EYAL ZAMIR and BARAK MEDINA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.003.12
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
The conclusion briefly summarizes the main argument of the book.
The conclusion briefly summarizes the main argument of the book.
EYAL ZAMIR and BARAK MEDINA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.003.09
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
This chapter discusses contract law. Ordinarily, market transactions do not involve infringements of deontological constraints. For this reason (and since they usually involve money or easily ...
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This chapter discusses contract law. Ordinarily, market transactions do not involve infringements of deontological constraints. For this reason (and since they usually involve money or easily monetized goods), standard cost-benefit analysis is particularly apt for analyzing contract law. Nevertheless, it is argued that certain deontological constraints apply to contracting behavior and that combining deontological constraints with economic analysis of contract law, may be fruitful. The chapter briefly surveys the deontological constraints pertinent to contract law and critically examines the standard economic response to them. It then demonstrates how deontological constraints may be integrated with economic analysis of the contracting stage, focusing on the doctrines of mistake and misrepresentation. Last, it highlights the differences between economic and deontological analyses of contract performance and breach, and discusses the difficulties facing integration of deontological constraints with the economic analysis of contract remedies, given the current state of the pertinent theories.Less
This chapter discusses contract law. Ordinarily, market transactions do not involve infringements of deontological constraints. For this reason (and since they usually involve money or easily monetized goods), standard cost-benefit analysis is particularly apt for analyzing contract law. Nevertheless, it is argued that certain deontological constraints apply to contracting behavior and that combining deontological constraints with economic analysis of contract law, may be fruitful. The chapter briefly surveys the deontological constraints pertinent to contract law and critically examines the standard economic response to them. It then demonstrates how deontological constraints may be integrated with economic analysis of the contracting stage, focusing on the doctrines of mistake and misrepresentation. Last, it highlights the differences between economic and deontological analyses of contract performance and breach, and discusses the difficulties facing integration of deontological constraints with the economic analysis of contract remedies, given the current state of the pertinent theories.
Jan Abel Olsen
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199237814
- eISBN:
- 9780191717215
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199237814.001.0001
- Subject:
- Public Health and Epidemiology, Public Health, Epidemiology
Principles in Health Economics and Policy is a concise introduction to health economics and its application to health policy. It introduces the subject of economics, explains the ...
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Principles in Health Economics and Policy is a concise introduction to health economics and its application to health policy. It introduces the subject of economics, explains the fundamental failures in the market for health care, and discusses the concepts of equity and fairness when applied to health and health care. The book takes a policy-oriented approach, emphasizing the application of economic analysis to universal health policy issues. It explores the key questions facing health policy-makers across the globe right now, such as: how should society intervene in the determinants that affect health? How should health care be financed? How should health care providers be paid? And, how should alternative health care programmes be evaluated when setting priorities? Exercises and suggested readings are included after each chapter.Less
Principles in Health Economics and Policy is a concise introduction to health economics and its application to health policy. It introduces the subject of economics, explains the fundamental failures in the market for health care, and discusses the concepts of equity and fairness when applied to health and health care. The book takes a policy-oriented approach, emphasizing the application of economic analysis to universal health policy issues. It explores the key questions facing health policy-makers across the globe right now, such as: how should society intervene in the determinants that affect health? How should health care be financed? How should health care providers be paid? And, how should alternative health care programmes be evaluated when setting priorities? Exercises and suggested readings are included after each chapter.
Ashwani Deshpande
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198072034
- eISBN:
- 9780199081028
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198072034.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This book examines the contemporary nature of caste disparities in India by using a framework that integrates discussions on caste from other social science disciplines with those from within ...
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This book examines the contemporary nature of caste disparities in India by using a framework that integrates discussions on caste from other social science disciplines with those from within economics. It brings together quantitative evidence on different dimensions of caste disparities based on two large national-level data sets, in order to analyse the degree of change in the caste system over the last two decades. Offering evidence based on economic analysis, it questions commonly-held views and challenges traditional wisdom. The chapter uses the latest methods that allow researchers to gauge discrimination and shows how some of these methods have been used in the Indian context and what the quest has yielded. The chapter constructs a multifaceted ‘Caste Development Index’ that allows a broader assessment and comparison of the standard of living of caste groups across states and time. Finally, the book also discusses policy responses to disparities and discrimination by reviewing the existing quota system.Less
This book examines the contemporary nature of caste disparities in India by using a framework that integrates discussions on caste from other social science disciplines with those from within economics. It brings together quantitative evidence on different dimensions of caste disparities based on two large national-level data sets, in order to analyse the degree of change in the caste system over the last two decades. Offering evidence based on economic analysis, it questions commonly-held views and challenges traditional wisdom. The chapter uses the latest methods that allow researchers to gauge discrimination and shows how some of these methods have been used in the Indian context and what the quest has yielded. The chapter constructs a multifaceted ‘Caste Development Index’ that allows a broader assessment and comparison of the standard of living of caste groups across states and time. Finally, the book also discusses policy responses to disparities and discrimination by reviewing the existing quota system.
Eyal Zamir and Barak Medina
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
Economic analysis of law is a powerful analytical methodology. However, as a purely consequentialist approach, which determines the desirability of acts and rules solely by assessing the ...
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Economic analysis of law is a powerful analytical methodology. However, as a purely consequentialist approach, which determines the desirability of acts and rules solely by assessing the goodness of their outcomes, standard cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is normatively objectionable. Moderate deontology prioritizes such values as autonomy, basic liberties, truth-telling, and promise-keeping over the promotion of good outcomes. It holds that there are constraints on promoting the good. Such constraints may be overridden only if enough good (or bad) is at stake. While moderate deontology conforms to prevailing moral intuitions and legal doctrines, it is arguably lacking in methodological rigor and precision. This book examines the possibility of combining economic methodology and deontological morality through explicit and direct incorporation of moral constraints (and options) into economic models. It argues that the normative flaws of economic analysis can be rectified without relinquishing its methodological advantages, and that moral constraints can be formalized so as to make their analysis more rigorous. The book discusses various substantive and methodological choices involved in modeling deontological constraints. It proposes to determine the permissibility of any act or rule infringing a deontological constraint by means of mathematical threshold functions. The book presents the general structure of threshold functions, analyzes their elements, and addresses possible objections to this proposal. It then illustrates the implementation of constrained CBA in several legal fields, including the fight against terrorism, freedom of speech, anti-discrimination law, contract law, and legal paternalism.Less
Economic analysis of law is a powerful analytical methodology. However, as a purely consequentialist approach, which determines the desirability of acts and rules solely by assessing the goodness of their outcomes, standard cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is normatively objectionable. Moderate deontology prioritizes such values as autonomy, basic liberties, truth-telling, and promise-keeping over the promotion of good outcomes. It holds that there are constraints on promoting the good. Such constraints may be overridden only if enough good (or bad) is at stake. While moderate deontology conforms to prevailing moral intuitions and legal doctrines, it is arguably lacking in methodological rigor and precision. This book examines the possibility of combining economic methodology and deontological morality through explicit and direct incorporation of moral constraints (and options) into economic models. It argues that the normative flaws of economic analysis can be rectified without relinquishing its methodological advantages, and that moral constraints can be formalized so as to make their analysis more rigorous. The book discusses various substantive and methodological choices involved in modeling deontological constraints. It proposes to determine the permissibility of any act or rule infringing a deontological constraint by means of mathematical threshold functions. The book presents the general structure of threshold functions, analyzes their elements, and addresses possible objections to this proposal. It then illustrates the implementation of constrained CBA in several legal fields, including the fight against terrorism, freedom of speech, anti-discrimination law, contract law, and legal paternalism.
Brett M. Frischmann
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199895656
- eISBN:
- 9780199933280
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199895656.003.0012
- Subject:
- Law, Environmental and Energy Law
This chapter explores how infrastructure arguments apply to environmental resources and contribute to the difficult tasks of valuing and managing these resources. It is organized into four sections. ...
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This chapter explores how infrastructure arguments apply to environmental resources and contribute to the difficult tasks of valuing and managing these resources. It is organized into four sections. Section A briefly discusses some difficult valuation and management problems that plague economic analysis of environmental resources. Section B applies the infrastructure criteria and delineates environmental infrastructure. It shows how environmental infrastructures are mixed infrastructure and discusses the many different ways in which users generate massive social value, some of which is reflected in markets and much of which is not. Section C considers commons management and various complications. While the demand-side case for commons management is quite strong, there are strong countervailing concerns, including congestion, degradation, and depletion (conventional tragedy of the commons problems); interuse rivalrousness and incompatibilities (e.g., when pollution and swimming conflict); and negative externalities associated with the production of “public bads” that cause harm in interdependent systems (e.g., pollution that causes adverse health effects to people regardless of whether or not they use the resource). This section offers a few insights regarding how environmental regulation addresses these concerns while sustaining commons to the extent feasible. Section D considers how infrastructure analysis relates to the literatures on ecosystem services and multiple-use management.Less
This chapter explores how infrastructure arguments apply to environmental resources and contribute to the difficult tasks of valuing and managing these resources. It is organized into four sections. Section A briefly discusses some difficult valuation and management problems that plague economic analysis of environmental resources. Section B applies the infrastructure criteria and delineates environmental infrastructure. It shows how environmental infrastructures are mixed infrastructure and discusses the many different ways in which users generate massive social value, some of which is reflected in markets and much of which is not. Section C considers commons management and various complications. While the demand-side case for commons management is quite strong, there are strong countervailing concerns, including congestion, degradation, and depletion (conventional tragedy of the commons problems); interuse rivalrousness and incompatibilities (e.g., when pollution and swimming conflict); and negative externalities associated with the production of “public bads” that cause harm in interdependent systems (e.g., pollution that causes adverse health effects to people regardless of whether or not they use the resource). This section offers a few insights regarding how environmental regulation addresses these concerns while sustaining commons to the extent feasible. Section D considers how infrastructure analysis relates to the literatures on ecosystem services and multiple-use management.
Peter A. Diamond
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199247899
- eISBN:
- 9780191697692
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199247899.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics, Public and Welfare
This chapter discusses the importance of social security to the economy and how it affects different members of society. Social security is important to all types of workers both young and old. For ...
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This chapter discusses the importance of social security to the economy and how it affects different members of society. Social security is important to all types of workers both young and old. For the older members of the labour force social security is important for helping them make retirement decisions. Social Security also affects younger labourers; since it determines the level of savings they need to provide for their retirement. Social Security also helps allocate risks in the economy. Because of its importance, any reform or any policy recommendation affecting social security must consider the political significance a given change entails and it also has to undergo normative economic analysis.Less
This chapter discusses the importance of social security to the economy and how it affects different members of society. Social security is important to all types of workers both young and old. For the older members of the labour force social security is important for helping them make retirement decisions. Social Security also affects younger labourers; since it determines the level of savings they need to provide for their retirement. Social Security also helps allocate risks in the economy. Because of its importance, any reform or any policy recommendation affecting social security must consider the political significance a given change entails and it also has to undergo normative economic analysis.
EYAL ZAMIR and BARAK MEDINA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.003.08
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
This chapter examines discrimination in the marketplace and, more specifically, the legitimacy and appropriate scope of anti-discrimination legislation. Following a brief survey of current legal ...
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This chapter examines discrimination in the marketplace and, more specifically, the legitimacy and appropriate scope of anti-discrimination legislation. Following a brief survey of current legal norms, it relies on positive economic analysis to explain possible motivations for discrimination. It then examines the efforts made to justify anti-discrimination legislation on standard efficiency grounds. It argues that these efforts are unsuccessful. Rather, the appropriate way to adequately capture the issues pertaining to market discrimination is to directly take into account a deontological constraint against harming people by discriminating against them. The chapter analyzes the deontological constraint against discrimination, examines the relationships between this constraint and distributive bases for anti-discrimination legislation, and demonstrates how current legal norms are best understood as resting on moderate deontology and embodying threshold constraints.Less
This chapter examines discrimination in the marketplace and, more specifically, the legitimacy and appropriate scope of anti-discrimination legislation. Following a brief survey of current legal norms, it relies on positive economic analysis to explain possible motivations for discrimination. It then examines the efforts made to justify anti-discrimination legislation on standard efficiency grounds. It argues that these efforts are unsuccessful. Rather, the appropriate way to adequately capture the issues pertaining to market discrimination is to directly take into account a deontological constraint against harming people by discriminating against them. The chapter analyzes the deontological constraint against discrimination, examines the relationships between this constraint and distributive bases for anti-discrimination legislation, and demonstrates how current legal norms are best understood as resting on moderate deontology and embodying threshold constraints.
EYAL ZAMIR and BARAK MEDINA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.003.11
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's motivation and goals, and describes the structure of the discussion.
This introductory chapter provides an overview of the book's motivation and goals, and describes the structure of the discussion.
EYAL ZAMIR and BARAK MEDINA
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195372168
- eISBN:
- 9780199776078
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372168.003.07
- Subject:
- Law, Philosophy of Law
This chapter discusses freedom of speech. It briefly describes current constitutional protection of this freedom and surveys its standard economic analysis. It then introduces the deontological ...
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This chapter discusses freedom of speech. It briefly describes current constitutional protection of this freedom and surveys its standard economic analysis. It then introduces the deontological constraint against curtailing free speech and analyzes in some detail the normative judgments involved in conducting a constrained cost-benefit analysis of speech regulation. As to calculating the benefit of speech regulation — which is tantamount to calculating the speech's expected harm — it examines the desirability of excluding, or radically discounting, various types of harms, such as chronologically-remote and low-probability harms, small harms, harms brought about through rational persuasion, and mere offensiveness. Various ways of formalizing such excluders and combining them are examined. The chapter then analyzes the threshold that has to be met to justify speech regulation, including its shape, the setting of different thresholds for content-based and for content-neutral regulation, and different thresholds for different categories of speech.Less
This chapter discusses freedom of speech. It briefly describes current constitutional protection of this freedom and surveys its standard economic analysis. It then introduces the deontological constraint against curtailing free speech and analyzes in some detail the normative judgments involved in conducting a constrained cost-benefit analysis of speech regulation. As to calculating the benefit of speech regulation — which is tantamount to calculating the speech's expected harm — it examines the desirability of excluding, or radically discounting, various types of harms, such as chronologically-remote and low-probability harms, small harms, harms brought about through rational persuasion, and mere offensiveness. Various ways of formalizing such excluders and combining them are examined. The chapter then analyzes the threshold that has to be met to justify speech regulation, including its shape, the setting of different thresholds for content-based and for content-neutral regulation, and different thresholds for different categories of speech.
Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The sixth and seventh chapters that make up Part II of the book consist of one practical and much narrower application of the capability approach, namely, a discussion of how economic analysis ...
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The sixth and seventh chapters that make up Part II of the book consist of one practical and much narrower application of the capability approach, namely, a discussion of how economic analysis (cost‐benefit analysis) and systematic qualitative information on human impacts can be combined in order to assess the relative effectiveness of particular development activities in expanding human capabilities. This sixth chapter on assessing capability change first gives an introduction to Part II. It goes on to defend the necessity of efficiency considerations, such as those that are incorporated in cost‐benefit analysis and in project evaluation, and then looks at capability set analysis by reviewing two prominent participatory assessment methodologies that have been developed to supplement economic considerations with social data: one by the World Bank (participatory social assessment), the other as a result of US legislation governing public expenditure (social impact assessment). Both of these lack a systematic method for identifying changes valued by participants themselves and for devolving real control over a decision to the lowest level capable of making it, and this lack increases the chance of significant bias in gathering and interpreting value judgements. In response, a novel method of impact assessment is described that would complement and improve available assessment tools; the method of impact assessment represents one way in which the framework of the preceding chapters could be used.Less
The sixth and seventh chapters that make up Part II of the book consist of one practical and much narrower application of the capability approach, namely, a discussion of how economic analysis (cost‐benefit analysis) and systematic qualitative information on human impacts can be combined in order to assess the relative effectiveness of particular development activities in expanding human capabilities. This sixth chapter on assessing capability change first gives an introduction to Part II. It goes on to defend the necessity of efficiency considerations, such as those that are incorporated in cost‐benefit analysis and in project evaluation, and then looks at capability set analysis by reviewing two prominent participatory assessment methodologies that have been developed to supplement economic considerations with social data: one by the World Bank (participatory social assessment), the other as a result of US legislation governing public expenditure (social impact assessment). Both of these lack a systematic method for identifying changes valued by participants themselves and for devolving real control over a decision to the lowest level capable of making it, and this lack increases the chance of significant bias in gathering and interpreting value judgements. In response, a novel method of impact assessment is described that would complement and improve available assessment tools; the method of impact assessment represents one way in which the framework of the preceding chapters could be used.
FARUK GUL and WOLFGANG PESENDORFER
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195328318
- eISBN:
- 9780199851768
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195328318.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
Neuroeconomics does not directly refer to neuroscience, but it is usually perceived as a field that incorporates psychology with economics. Neuroeconomics is a research field that considers the ...
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Neuroeconomics does not directly refer to neuroscience, but it is usually perceived as a field that incorporates psychology with economics. Neuroeconomics is a research field that considers the following claims: 1) physiological and psychological evidence can be used to either discard or reinforce certain economic models and methodology; and 2) economic welfare analysis should be making use of “true utility” rather than “choice utility” because it is more important to account for what makes individuals happy in contrast with the utilities governing choice. Because neuroeconomics surpasses conventional economic practices by integrating psychological insights and neuroscientific evidence, this chapter illustrates how neuroeconomics attempts to impose changes in methodology, and discusses a neuroscience critique of traditional economics.Less
Neuroeconomics does not directly refer to neuroscience, but it is usually perceived as a field that incorporates psychology with economics. Neuroeconomics is a research field that considers the following claims: 1) physiological and psychological evidence can be used to either discard or reinforce certain economic models and methodology; and 2) economic welfare analysis should be making use of “true utility” rather than “choice utility” because it is more important to account for what makes individuals happy in contrast with the utilities governing choice. Because neuroeconomics surpasses conventional economic practices by integrating psychological insights and neuroscientific evidence, this chapter illustrates how neuroeconomics attempts to impose changes in methodology, and discusses a neuroscience critique of traditional economics.
Daniel L. Rubinfeld
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195372823
- eISBN:
- 9780199871773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372823.003.0006
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This paper suggests that while the influence of industrial organization economics has grown substantially over time, it would be overly simplistic to characterize that influence as having been driven ...
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This paper suggests that while the influence of industrial organization economics has grown substantially over time, it would be overly simplistic to characterize that influence as having been driven solely by a group of conservative antitrust legal and/or economic scholars. Differences among antitrust economists are as likely due to the fact economists hold a range of views as to the meaning of economic efficiency, and they differ significantly in their beliefs as to the likely efficacy of government intervention. The paper begins with an overview of the history of antitrust policy. It explains how important precedents in the law have followed, albeit with a substantial lag, important developments in the economics of industrial organization that serve as important underpinnings of the law. It then explains why and how economists' views of antitrust policy differ, and how and why conservative economics has overshot the mark to some degree.Less
This paper suggests that while the influence of industrial organization economics has grown substantially over time, it would be overly simplistic to characterize that influence as having been driven solely by a group of conservative antitrust legal and/or economic scholars. Differences among antitrust economists are as likely due to the fact economists hold a range of views as to the meaning of economic efficiency, and they differ significantly in their beliefs as to the likely efficacy of government intervention. The paper begins with an overview of the history of antitrust policy. It explains how important precedents in the law have followed, albeit with a substantial lag, important developments in the economics of industrial organization that serve as important underpinnings of the law. It then explains why and how economists' views of antitrust policy differ, and how and why conservative economics has overshot the mark to some degree.
Sabina Alkire
- Published in print:
- 2002
- Published Online:
- April 2004
- ISBN:
- 9780199245796
- eISBN:
- 9780191600838
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199245797.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
The sixth and seventh chapters that make up Part II of the book consist of one practical and much narrower application of the capability approach, namely, a discussion of how economic analysis ...
More
The sixth and seventh chapters that make up Part II of the book consist of one practical and much narrower application of the capability approach, namely, a discussion of how economic analysis (cost‐benefit analysis) and systematic qualitative information on human impacts can be combined in order to assess the relative effectiveness of particular development activities in expanding human capabilities. This seventh chapter comprises case studies of three small Oxfam activities in Pakistan on which both cost‐benefit analysis and the further assessment of impacts were applied. The methodology described in Ch. 6 was developed, and these case studies were conducted, over nine months of field research in Pakistan with non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) that undertake income generation activities among poor communities using participatory methods. The aim was to develop a participatory method for evaluating development activities (at different stages of implementation) that field staff could implement themselves, and that would facilitate the kind of self‐direction and scrutiny of values issues advocated by Amartya Sen's capability approach. The three case studies were of women's income generation activities in Pakistan: loans for goat‐rearing, involving the local NGO the Rural Women's Welfare Organization; adult literacy and community development—the Khoj literacy activity project; and rose cultivation, involving the Marvi Women's Organization in the village of Arabsolangi, Sindh.Less
The sixth and seventh chapters that make up Part II of the book consist of one practical and much narrower application of the capability approach, namely, a discussion of how economic analysis (cost‐benefit analysis) and systematic qualitative information on human impacts can be combined in order to assess the relative effectiveness of particular development activities in expanding human capabilities. This seventh chapter comprises case studies of three small Oxfam activities in Pakistan on which both cost‐benefit analysis and the further assessment of impacts were applied. The methodology described in Ch. 6 was developed, and these case studies were conducted, over nine months of field research in Pakistan with non‐governmental organizations (NGOs) that undertake income generation activities among poor communities using participatory methods. The aim was to develop a participatory method for evaluating development activities (at different stages of implementation) that field staff could implement themselves, and that would facilitate the kind of self‐direction and scrutiny of values issues advocated by Amartya Sen's capability approach. The three case studies were of women's income generation activities in Pakistan: loans for goat‐rearing, involving the local NGO the Rural Women's Welfare Organization; adult literacy and community development—the Khoj literacy activity project; and rose cultivation, involving the Marvi Women's Organization in the village of Arabsolangi, Sindh.
Timothy Besley and Torsten Persson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691152684
- eISBN:
- 9781400840526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691152684.003.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, History of Economic Thought
This chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to offer an approach to studying weak or fragile states, taking a first step toward bringing them into mainstream economic analyses. It ...
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This chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to offer an approach to studying weak or fragile states, taking a first step toward bringing them into mainstream economic analyses. It proceeds by using more-or-less standard ideas and methods to study the basics of state building. A key issue is to understand what creates effective states. The chapter then outlines the main ideas in brief but accessible form. It is also reviews some of the historical evidence and discusses some narrative accounts of development that shape our thinking. The primary aim is to demonstrate a strong link between the present work, with its clear roots in mainstream economics, and research within other disciplines and less mainstream approaches.Less
This chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to offer an approach to studying weak or fragile states, taking a first step toward bringing them into mainstream economic analyses. It proceeds by using more-or-less standard ideas and methods to study the basics of state building. A key issue is to understand what creates effective states. The chapter then outlines the main ideas in brief but accessible form. It is also reviews some of the historical evidence and discusses some narrative accounts of development that shape our thinking. The primary aim is to demonstrate a strong link between the present work, with its clear roots in mainstream economics, and research within other disciplines and less mainstream approaches.
Roman Frydman and Michael D. Goldberg
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691155234
- eISBN:
- 9781400846450
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691155234.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Macro- and Monetary Economics
This chapter considers an alternative approach to economic analysis, Imperfect Knowledge Economics (IKE), and introduces a model of asset prices and risk that has explicit mathematical ...
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This chapter considers an alternative approach to economic analysis, Imperfect Knowledge Economics (IKE), and introduces a model of asset prices and risk that has explicit mathematical microfoundations and yet remains open to nonroutine change. The IKE model consists of representations of individuals' preferences, forecasting behavior, constraints, and decision rules in terms of a set of causal (often called “informational”) variables, which portray the influence of economic policy, institutions, and other features of the social context. It also entails an aggregation rule and processes for the informational variables. The chapter examines irregular swings in asset prices and their relationship to financial risk. It also presents an IKE account of asset price swings before concluding with an analysis of contingent predictions of long swings and their compatibility with rationality.Less
This chapter considers an alternative approach to economic analysis, Imperfect Knowledge Economics (IKE), and introduces a model of asset prices and risk that has explicit mathematical microfoundations and yet remains open to nonroutine change. The IKE model consists of representations of individuals' preferences, forecasting behavior, constraints, and decision rules in terms of a set of causal (often called “informational”) variables, which portray the influence of economic policy, institutions, and other features of the social context. It also entails an aggregation rule and processes for the informational variables. The chapter examines irregular swings in asset prices and their relationship to financial risk. It also presents an IKE account of asset price swings before concluding with an analysis of contingent predictions of long swings and their compatibility with rationality.
Dr. Ben S. Branch, Hugh M. Ray, and Robin Russell
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195306989
- eISBN:
- 9780199783762
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195306989.003.0008
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This chapter focuses on the types of causes of action which may belong to the failed business. Lawsuits, such as actions against officers and directors for breach of their duties to the company, ...
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This chapter focuses on the types of causes of action which may belong to the failed business. Lawsuits, such as actions against officers and directors for breach of their duties to the company, actions against lawyers and accountants for professional malpractice, actions to avoid preference payments, and fraudulent transfers made by the debtor are discussed. The aim is to provide a framework for the liquidator's economic analysis of the value of each cause of action by determining the cost and time to litigate and the probability of success and collection.Less
This chapter focuses on the types of causes of action which may belong to the failed business. Lawsuits, such as actions against officers and directors for breach of their duties to the company, actions against lawyers and accountants for professional malpractice, actions to avoid preference payments, and fraudulent transfers made by the debtor are discussed. The aim is to provide a framework for the liquidator's economic analysis of the value of each cause of action by determining the cost and time to litigate and the probability of success and collection.
F. M. Scherer
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195372823
- eISBN:
- 9780199871773
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195372823.003.0004
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Behavioural Economics
This paper observes that antitrust analysis has moved sharply to the conservative side and emphasizes the complexity of issues. First, it notes that the move toward less enforcement does not reflect ...
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This paper observes that antitrust analysis has moved sharply to the conservative side and emphasizes the complexity of issues. First, it notes that the move toward less enforcement does not reflect just the influence of economists but also of lawyers, enforcement officials, and judges who believe in the precept that government is the problem and not the solution. Second, it observes that conservative approaches avoiding government intervention is not a consistent view of the Chicago School. It has advocated vigorous antitrust enforcement in the area of price-fixing among direct rivals (cartel policy) and occasionally advocated limits on the size of corporations. However, in recent years, extreme Chicago views have influenced enforcement, particularly during Republican administrations. Illustrations include declining enforcement efforts with respect to predatory pricing, concentrated (i.e., oligopoly) markets, and mergers. As an example of scholarship that argues that market forces will solve all problems, the paper cites an article by J. McGee to the effect that with the exception of industries where the state blocks entry “[t]here is the strongest presumption that the existing structure [of industry] is the efficient structure.” In a concluding section, the paper takes on a specific issue that has been advocated as a result of conservative economic analysis and has achieved substantial support. That view, virtually a consensus in terms of conservative economic analysis, is that government regulation of intellectual property—particularly mandatory licensing of patents as a remedy for wrong-doing—will reduce investments in innovation and, in the long run, injure consumers. That conclusion is inconsistent with a body of empirical evidence that antitrust enforcement had little adverse impact on investments in innovation.Less
This paper observes that antitrust analysis has moved sharply to the conservative side and emphasizes the complexity of issues. First, it notes that the move toward less enforcement does not reflect just the influence of economists but also of lawyers, enforcement officials, and judges who believe in the precept that government is the problem and not the solution. Second, it observes that conservative approaches avoiding government intervention is not a consistent view of the Chicago School. It has advocated vigorous antitrust enforcement in the area of price-fixing among direct rivals (cartel policy) and occasionally advocated limits on the size of corporations. However, in recent years, extreme Chicago views have influenced enforcement, particularly during Republican administrations. Illustrations include declining enforcement efforts with respect to predatory pricing, concentrated (i.e., oligopoly) markets, and mergers. As an example of scholarship that argues that market forces will solve all problems, the paper cites an article by J. McGee to the effect that with the exception of industries where the state blocks entry “[t]here is the strongest presumption that the existing structure [of industry] is the efficient structure.” In a concluding section, the paper takes on a specific issue that has been advocated as a result of conservative economic analysis and has achieved substantial support. That view, virtually a consensus in terms of conservative economic analysis, is that government regulation of intellectual property—particularly mandatory licensing of patents as a remedy for wrong-doing—will reduce investments in innovation and, in the long run, injure consumers. That conclusion is inconsistent with a body of empirical evidence that antitrust enforcement had little adverse impact on investments in innovation.
Timothy Besley and Torsten Persson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- October 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780691152684
- eISBN:
- 9781400840526
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Princeton University Press
- DOI:
- 10.23943/princeton/9780691152684.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, History of Economic Thought
This chapter explores the forces that shape investments in fiscal capacity. It sets out a core model that shows how this aspect of state building is influenced by economic and political factors, such ...
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This chapter explores the forces that shape investments in fiscal capacity. It sets out a core model that shows how this aspect of state building is influenced by economic and political factors, such as common interests and political institutions. A key feature of the model has been to delineate the types of states that can emerge in equilibrium. It also shows that the model can be given microeconomic foundations and demonstrates how it can be extended in a number of directions that lead to more realism. The main focus of the chapter has been on the extractive role of government and on some of the issues raised in traditional public-finance models. This has laid the groundwork for the analyses to come.Less
This chapter explores the forces that shape investments in fiscal capacity. It sets out a core model that shows how this aspect of state building is influenced by economic and political factors, such as common interests and political institutions. A key feature of the model has been to delineate the types of states that can emerge in equilibrium. It also shows that the model can be given microeconomic foundations and demonstrates how it can be extended in a number of directions that lead to more realism. The main focus of the chapter has been on the extractive role of government and on some of the issues raised in traditional public-finance models. This has laid the groundwork for the analyses to come.
M. FG. Scott
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780197263020
- eISBN:
- 9780191734199
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- British Academy
- DOI:
- 10.5871/bacad/9780197263020.003.0023
- Subject:
- History, Historiography
Tom Wilson's long career as an economist took him from Belfast to the London School of Economics, Whitehall (during the Second World War), Oxford, Glasgow, and finally Bristol; and the subjects which ...
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Tom Wilson's long career as an economist took him from Belfast to the London School of Economics, Whitehall (during the Second World War), Oxford, Glasgow, and finally Bristol; and the subjects which interested him ranged as widely. His method, however, in addressing them followed a pattern. It was eclectic: the different sides of the argument were fairly set out and criticised. Tom could usually find some virtue in each, and took the trouble to inform himself about them. His economic analysis was not mathematical or econometric, and seldom even diagrammatic. As it was often the policy implications of economic problems which interested him, he could not stop at simplified models of reality which left out some of the relevant variety and complexity of experience. His books on macroeconomics, regional policy, planning, the welfare state, and competition policy, drew on these strengths, and they shine forth most clearly in two written towards the end of his life: on Lord Cherwell's advice to Churchill during the war and on the Ulster tragedy.Less
Tom Wilson's long career as an economist took him from Belfast to the London School of Economics, Whitehall (during the Second World War), Oxford, Glasgow, and finally Bristol; and the subjects which interested him ranged as widely. His method, however, in addressing them followed a pattern. It was eclectic: the different sides of the argument were fairly set out and criticised. Tom could usually find some virtue in each, and took the trouble to inform himself about them. His economic analysis was not mathematical or econometric, and seldom even diagrammatic. As it was often the policy implications of economic problems which interested him, he could not stop at simplified models of reality which left out some of the relevant variety and complexity of experience. His books on macroeconomics, regional policy, planning, the welfare state, and competition policy, drew on these strengths, and they shine forth most clearly in two written towards the end of his life: on Lord Cherwell's advice to Churchill during the war and on the Ulster tragedy.
