14 results
Gunnar Myrdal's Take on Global Inequalities
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 49-58
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Summary
Short presentation of the Nobel laureate
Gunnar Myrdal, one of the most outstanding Scandinavian thinkers of the 20th century and the laureate of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science in 1974, was a great advocate of organized international aid for the poorest countries. This was supposed to be a part of a bigger plan – to have governments introduce an ‘egalitarian policy’, the final aim of which was world economic integration. Myrdal presented the concept of egalitarian policy for the first time in the work An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem in America and American Democracy (1944). However, the work, written from the angle of a sociological analysis, was confined to only the subject indicated in the title. In his later works Myrdal expanded his deliberations by referring to the world economy, and his recommendations were to provide for a more just sharing of the goods. The views of his were presented in, inter alia: An International Economy. Problems and Prospects; Economic Theory and Underdeveloped Regions; Beyond the Welfare State; Rich Lands and Poor: The Road to World Prosperity and in the three-volume work entitled Asian Drama. An Inquiry into the Poverty of Nations.2 In the latter work, whose size was referred to by the author himself as ‘abominable’, he makes reference in the title to Adam Smith's classical work: An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. He outlined the credo of his scientific work in the Nobel lecture The Equality Issue in World Development (Lindbeck 1992, 193−211).
Myrdal, apart from being scientifically active, was a practitioner as well. For many years he had served Swedish social democracy as an export-politician, and in the years 1947−1957 he was the first Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. He also was also the co-founder of the Institute for International Economic Studies and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. He engaged himself in the work of organisations helping economically underdeveloped regions in South-East Asia, Africa and Latin America (ibid., 193−211; Nowicki 1984, 186−187).
Inequalities and how to reduce them
The theses formulated by the Swedish economist in the 1950s dealing with the discrepancies in the level and pace of the world's development are pertinent today as well, since the problem has not disappeared, although the proportions of the wealth and poverty among countries have changed significantly.
Zygmunt Bauman's Ethical Warnings in the Area of Economics. The Third Millennium's Perspective
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 91-104
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Summary
Presentation of the author
Zygmunt Bauman is not only a sociologist and philosopher renowned in the world of science, he is also an authority for those interested in the phenomenon of globalization. He is particularly inquisitive about how the modern economic and political changes influence the life of societies. By pulling a man out of the machine of globalisation, he evinces sensitivity, which appeals to a great many opponents of the modern reality. For that reason, alter-globalists treat his works as the Bible. His latest publications, written in great language, often in the form of essays, inspire next generations – including the youngest practitioners of science (Smoleński 2005).
At present Bauman writes books in English. The sociologist, up to the year 1968, lectured at Warsaw University, however, as he was forced by the communist authorities to flee the country, he has been related to Leeds University all his scientific life. His output comprises around 50 books, including the most important ones such as (bestsellers most of the time): Modernity and the Holocaust; Postmodernity and its Discontents; Globalization: the Human Consequences; Together, Apart; Wasted Lives: Modernity and Its Outcasts; Liquid Modernity; Liquid Life; Liquid Fear; The Art of Life or the recently published – and greatly personal work – This is not a Diary.
Modern angst
Trying to find the leading scientific trend in the newest compilations by Bauman, there is a visible focus on the ‘fears’ which have accompanied man since the beginning of civilization and which, however, have never been that greatly exposed and articulated in such a direct way. In the world of modernity and uncertain times in our ‘liquid’ life there are more and more threats and fears connected with them. He frequently tries to indicate how to prevent them and how to act in order not to feel the ‘wastes’ of postmodernity.
The sociologist tries to define what fear actually is. Among a number of various interpretations there is an interesting term which says that it is the uncertainty stemming from a lack of knowledge about a threat and what actions should be taken (Bauman 2008, 6).1 We receive detailed information about what fears look like in the world of postmodernity – how they differ from previous epochs.
Relationship between Economics and Ethics in the Thought of Mohandas Gandhi. An Attempt to Understand Contemporary India
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 59-68
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Summary
Aims and sources
This chapter aims to present the economic thought of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in relation to ethical issues. When studying the views of the great Indian one very often comes across the information about the close connection between economics and ethics. According to Gandhi both spheres should by all means be inseparable. In order to verify this conviction, it is becoming acquainted with some aspects of Gandhi's concepts, or rather his judgements about various economic issues. A selective presentation of these opinions may be justified by the fact that it is difficult to find coherence in his socio-economic system. It is even somewhat risky to write about Gandhi's system. In fact, his economic thought does not fulfil the requirements of economics as a scientific discipline. This is not said as an argument to reject a scientific analysis thereof, however. A number of his remarks of a micro- and macroeconomic character were extremely valuable and may be used at least in researching the economic changes happening in India in the 20th century, or in getting to know the attitude of the Indian society to these changes.
There is a vast literature covering the life and activity of the Indian leader. The subject of Gandhism and its economic dimension is presented in many compilations in English, especially by Indian authors. Among them is a work of the author of the term ‘Gandhian economics’ – Joseph Cornelius Kumarappa. Moreover there are the works of Ajit Dasgupta, Sudarshana Iyengar and, among the Western authors there is, inter alia, Richard Glyn. The most important Polish scientific work on the subject of Gandhi's ethics is a book written by Ija Lazari-Pawłowska (1965). She systematised his scattered moral directives, although she looked at them with the eyes of a philosopher and not an economist.
The primary source of learning about Gandhi's beliefs is his Autobiography (The Story of My Experiments with Truth), which he finished in 1925 (over 22 years before he died). In order to find more of his views about economic development one has to refer to the work Hind Swaraj, written in 1909, and obtain the recording of his speech from 1916 entitled: Does economic progress clash with real progress? One has to bear in mind, though, that over time Gandhi modified some of his beliefs.
References
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 117-129
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Ethics in Economic Thought
- Selected Issues and Variours Perspectives
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015
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The monograph repeatedly covers the question of the actual purpose of running an economic activity as well as the problem of referring to ethical values by entrepreneurs and the Aristotelian dilemmas differentiating between needs and wants so as to better understand the evolution of societies towards consumerism. On the other hand, we referred also to the meaning of cultural factors, the role of religion or, in general terms, the significance of informal institutions in the development of societies. We tried to identify them in the context of the discussed problems of wealth and poverty of nations, reminding the reader in a way that the non-solved question has been a major issue of economic research for years, put on a kind of pedestal of the problems analysed in economics by the father of the discipline - Adam Smith. In respective chapters we referred to the concept present in modern economic literature of stimulating development and providing equal opportunities for less developed countries, which led to pondering about the role of the country in the economy both in a national and global context.
David J. Jackson
Frontmatter
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 1-4
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Political Corruption and Electoral Systems Seen with Economists’ Lenses
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 105-116
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Summary
A natural consequence of the ongoing process of democratisation over the last two centuries has been the increase of importance of the rules that influence the way we choose representatives rendering power in the name of the sovereign that is the nation. The fundamental role is played here by electoral systems, which in modern democratic states based on the rule of representative democracy determine the way of gaining and legitimizing power. Taking into consideration their great weight the question arises whether these particular ‘game rules’ themselves have an influence on the respect of the rule of law, being one of the basic norms of a democratic system.1 In other words – do the rules of the electoral law influence the scale of power abuses, which are committed by politicians holding public offices who are chosen according to these rules, and to what extent? A question then may be posed about the existence and the character of the relation between electoral systems and the level of political corruption, indicated in the title of this chapter.
The notion of corruption is here confined to the abuse of power by people holding public offices in order to gain undue advantages.2 It needs to be noted, however, that this phenomenon may be and frequently is defined more broadly – the notion of corruption may also apply to instances of abuse of the professional or social function fulfilled by representatives of other professions, e.g. doctors, university teachers, policemen or office workers, as well as – which by economists is taken into account extremely rarely – entities working in the private sector (Adit 2003; Jain 2001; Lewicka-Strzałecka 2001; 2007).
The evidence of the difficulty in defining the term on the legal and legislative level may be the verdict of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal from June 23rd, 2009 overruling part of the regulations of the Central Anticorruption Bureau Bill from June 9th, 2006. By act of this law the provisions determining in which situations we deal with the phenomenon of corruption included, inter alia, in this very act were declared not consistent with either the Constitution of the Republic of Poland, nor the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Article 1 point 3 of the initial text of the bill). After the verdict taking effect the statutory definition of corruption expanded greatly.
Re-reading of Thorstein Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class in the Third Millennium. Some Remarks on Conspicuous Leisure and Consumption
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 23-32
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Summary
In the 19th century fin de siècle when Thorstein Veblen published his greatest work The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899) the concern about the turn of the century was tangibly felt (it is especially visible in literature, painting and music). The world of science did not react that intensely to the oncoming century and Veblen was here rather an exception. A century later, the great activity of influential intellectuals was also visible. At the end of the second millennium visions full of fear of the advancing globalization and the new problems of societies of the most developed countries were presented by, among others, Alvin and Heidi Toffler (1993), Jeremy Rifkin (1995), Samuel Huntington (1996) or Benjamin Barber (1996). Also, there emerged voices, in charge of which was Francis Fukuyama – the author of The End of History? – saying that modern economic liberalism is paramount and the best form of social relations (Fukuyama 1989).
Among those spectacular intellectual manifestos there were no works, which in the Veblen-like style, thanks to in-depth observations, would give a satirical picture of the modern social relations, at least in the style of Julio Cortazar in Studies on consumption society. The Argentinean writer referred to the subject of consumerism in the following way:
As progress has no boundaries, in Spain they sell packets containing thirty-two boxes of matches, each of which represents a different chess figure. Suddenly, some other bright spark produced a chess set whose thirty-two figures can be used as coffee cups. Almost instantly the “Dos Mundos” department store manufactured coffee cups that may work as stiff bras for ladies with a rather sagging bosom, and alongside them Yves St. Laurent came up with a bra in which one may serve soft-boiled eggs, in an extremely suggestive way.2 (Cortazar 1962, 42)
Also, in the genial, now classic prose by Aldous Huxley one may find criticism against consumption society when one of the characters of Brave New World says ‘(…) [y]ou can't consume much if you sit still and read books’ (Huxley 2002, 35). Alongside finding intriguing quotes in literary visions, it is worth having a look at the timeless work by Veblen. It turns out then that after over a century since the publication of The Theory of the Leisure Class his concept is still incredibly fresh and the sharp criticism withstands the test of time in many respects.
Alfred Marshall's Puzzles (and How to Solve Them)
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 33-48
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Summary
Marshall's approach to economics hides a kind of paradox. On one hand, the ‘father’ of neoclassical economics, who usually shunned explicit statements on the methodological issues, in an straightforward way favoured conducting economics as a positive science. His adoption of such an attitude is understandable as it was, in a way, a natural consequence of the development of the 19th century methodological reflections formulated by John Stuart Mill (1844; 1974), William Nassau Senior (1836, 1852), John Elliot Cairnes (1875) and John Neville Keynes (1891). It may be treated as signum temporis too, as the last quarter of that century was the time of professionalisation of economics, recognizing it is a science focused on researching facts, free from subjective evaluation, providing instead objective knowledge about certain aspects of social reality. The ideal of economics as a positive science facilitated it in establishing its position as an independent science and academic discipline. The fact that Marshall was such a consistent and determined advocate of conducting economics as a positive science is, however, also puzzling for at least two reasons. First of all, even a quick overview of his works allows to notice that, despite his calls for avoiding value judgments in theoretical considerations, his texts are full to the brim with moral teachings. Secondly, while in referring to the problems of economic policy, as he did in various memoranda, petitions or as a member of government committees, he referred to the theory of economics, he also frequently took into account ethical aspects, often giving pre-eminence to ethical arguments over conclusions stemming from research grounded only on the theory of economics. As an example of such an approach may be seen his questioning of his own the theoretically-conceived idea of reform of the fiscal system, i.e. taxing those industries whose production falls under the law of diminishing returns and handing them down to those industries that generate increasing returns. In his opinion, the potential benefits resulting from introducing this solution were too difficult to estimate, especially when juxtaposed with the danger of the emergence of a situation fostering corruption, embezzlement or the squandering of resources which could result from transferring some of the funds and energy of the entrepreneurs away from managing their own companies to attempts to influence those persons who would decide on the allocation of the subsidies (Marshall [1920] 1947, 472−473, 475).
Economics as a Positive Science. Reflections after Reading Tomáš Sedláček's Economics of Good and Evil
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 81-90
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Summary
Belief may be no more, in the end,
than a source of energy,
like a battery
which one clips into an idea to make it run.
(Coetzee 2003, 42)Almost from the very moment economics became an independent science one of its fundamental methodological problems has been the following: are economists, when building their theoretical concepts, able to confine themselves to describing and analysing facts pertaining to economic life only, without evaluating them? Is it possible to conduct economics without value judgments, by dealing with the economic reality instead? In other words – is economics a positive science? Although the postulate of avoiding value judgments has been voiced ever louder since the end of the 19th century, and its ‘implementation’ has eventually become the criterion of scientificity of economic theories, the issue still remains a subject of debate, or even disputes.
An incredibly loud voice on the subject is Economics of Good and Evil by the Czech economist Tomáš Sedláček, who puts forward a thesis that ‘all of economics is, in the end, economics of good and evil’ (Sedláček 2011), and – what follows – it is full to the brim with value judgments. It is evil in itself, and contrary to the conviction of most mainstream economists, it is a normative science.
This chapter is devoted to an analysis of Sedláček's argumentation, confronting his standpoint with the approach of other researchers, and evaluating to what extent his approach may be attractive for economists today.
Positive economics and value judgments: evolution of the approaches
When discussing positive and normative economics, the thesis known as ‘Hume's guillotine’ is assumed as the starting point. This term refers to the idea David Hume's put forth in Treatise of Human Nature (1739−1740), the essence of which is the statement that descriptive judgments about facts (‘is’ or ‘is not’ statements) do not allow for the introduction of any judgments about values. They do not allow for the formulation of statements such as ought to or ought not to (Hume 1963, 259−260).1 Adopting such a viewpoint leads to the conclusion that distinguishing between normative and positive economics is not only legitimate, but even necessary.
The term positive economics emerged in the discussions about methodology much later. The very name was introduced by John Neville Keynes in The Scope and Method of Economic Science, published in 1891.
Economist as Preacher. Or Technocrat. Or Dentist. Or How the Economists Advise
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 11-22
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Summary
In contemporary orthodox economics, statements directly referring to the issues of ethics appear quite rarely, yet the breakdown of the economic performance in 2008 undoubtedly led to an increased interest in the ethical dimension of economic activity. Nevertheless, economists still somewhat unwillingly engage in discussions on the subject of ethical questions, even when those issues seem to be playing a significant role in the processes occurring at an economic level. The expression used in the title of the chapter ‘economist as preacher’ would possibly sound very worrying to most modern representatives of this science. It seems, however, that the problem of fulfilling or not fulfilling the role of preachers by economists calls for deeper consideration, and regardless of the final conclusion it is worth discussing what the underlying factors of the lack of greater interest in ethical issues on the part of orthodox economists are.
The starting point for the deliberation are the reflections by George J. Stigler, the author of the already cited phrase ‘economist as preacher’, that were presented in a series of lectures from the beginning of the 1980s and published in a collection of essays compiled under a common title Economics or Ethics?
Economist as preacher. What does it really mean?
In order to settle the debate whether economists really do not fulfil their function of preachers it needs to be defined precisely what adopting such a role entails. In this place one has to refer to the explanation presented by Stigler, although he himself warned that his approach does not profess to be precise. Nonetheless, it should be noted that through ‘preaching’ he understood ‘a clear and reasoned recommendation (or, more often, denunciation) of a policy or form of behaviour by men or societies of men’ (Stigler 1982, 3).
The precision of the presented definition may indeed leave much to be desired, because in the first place there is no mentioning of the scope and subject of the recommendations in question. With such a broad formulation, being a preacher would involve to all intents and purposes putting forward claims considering any sphere of life (as long as they are ‘clear and reasoned’). Indicating the subject of advising/preaching remains inexplicit. One may still presume that if such a role was to be resumed by economists, their advice and suggestions to a greater or lesser degree should refer to economic life.
Contents
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 5-6
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Selected Ethical and Developmental Issues in the Works of Deepak Lal & Alan Beattie
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 69-80
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Summary
Short presentation: authors and paper's purposes
This chapter aims to present the views of Deepak Lal and Alan Beattie as regards ethical issues and their impact – on moral values, customs, religion and corruption – on the development of the country, the cultural area and civilization.
Lal is a British economist of Indian origin. He has a degree in history at Delhi University, moreover, he graduated from philosophy and economics at Oxford University. He worked in the diplomatic corps of India but he committed himself to academic work. He was associated with Oxford and London Universities, as well as the University of California in Los Angeles, where as a professor he was at the helm of the International Development Studies. Lal regularly published articles in “Business Standard”. His views were taken from a powerful book with an intriguing title: Reviving the Invisible Hand (2006).
Alan Beattie has a flair for creating a whole from details, depicting the development of the world economy through concentration on chosen events and phenomena key for economic life. He has a degree in history at Oxford University and economics at Cambridge University. This combination is optimal, especially for an economic historian, as the discipline which he conducts is based on two keystones: history and economics. Beattie actively put his knowledge into practice in both of these disciplines – he was employed in the Bank of England and since 1998 he has been publishing works in the “Financial Times” on the subjects of world trade, globalisation and economic development.
Apart from the common threads present in the works of both of researchers, another premise justifying their joint treatment is the fact that Beattie, in his False Economy. A Surprising Economic History of the World (2009), referred in a direct way to some of the fundamental questions posed by Lal.
Lal's thought: morality, beliefs, religion and development2
Lal, in invoking the necessity of dealing with moral and religious issues and their influence on the development of the country, cites arguments expressed by anti-globalists, who criticise contemporary capitalism not so much because of the deepening poverty and inequality in the world but first of all due to its immorality. Such accusations were voiced already in the 19th and 20th century, but in the new millennium they gained strength (if only because of the global financial crisis).
Preface
- Joanna Dzionek-Kozłowska, Rafał Matera
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- Ethics in Economic Thought
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- Jagiellonian University Press
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- 10 January 2018
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- 01 January 2015, pp 7-10
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Summary
The global financial crisis, which began in 2007, apart from the disruptions in the economies of most countries in the world, led to the impairment of the authority of economists, and to some extent to the impairment of the subject of economics itself. From different sides, naturally, the following questions were posed: what were the causes of the crisis, who is responsible for its outbreak, how does the crisis differ from previous ones, is the world on the verge of another great depression? Also, the question arose why politicians and economists responsible for economic policy did not warn against the oncoming threat in time. Academics and publicists discussed heatedly the reason why, despite the continuous development of the theory of economics and the advancement of research methods applied by economists, once again they failed to prevent perturbation in the world economy. Such voices in a sense put the economists on the spot and forced them to account for the circumstances. It is striking, however, that both diagnoses and recipes for recovery presented in specialized journals as well as in the media directed at the wide public were significantly diversified. media directed at the wide public were significantly diversified.
The cause of the crisis is associated with, on the one hand, the deepening financialization in recent decades that was accompanied by excessive deregulation of financial markets, which resulted in speculations of the derivatives conducted on a global scale being made beyond the control of governments. On the other hand, though, the emphasis is placed on the mistakes committed by Federal Reserve System (expansive monetary policy and artificial reduction of the interest rates), subjecting economic policy to short-term political needs, the creation of a defective institutional structure on the American property market as well as the falling moral standards of the participants of economic life (see e.g. Barro 2009; Becker, Myerson, Scholes 2009; Bernanke 2010; Boettke, Smith and Snow 2011; Cochrane 2011; Colander 2011; Kates 2011; Krugman 2009; Romer 2009; Skidelsky 2009; V. Smith 2010; Stiglitz 2012).