Social security is one of the most significant political‐economic issues in America. It is loaded with controversy and is of deep concern to millions of Americans, both the…
Abstract
Social security is one of the most significant political‐economic issues in America. It is loaded with controversy and is of deep concern to millions of Americans, both the elderly, who have been receiving benefits since they became payable in the late 1930s, and also younger people, who are deeply concerned and troubled about two problems. The first has to do with the increasing costs, that is, the amount of the so‐called “contributions” being required in order to finance social security. Their second worry grows out of their decreasing confidence in the social security system. Will benefits be available to them when they reach age 65? Is the system sound? Is it bankrupt? If not now, is it likely to go broke?
Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover…
Abstract
Since the first Volume of this Bibliography there has been an explosion of literature in all the main areas of business. The researcher and librarian have to be able to uncover specific articles devoted to certain topics. This Bibliography is designed to help. Volume III, in addition to the annotated list of articles as the two previous volumes, contains further features to help the reader. Each entry within has been indexed according to the Fifth Edition of the SCIMP/SCAMP Thesaurus and thus provides a full subject index to facilitate rapid information retrieval. Each article has its own unique number and this is used in both the subject and author index. The first Volume of the Bibliography covered seven journals published by MCB University Press. This Volume now indexes 25 journals, indicating the greater depth, coverage and expansion of the subject areas concerned.
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Repression is an integral part of a class-based society. In these societies a relatively small number of people own a very large share of productive resources. This concentration…
Abstract
Repression is an integral part of a class-based society. In these societies a relatively small number of people own a very large share of productive resources. This concentration of asset ownership inevitably leads to a highly unequal distribution of income and with it a division of society into a small number of haves and a much larger number of have-nots. The haves constantly fear that the have-nots will seize their property either by outright force or through legislation. Over the centuries they have devised methods of social control to preserve the existing property relationships.
Michele Alacevich, Pier Francesco Asso and Sebastiano Nerozzi
This paper discusses the American debate over price controls and economic stabilization after World War II, when the transition from a war economy to a peace economy was…
Abstract
This paper discusses the American debate over price controls and economic stabilization after World War II, when the transition from a war economy to a peace economy was characterized by bottlenecks in the productive system and shortages of food and other basic consumer goods, directly affecting the living standard of the population, the public opinion, and political discourse. Specifically, we will focus on the economist Franco Modigliani and his proposal for a “Plan to meet the problem of rising meat and other food prices without bureaucratic controls.” The plan prepared by Modigliani in October 1947 was based on a system of taxes and subsidies to foster a proper distribution of disposable income and warrant a minimum meat consumption for each individual without encroaching market mechanisms and consumers’ freedom. We will discuss the contents of the plan and its further refinements, and the reactions it prompted from fellow economists, the public opinion, and the political world. Although the Plan was not eventually implemented, it was an important initiative for several reasons: first, it showed the increasing importance of fiscal policy among postwar government tools of intervention in the economic sphere; second, it showed a third way between direct government intervention and full-fledged laissez faire, in tune with the postwar political climate; third, it proposed a Keynesian macroeconomic approach to price and income stabilization, strongly based on econometric and microeconomic foundations. The Meat Plan was thus a fundamental step in Modigliani’s effort to build the “neoclassical synthesis” between Keynesian and Neoclassical economics, which would deeply influence his own career and the evolution of academic studies and government practices in the United States.
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Focusing on Johannes L. Sadie, a South African economist hired to investigate the economic options of Southern Rhodesia at the time of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence…
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Focusing on Johannes L. Sadie, a South African economist hired to investigate the economic options of Southern Rhodesia at the time of the Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI), this chapter examines the historical, ideological, pedagogical, and international influences of the intersection between economic discourse and racial ideology. Using the example of the Sadie recommendations, this chapter examines how the changing political context informed the state’s approach to the economy. A reading of the context in which Sadie was hired to justify Rhodesia’s UDI and provide legitimacy to its economic policies sheds light onto the Ian Smith regime’s approach to an alternative post-imperial (but not post-settler) state and economy, but it also speaks of the ways in which economic discourse can be deployed for political purposes by authoritarian regimes.
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William Patrick Forbes, Sheila O Donohoe and Jörg Prokop
The purpose of this cross-national study is to evaluate the communality and differences in experiences and policy responses in the run up to the 2007-2009 credit crisis and during…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this cross-national study is to evaluate the communality and differences in experiences and policy responses in the run up to the 2007-2009 credit crisis and during its critical early stages in Germany, Ireland and the UK. The importance of shared cognitive illusions regarding the power and stability of financial markets is emphasised.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study approach is used which draws on publicly available information to trace developments leading up to bank failures (or near failures) and the evolution of government responses drawing upon alternative paradigms used to justify State intervention.
Findings
Findings emphasise the role of state regulatory bodies and their response to the crisis as a primary source of the “rules of the game” in financial markets, here it is the “game of bank bargains” and a potential source of repair. Given the degree of interconnectedness, opacity and complexity of financial markets investors/politicians/regulators will fall victim to cognitive biases which affect their decisions.
Research limitations/implications
This case study method allows identification of patterns in decision-makers’ behaviour and yields richer insights than a quantitative approach but is limited in its generalisability.
Practical implications
This paper offers practical implications in suggesting that a pivotal step in effective crisis management requires directly addressing sources of uncertainty, namely, time pressure, complexity and opacity of underlying cause–effect relationships, empowering decision-makers to act responsibly.
Originality/value
This paper is novel in its illustration of the collective cognitive paradigm for justifying regulatory action across three countries using six case studies.
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Since the mid‐1980s focus has shifted from stabilization to economic growth as a national goal. A large number of studies have been undertaken to explain economic growth. It is…
Abstract
Purpose
Since the mid‐1980s focus has shifted from stabilization to economic growth as a national goal. A large number of studies have been undertaken to explain economic growth. It is intended to show that the current debate between those who claim only institutions matter to economic growth and others who claim that only governance matters is totally unproductive.
Design/methodology/approach
Econometric methods are used to evaluate the recent empirical studies on linking the quality of institutions or governance to economic growth.
Findings
It is shown that the empirical model specification as well as the estimation methods used by important studies are inappropriate.
Research limitations/implications
Future research needs to incorporate not only the institutions, and governance but also the desire to save, invest and innovate to explain economic growth.
Practical implication
The existing theories of economic growth do not fully capture the complex process of economic growth implying that these theories should not be used as a guide to the screening of developmental aid to the developing countries.
Originality/value
The researchers need to change direction away from data mining and towards developing a better understanding of the growth process. Policy makers should be careful in crafting their policies.
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Sunil Surendran and William Acar
In the 1960s, portfolio management led to conglomeration as management shifted its focus from competition to cash flows. However, dramatic changes in the business environment have…
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In the 1960s, portfolio management led to conglomeration as management shifted its focus from competition to cash flows. However, dramatic changes in the business environment have put into question the fundamental logic of conglomeration as it became necessary once again to build sustainable competitive advantage. Towards this end, deconglomeration is taking place through restructurings. The process model of restructuring identifies negative value gap and the market for corporate control as antecedent factors to restructuring. The resources required for implementing a particular strategy, and management's ability to control the course of restructuring are identified as critical factors.