems of economics as a separate science is the question whether economic theorists are able to restrict themselves to the description of facts without assessing them. Is it possible to create an economic theory utterly deprived of value judgements? In other words – is economics a positive science? This problem is still debatable, notwithstanding efforts to eradicate all value judgements from economic analysis and to treat it as a touchstone of the scientificity of economic reasoning. The main purpose of the article is to analyse Sedláček arguments and to confront his stance with other approaches. Furthermore, an attempt is made to assess whether his position could be attractive for contemporary mainstream economists

Localization of substance P, calcitonin gene related peptide and galanin in the nerve fibers of porcine cystic ovaries

In a previous study, we showed that both the noradrenergic and cholinergic component of ovarian innervation is markedly changed in porcine cystic ovaries. The present study is aimed at elucidating the distribution pattern of substance P- (SP), calcitonin gene related peptide CGRP- and/or galanin (GAL)-containing nerve fibers within porcine cystic ovaries. The status polycysticus was induced by dexamethasone phosphate disodium salt i.m. injections performed from the 7th until the 21st day of the first studied estrous cycle. During the same period of time, gilts of the control group received saline. All animals were slaughtered on the expected 11th day of the second studied estrous cycle, and their ovaries were collected. When compared to control gonad, a distinct difference in the distribution pattern and the density of SP-, CGRP- and/or GAL-immunoreactive (GAL-IR) nerve fibers was observed. Thus, unlike in the control gonad, SP- and/or CGRP-IR perivascular nerve fibers were found to supply medullar blood vessels of polycystic ovary. Furthermore, the number of GAL-IR nerve fibers contributing to the ground plexus in polycystic ovaries was higher than that observed in the control gonads. Thus, as may be judged from the profound changes in the distribution pattern of differently chemically coded afferent terminals within polycystic gonads, it appears possible that neuropeptides released from these terminals may take part in the etiopathogenesis of this disorder. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica 2011; Vol. 49, No. 4, pp. 622–630

Study on the thermal properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) in the presence of collagen

Crystallization of poly(vinyl alkohol) (PVA) in the presence of 1%, 3% and 5% of collagen has been studied by Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). PVA samples containing 1%, 3% and 5% of collagen after melting were crystallized with different cooling rate. The melting temperature of poly(vinyl alcohol) PVA in the presence of 1%, 3% and 5% of collagen is little big bigger than that for pure PVA. Small amount of collagen in PVA increases melting temperature probably due to hydrogen bonding between PVA and collagen. Collagen contains several side groups capable to form hydrogen bonds with OH group of PVA. The amount of crystallinity in PVA containing 1%, 3% and 5% of collagen is little big smaller than for pure PVA. Small amount of collagen in PVA causes disorder between polymer chains of polymer and leads to decrease of crystallinity. Crystallization process occurs slower in PVA containing small amount of collagen than for pure melt PVA

The Trolley Problem Revisited. An Exploratory Study

Recent studies by cognitive scientists demonstrate that people’s choices are more complex than the image provided by rational choice theory, and consistency of choice is not a characteristic to be expected in real-life situations. This exploratory paper attempts to isolate three variables in relation to decision making. Working with a sample (N=70) of university students in the U.S, and using the three variants of the Trolley Problem, the subjects’ responses are used to identify the similarities and differences based on the three dimensions. The participants were asked to respond to three hypothetical situations regarding a runaway trolley. Their decision in the first scenario could save a person’s life or let him be run over by the trolley. In the second scenario, their decision could either let one person die and save five lives or save one life and let five people be killed. These two scenarios require pulling a lever to switch the trolley from one track to another. The third scenario requires pushing an obese person in front of the runaway trolley to stop it from killing five persons. The paper presents the findings on the three variables: gender, age, and relational status

Institutions Without Culture. A Critique of Acemoglu and Robinson's Theory of Economic Development

Acemoglu and Robinson’s theory presented in their famous Why Nations Fail, and other papers, should be placed among the institutional theories of economic development. Yet the problem is they strongly differentiate their concept from the so-called culture hypothesis, which they reject. This stance is difficult to accept, not only because of the significance of culture-related factors of economic development, but it is also difficult to reconcile with their own model. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that such a strong rejection of the culture hypothesis is inconsistent with their own analysis, triggers some principal problems with understanding the basic notion of institution, and suggests Acemoglu and Robinson are only focused on considering formal institutions. The article concludes with the statement that, paradoxically, Acemoglu and Robinson’s unconvincing rejection of the culture hypothesis may be regarded as a justification of the importance of culture-related factors