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Abstract
The complex co-evolution of economics as a scientific discipline is accompanied by two dilemmas which are reflecting ambivalent effects of two ideologies: economism and scientism. Economics may go wrong when certain tendencies occasioned by those inevitable “ideological” influences are ignored. Pertinent problems include pseudo-rationalist conceptions of policy advice and the failure to deal with the limited status of partial analysis and abstractive dichotomies (notably allocation – distribution), the status of core concepts such as scarcity, instrumental rationality, exchange, and contract, as well as the related abstraction from power, distribution, and human sociality relevant for non-contractual interaction in various spheres of social life, including the market economy.
Abstract
The paper begins with a brief reminder of the origin of economic sociology. It then surveys research by economic sociologists from the 1980s to the present, with a focus on their relation to political economy, which ranges from close to arm's length. Finally, beyond any differences between economic theory and economic sociology, the paper considers how both approaches can be connected in the socio-historical and economic study of economic inequalities by Thomas Piketty, and the use of matching markets by Alvin Roth.
Abstract
Conventional wisdom has it that Marxian value theory, and labour values themselves, are logically inconsistent, theoretically shaky, and empirically irrelevant. In this paper, we discuss recent research showing that this conclusion is not warranted. While past debates have definitively proved that labour values, or employment multipliers, cannot be used to explain equilibrium prices, this does not mean that a sound, empirically oriented Marxian approach cannot be built which assigns a central role to labour values. To be specific, we argue that they can be used to understand certain fundamental laws of capitalist economies – in particular the relation between profitability, technical progress, and accumulation – and also to construct normatively interesting indices capturing certain inequalities in well-being freedom.
Abstract
Households supply the workforce for the modern economy, increasingly based on information and communication technology (IT). The access of households to e-devices and e-channels has been continuously growing in the last two decades. The aim of the study is to reflect these theoretical concepts with data-based, econometric causality analysis. Specifically, this study investigates whether the digitalization of households is a factor in their macroeconomic and behavioural indicators. In other words, does households' access to digital devices and channels determine rates of employment, productivity (TFP), level of savings, disposable income, per capita GDP or the growth ratio of GDP, and even such institutional indicators as political stability? The methodology employed is panel Granger causality analysis and Dumitrescu-Hurlin test, and the regional scope is the EU. Causality is tested between the households' digitalization and their macroeconomic, consumer behaviour or institutional indicators using panel Granger causality tests.
Abstract
Using annual sectoral data for Hungary and Poland covering the period of 2005–2016, this paper assesses the impact of credit market characteristics on labor productivity in manufacturing. Apart from the amount of loans extended to non-financial corporations, which has been extensively studied in the literature, it focuses on credit market stability and tightness. The main results are that the volatility of credit originating from the supply side of the market has a negative influence on labor productivity, while credit market tightness is insignificant. There is no robust evidence that the stock of credit is a critical productivity determinant.
Abstract
The neoliberal structural adjustment policies in Turkey moved on to a new phase with the Health Transformation Program (HTP) that came into effect in 2003. In this study, 5,002 people, who used the services of the public hospitals in Istanbul, participated in a face-to-face survey to find out the impact of the HTP on the public's understanding of the welfare state and also the impact on their opinions over the healthcare services offered by the state. The data were classified into two topics: First, the transformation of the welfare state and second, the adequacy of the public healthcare services. Interestingly, the participants took a much more explicit stance against the neoliberal transformation of the welfare state than against the adequacy of the public healthcare service provision. The primary purpose of this research was to expose this paradox.
Abstract
Using situation-specific and dyadic data, we analyse how trust in inter-organisational relationships evolve over time. Based on a multidisciplinary approach, we define four trust-related concepts, which include both behavioural and perceptual aspects of this multifaceted phenomenon. We also develop the hypothesis that the behavioural consistency of the trustee affects the level of his/her trustworthiness as perceived by the trustor. To test this hypothesis, the paper specifies a finite Dynamic Trust Game that, in a unique way, models longer-term relationships characterised by interdependent actions between partners. In contrast to the simple Repeated Games modelling discrete exchange episodes, this game corresponds to the requirements of the interaction approach of the relationship management, since the iterations of the game are interrelated and embedded in previous ones.
Timely development of the behavioural variables in the game reflects an inverse U-shape with an increasing willingness to cooperate until round 8, with a maximum cooperation level of 80% on average. Behaviour seems to affect the perceived level of trustworthiness. However, we need additional experimental data on inconsistent behaviours to get a clear understanding of this effect.
Abstract
Among other things, the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected the use of time of individuals. The burdens seem to have been unequally distributed between men and women. This paper analyses gender differences in Slovenia in time spent on paid and unpaid work before and during the lockdown. The design of our study enables us to examine the change in time spent on 14 different activities in an average workday before and during the pandemic. We find that during the pandemic, the gender gap in paid work widened, meaning that men spent even more time on paid work compared to women. Men also began to cook, devoted more time to cleaning and spent significantly more time caring for children. Therefore, the gender gap in childcare, which was marginally significant before the pandemic, became insignificant. During the pandemic, women spent relatively more time on home maintenance, which in turn led to a narrowing of the gender gap in this activity.
Abstract
Turkish foreign policy has undergone a distinctive transformation in the last two decades, placing a greater emphasis on trade relations with her neighbours, which had previously been beyond the scope of Turkish foreign policy. In this respect, Turkey's relations with Russia improved dramatically due to strong trade relations, which not only contributed to the development of these countries but also resulted in peace-inducing effects. This study aims to highlight and analyse the role of economic interests and gains in the transformation of Turkish foreign policy from a political economic perspective. The study suggests that economic interests brought Turkey and Russia together, making hostilities less likely among the two countries. We make also policy recommendations, which take peculiarities of Russia into consideration in order to highlight further gains in trade relations with this country.
Abstract
This paper analyses the effects of deregulation of employment in an environment of low interest rates and economic uncertainty. For this purpose, we estimate a switching employment equation based on the play model of hysteresis. As a novel feature, the estimation allows for a possible change in the value of the switching parameter after the implementation of labour market reforms. We use Portuguese monthly industrial data spanning from January 2000 to October 2016. Portugal provides a good case study since it is a country where significant measures towards the deregulation of the labour market were applied after the recent financial crisis. The results show that these measures reduced the hysteresis effects in the dynamics of aggregate employment except in the period where uncertainty increased substantially, when the opposite happened.
