33 research outputs found
DEKONSTRUKCIJA MITA O RASTROÅ NOSTI KORIÅ TENJEM KRITIÄKE TEORIJE I SOCIJALNOG KONSTRUKTIVIZMA: SLUÄAJ GRÄKE I NJEGOVE Å IRE SOCIO-EKONOMSKE I POLITIÄKE POSLJEDICE
This article is aimed at deconstructing the widely spread view according to
many media outlets, policy analysts and commentators that the Greek crisis
and the subsequent eurocrisis is the result of generous social welfare benefits
and fiscal spending irresponsibility on the part of Greek politicians and citizens.
The lesson to be drawn from this analysis is multifold. In attempting to
do so, I will use critical theory of international relations in order to dissect the
very structure of the EMU which inevitably led to the build-up of trade and fiscal
imbalances in the EUās periphery as a first theoretical line of argumentation
in contesting this view. The second theoretical line of argumentation focuses
on social constructivism and its credentials in dealing with the underlying issue
of āGreek profligacyā. The diffusion of conservative attitudes regarding
social welfare is put into the broader context of ānew constitutionalismā and
neoliberal politics. The application of both theories is aimed at identifying basic
culprits which brought about the deadly mix of European banking crisis and
sovereign debt crisis, and thereby points to a necessary change in policy stance
toward āPIIGSā countries and the very foundation of the EMU.Ovaj Älanak ima namjeru dekonstruirati Å”iroko rasprostranjeno miÅ”ljenje,
stvoreno i perpetuirano od strane medija, politiÄkih analitiÄara, politiÄara i
komentatora, da pravi uzrok grÄke i naknadne eurokrize treba tražiti u velikoduÅ”nim
socijalnim transferima i neodgovornoj fiskalnoj potroÅ”nji grÄkih politiÄara i graÄana.
U toj namjeri oslanjam se na kritiÄku teoriju meÄunarodnih
odnosa kao prvi pravac teoretske argumentacije kako bih secirao samu strukturu
Ekonomske i monetarne unije (EMU) koja je neizbježno vodila prema
akumuliranju trgovinskih i fiskalnih neravnoteža u zemljama EU periferije.
Drugi pravac teoretske argumentacije fokusiran je na teoriju socijalnog konstruktivizma
kao analitiÄkog oruÄa u svrhu poimanja teze o āgrÄkoj rastroÅ”nostiā.
PosljediÄna difuzija konzervativnih stavova vezanih uz ulogu države
blagostanja stavljena je u kontekst ānovog konstitucionalizmaā i neoliberalne
politike. Primjena obje teorije važna je zbog identifikacije krivaca u smislu
aktera, struktura i procesa koji su zajedno doveli do potencijalno smrtonosne
kombinacije europske bankarske i krize suverenog duga po buduÄnost integracijskog
projekta. Stoga ovaj Älanak ukazuje na potrebu promjene politike
prema zemljama āsvinjamaā (PIIGS) kao i na reformu temelja Ekonomske i
monetarne unije
The Eurozone's Crisis Conundrum and the Role of Macroeconomic Theory
In the years before the global financial crisis (GFC), macroeconomic profession converged on many points of how financial markets work and how they should be regulated. However, the course of events mired the majority of European Union (EU) economies in the state of prolonged lower output, higher unemployment and ever-increasing levels of both private and public debt. They have marked an end to the economics profession honeymoon. Afterward, the main debate in the process of designing the crisis management response started to revolve around two opposed macroeconomic views: the New Keynesian and the New Classical/supply-side view. The New Keynesian view relies on the expansionary policy targeted to boost aggregate demand. However, New Classicals/supply-siders advocate structural reforms and austerity as the path out of the current state of economic malaise. We provide an analysis of how those opposing views fail to appreciate the fundamental tenets of our monetary economy and inspire ineffective policies
FINANCIALIZATION, INCOME INEQUALITY AND GDP STRUCTURE: INTERACTION BETWEEN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL ELITES IN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Financijsko produbljivanje u ekonomiji razvoja i politiÄkoj ekonomiji odnosi se na pojam koji obuhvaÄa porast financijske aktive, novÄanih agregata i kreditne aktivnosti u odnosu na cjelokupnu ekonomsku aktivnost u nekoj ekonomiji mjereno bruto domaÄim proizvodom. Standardna pretpostavka koja se veže uz financijsko produbljivanje odnosi se na smanjivanje dohodovne nejednakosti kroz efekt lakÅ”eg pristupa rastuÄoj likvidnosti. Ipak, u posljednja tri desetljeÄa porast dohodovne nejednakosti u veÄini zemalja OECD-a i zemalja u razvoju poput NR Kine proturjeÄi spomenutoj pretpostavci, usprkos znaÄajnom trendu financijskog produbljivanja. U naprednijem stadiju ekonomskog razvoja na trend financijskog produbljivanja nadovezuje se fenomen financijalizacije i recentna evolucija kineskog financijskog sustava pokazuje prisutnost njezinih elemenata u dizajnu institucionalnog ureÄenja i strategijama kljuÄnih aktera. Osim toga, u posljednjih trideset godina zabilježeno je znaÄajno smanjenje udjela nadnica u BDP-u u sluÄaju veÄine razvijenih i zemalja u razvoju kao rezultat politika koje se popularno karakteriziraju kao neoliberalne, a Å”to se svakako ne bi smjelo promatrati izolirano u odnosu na trend rasta dohodovne nejednakosti. Ipak, ova doktorska disertacija nije usmjerena na primjenu i analizu pojma 'neoliberalizam' u sluÄaju NR Kine. Komparativna politiÄka ekonomija s posebnim naglaskom na funkcioniranje financijskih institucija i njihovom ulogom u stjecanju i oÄuvanju politiÄke i ekonomske moÄi kroz teorijski pristup historijskog institucionalizma te heterodoksan pristup analizi monetarne teorije, zajedno predstavljaju teorijski okvir disertacije. Ova disertacija namjerava testirati tri glavne i tri pomoÄne hipoteze. Glavne hipoteze ovog istraživanja tvrde da: financijsko produbljivanje kineske ekonomije predstavlja faktor koji je povezan sa porastom dohodovne nejednakosti u NR Kini (HG1); da uska povezanost politiÄke i financijske elite znaÄajno doprinosi porastu dohodovne nejednakosti (HG2) i da novi savez izmeÄu politiÄke i Å”ire definirane ekonomske elite prkosi osnovnoj pretpostavci modernizacijske teorije Seymoura Lipseta koja naglaÅ”ava da ekonomska modernizacija sadržava snažan demokratizacijski potencijal (HG3). Osim toga, pomoÄne hipoteze tvrde kako postoji negativna povezanost izmeÄu udjela nadnica u BDP-u kao mjere funkcionalne raspodjele dohotka i porasta dohodovne nejednakosti (HP1); da financijske institucije s obzirom na njihovu inherentnu logiku funkcioniranja (stvaranje kreditnog novca) predstavljaju važan izvor dohodovne nejednakosti (HP2) i kako kineski autokratski sustav pokazuje simptome financijalizacije u provoÄenju reformi vlastitog financijskog sustava (HP3).Financial deepening in development economics as well as political economy refers to the notion which encompasses an increase in financial assets, monetary aggregates and credit activity in relation to the overall economic activity as measured by GDP. The standard assumption which is attachted to the understanding of financial deepening perceives a decrease in income inequality as its obvious consequence due to easier access to rising liquidity. However, in the last three decades rising income inequality in most OECD countries as well as developing countries such as the PRC oppose the aforementioned assumption. In the more advanced stage of economic development, apart from financial deepening, emerges the phenomenon of financialization. The recent evolution of the Chinese financial system shows the presence of its most important defining features in the institutional framework design and key actors' strategies. On top of that, in the last three decades one can observe a falling share of wages as a proportion of GDP in the case of developed as well as developing countries. This is often seen by many observers as a result of policies which they characterize as neoliberal and which ought to be viewed as tightly interconnected with the aforementioned increase in income inequality. Nevertheless, this dissertation does not aim at the use and the analysis of the notion 'neoliberalism' in the case of China. Comparative political economy with a special emphasis on how financial institutions work and their impact on the acquisition and the preservation of political and economic power under the theoretical framework of historical institutionalism, as well as a heterodox approach to the analysis of monetary theory, represent a key theoretical framework to this dissertation. This dissertation aims to test three main and three auxilliary hypotheses. Three main hypotheses of this research claim that: the financial deepening of China's economy represents a factor that correlates with rising income inequality (HG1); that the close interconnectedness between political and financial elite significantly contributes to rising income inequality in China (HG2) and that a new alliance between the political and the broader defined economic elites defies the basic assumption of Seymour Lipset's modernization theory which posits that economic modernization bears the strong potential for democratization (HG3). On the other side, auxilliary hypotheses claim that there is a negative relationship between the wage share as a percentage of GDP (measure of functional income distribution) and the rising income inequality (HP1), that financial institutions represent an important source of income inequality with regard to their inherent modus operandi (credit money creation) (HP2) and that the China's autocratic political system also displays symptoms of financialization in the implementation of financial sector reforms (HP3)
FINANCIALIZATION, INCOME INEQUALITY AND GDP STRUCTURE: INTERACTION BETWEEN FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND POLITICAL ELITES IN PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Financijsko produbljivanje u ekonomiji razvoja i politiÄkoj ekonomiji odnosi se na pojam koji obuhvaÄa porast financijske aktive, novÄanih agregata i kreditne aktivnosti u odnosu na cjelokupnu ekonomsku aktivnost u nekoj ekonomiji mjereno bruto domaÄim proizvodom. Standardna pretpostavka koja se veže uz financijsko produbljivanje odnosi se na smanjivanje dohodovne nejednakosti kroz efekt lakÅ”eg pristupa rastuÄoj likvidnosti. Ipak, u posljednja tri desetljeÄa porast dohodovne nejednakosti u veÄini zemalja OECD-a i zemalja u razvoju poput NR Kine proturjeÄi spomenutoj pretpostavci, usprkos znaÄajnom trendu financijskog produbljivanja. U naprednijem stadiju ekonomskog razvoja na trend financijskog produbljivanja nadovezuje se fenomen financijalizacije i recentna evolucija kineskog financijskog sustava pokazuje prisutnost njezinih elemenata u dizajnu institucionalnog ureÄenja i strategijama kljuÄnih aktera. Osim toga, u posljednjih trideset godina zabilježeno je znaÄajno smanjenje udjela nadnica u BDP-u u sluÄaju veÄine razvijenih i zemalja u razvoju kao rezultat politika koje se popularno karakteriziraju kao neoliberalne, a Å”to se svakako ne bi smjelo promatrati izolirano u odnosu na trend rasta dohodovne nejednakosti. Ipak, ova doktorska disertacija nije usmjerena na primjenu i analizu pojma 'neoliberalizam' u sluÄaju NR Kine. Komparativna politiÄka ekonomija s posebnim naglaskom na funkcioniranje financijskih institucija i njihovom ulogom u stjecanju i oÄuvanju politiÄke i ekonomske moÄi kroz teorijski pristup historijskog institucionalizma te heterodoksan pristup analizi monetarne teorije, zajedno predstavljaju teorijski okvir disertacije. Ova disertacija namjerava testirati tri glavne i tri pomoÄne hipoteze. Glavne hipoteze ovog istraživanja tvrde da: financijsko produbljivanje kineske ekonomije predstavlja faktor koji je povezan sa porastom dohodovne nejednakosti u NR Kini (HG1); da uska povezanost politiÄke i financijske elite znaÄajno doprinosi porastu dohodovne nejednakosti (HG2) i da novi savez izmeÄu politiÄke i Å”ire definirane ekonomske elite prkosi osnovnoj pretpostavci modernizacijske teorije Seymoura Lipseta koja naglaÅ”ava da ekonomska modernizacija sadržava snažan demokratizacijski potencijal (HG3). Osim toga, pomoÄne hipoteze tvrde kako postoji negativna povezanost izmeÄu udjela nadnica u BDP-u kao mjere funkcionalne raspodjele dohotka i porasta dohodovne nejednakosti (HP1); da financijske institucije s obzirom na njihovu inherentnu logiku funkcioniranja (stvaranje kreditnog novca) predstavljaju važan izvor dohodovne nejednakosti (HP2) i kako kineski autokratski sustav pokazuje simptome financijalizacije u provoÄenju reformi vlastitog financijskog sustava (HP3).Financial deepening in development economics as well as political economy refers to the notion which encompasses an increase in financial assets, monetary aggregates and credit activity in relation to the overall economic activity as measured by GDP. The standard assumption which is attachted to the understanding of financial deepening perceives a decrease in income inequality as its obvious consequence due to easier access to rising liquidity. However, in the last three decades rising income inequality in most OECD countries as well as developing countries such as the PRC oppose the aforementioned assumption. In the more advanced stage of economic development, apart from financial deepening, emerges the phenomenon of financialization. The recent evolution of the Chinese financial system shows the presence of its most important defining features in the institutional framework design and key actors' strategies. On top of that, in the last three decades one can observe a falling share of wages as a proportion of GDP in the case of developed as well as developing countries. This is often seen by many observers as a result of policies which they characterize as neoliberal and which ought to be viewed as tightly interconnected with the aforementioned increase in income inequality. Nevertheless, this dissertation does not aim at the use and the analysis of the notion 'neoliberalism' in the case of China. Comparative political economy with a special emphasis on how financial institutions work and their impact on the acquisition and the preservation of political and economic power under the theoretical framework of historical institutionalism, as well as a heterodox approach to the analysis of monetary theory, represent a key theoretical framework to this dissertation. This dissertation aims to test three main and three auxilliary hypotheses. Three main hypotheses of this research claim that: the financial deepening of China's economy represents a factor that correlates with rising income inequality (HG1); that the close interconnectedness between political and financial elite significantly contributes to rising income inequality in China (HG2) and that a new alliance between the political and the broader defined economic elites defies the basic assumption of Seymour Lipset's modernization theory which posits that economic modernization bears the strong potential for democratization (HG3). On the other side, auxilliary hypotheses claim that there is a negative relationship between the wage share as a percentage of GDP (measure of functional income distribution) and the rising income inequality (HP1), that financial institutions represent an important source of income inequality with regard to their inherent modus operandi (credit money creation) (HP2) and that the China's autocratic political system also displays symptoms of financialization in the implementation of financial sector reforms (HP3)