Leif Lewin
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198277255
- eISBN:
- 9780191599774
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198277253.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Is it self‐interest or public interest that dominates in public life? Rational‐choice theory, political philosophy, and electoral research were all used to answer this question. Analysing existing ...
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Is it self‐interest or public interest that dominates in public life? Rational‐choice theory, political philosophy, and electoral research were all used to answer this question. Analysing existing literature, Professor Leif Lewin shows that predominant consensus emerged on this issue by the 1980s. This consensus states that people in politics are driven mostly by their self‐interest and not by common good and society values. Although Professor Lewin is not testing existing views that ‘egoism rules’ on deep theoretical grounds, he strongly argues that empirical facts do not support such views and thus opens a new chapter in the debate on individuals’ rationality.Combining research results and achievements of different research fields, mentioned above, the author adopts methodology never used before. Extensive literature review on studies of Western democracy provides a basis for analysis for many countries. Separate chapters of the book are devoted to the attitudes and actions of the electoral voters, politicians, and bureaucrats in power.This allows the author to make broad conclusions, which challenges predominant views. He concludes that in most cases people in politics are driven by broader social interests rather than their own short‐term interests.Less
Is it self‐interest or public interest that dominates in public life? Rational‐choice theory, political philosophy, and electoral research were all used to answer this question. Analysing existing literature, Professor Leif Lewin shows that predominant consensus emerged on this issue by the 1980s. This consensus states that people in politics are driven mostly by their self‐interest and not by common good and society values. Although Professor Lewin is not testing existing views that ‘egoism rules’ on deep theoretical grounds, he strongly argues that empirical facts do not support such views and thus opens a new chapter in the debate on individuals’ rationality.
Combining research results and achievements of different research fields, mentioned above, the author adopts methodology never used before. Extensive literature review on studies of Western democracy provides a basis for analysis for many countries. Separate chapters of the book are devoted to the attitudes and actions of the electoral voters, politicians, and bureaucrats in power.
This allows the author to make broad conclusions, which challenges predominant views. He concludes that in most cases people in politics are driven by broader social interests rather than their own short‐term interests.
Margaret Moore
- Published in print:
- 1993
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198273851
- eISBN:
- 9780191599934
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198273851.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
Foundations of Liberalism is a critical examination of contemporary liberal theories of justice (Gewirth, Rawls, Gauthier, Raz, among others) focussing on the familiar problem of how to ...
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Foundations of Liberalism is a critical examination of contemporary liberal theories of justice (Gewirth, Rawls, Gauthier, Raz, among others) focussing on the familiar problem of how to relate the personal point of view of the individual to the impartial perspective of justice. Two kinds of problems typically arise from the attempt to ground liberal justice in an individualist foundation. The ‘motivation problem’ refers to the difficulty in explaining why the individual would be motivated to act in accordance with liberal justice. The ‘integrity problem’ refers to the tendency to explain the above by presenting an incoherent or divided account of the person, with one part motivated by self‐interest, and the other part, by the impartial rules of justice. The book develops a more plausible account of the relation between self‐interest and morality, which avoids these two problems, and which is more similar to the revisionist liberal accounts of Rawls's Political Liberalism and Raz's The Morality of Freedom.Less
Foundations of Liberalism is a critical examination of contemporary liberal theories of justice (Gewirth, Rawls, Gauthier, Raz, among others) focussing on the familiar problem of how to relate the personal point of view of the individual to the impartial perspective of justice. Two kinds of problems typically arise from the attempt to ground liberal justice in an individualist foundation. The ‘motivation problem’ refers to the difficulty in explaining why the individual would be motivated to act in accordance with liberal justice. The ‘integrity problem’ refers to the tendency to explain the above by presenting an incoherent or divided account of the person, with one part motivated by self‐interest, and the other part, by the impartial rules of justice. The book develops a more plausible account of the relation between self‐interest and morality, which avoids these two problems, and which is more similar to the revisionist liberal accounts of Rawls's Political Liberalism and Raz's The Morality of Freedom.
Matt Matravers
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198295730
- eISBN:
- 9780191599828
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198295731.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Theory
This book attempts to answer the challenge of showing that morality is not a confidence trick or a fetish. It does so by arguing that moral norms are those that rational, self‐interested people could ...
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This book attempts to answer the challenge of showing that morality is not a confidence trick or a fetish. It does so by arguing that moral norms are those that rational, self‐interested people could accept. The problem is approached by asking by what right some people punish others, and by comparing recent developments in theories of distributive and retributive justice. The first part of the book considers retributive, utilitarian, and mixed theories of punishment. In the second part, recent theories of distributive justice, especially those of Rawls and Gauthier, are examined. It is argued that these theories cannot give an adequate account of punishment. In the final part, an argument is offered for a genuinely constructivist account of morality—constructivist in that it rejects any idea of objective, mind‐independent moral values and seeks instead to construct morality from non‐moral human concerns; genuinely constructivist in that, in contrast to Rawls, it does not take as a premise the equal moral worth of persons. The conclusion is that a genuine constructivism will show the need for, and justification of, punishment as intrinsic to morality itself.Less
This book attempts to answer the challenge of showing that morality is not a confidence trick or a fetish. It does so by arguing that moral norms are those that rational, self‐interested people could accept. The problem is approached by asking by what right some people punish others, and by comparing recent developments in theories of distributive and retributive justice. The first part of the book considers retributive, utilitarian, and mixed theories of punishment. In the second part, recent theories of distributive justice, especially those of Rawls and Gauthier, are examined. It is argued that these theories cannot give an adequate account of punishment. In the final part, an argument is offered for a genuinely constructivist account of morality—constructivist in that it rejects any idea of objective, mind‐independent moral values and seeks instead to construct morality from non‐moral human concerns; genuinely constructivist in that, in contrast to Rawls, it does not take as a premise the equal moral worth of persons. The conclusion is that a genuine constructivism will show the need for, and justification of, punishment as intrinsic to morality itself.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0011
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Austria. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Austria. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Austria. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0013
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Denmark. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Denmark. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Denmark. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0014
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Finland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Finland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Finland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0018
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Iceland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Iceland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Iceland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0019
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Ireland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Ireland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Ireland. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0021
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Luxembourg. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Luxembourg. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Luxembourg. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0023
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Norway. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Norway. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Norway. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0024
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Portugal. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Portugal. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Portugal. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0025
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Spain. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Spain. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Spain. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0028
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Turkey. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
More
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Turkey. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Turkey. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0029
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in the United Kingdom. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in the United Kingdom. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in the United Kingdom. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0033
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Australia. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Australia. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in Australia. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Jan‐Erik Lane, David McKay, and Kenneth Newton
- Published in print:
- 1996
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780198280538
- eISBN:
- 9780191601934
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019828053X.003.0034
- Subject:
- Political Science, Reference
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in New Zealand. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, ...
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This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in New Zealand. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.Less
This section provides information on the most significant features of government and politics in New Zealand. These include data on state structure and offices, parties, government constitutions, electoral and voting systems, and basic media materials on media, education, economic interest organisations and the budget.
Christopher Hood, Henry Rothstein, and Robert Baldwin
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199243631
- eISBN:
- 9780191599507
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199243638.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Why does the regulation of risks to human health and safety vary so dramatically from one policy domain to another? Why are some risks regulated aggressively and others responded to only modestly? Is ...
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Why does the regulation of risks to human health and safety vary so dramatically from one policy domain to another? Why are some risks regulated aggressively and others responded to only modestly? Is there any logic to the techniques we use in risk regulation? This book addresses these important questions by systematically examining variety amongst risk regulation regimes across policy domains, analysing the significant driving forces shaping those regimes, and identifying the causes of regulatory failure and success. In order to do so, the book develops a systems‐based concept of a ‘risk regulation regime’, which enables comparative description and analysis of the rules, institutional arrangements, and cultures that are bound up with the handling of risk within and between regimes. Using that framework, the book analyses how regimes and their constituent components are differentially shaped by three major driving forces—namely, the pressures exerted by market failure, by public opinion, and by organized interests inside and outside the state apparatus—and blame‐avoidance responses of regimes in the face of pressures for greater openness. The book applies the method to analyse a range of risk regulation regimes that cross the divide between ‘natural’ and ‘socially created’, state‐created and market‐created, ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’, high‐tech and low‐tech, individually, and corporately produced risks. Those regimes include the release of paedophiles into the community, air pollution, local road safety, radon, pesticides, and dangerous dogs. The analysis reveals both variations and paradoxes that can neither be identified by single case studies, nor be easily explained by macro‐oriented approaches to understanding risk regulation. The Government of Risk shows how such an approach is of high policy relevance as well as of considerable theoretical importance.Less
Why does the regulation of risks to human health and safety vary so dramatically from one policy domain to another? Why are some risks regulated aggressively and others responded to only modestly? Is there any logic to the techniques we use in risk regulation? This book addresses these important questions by systematically examining variety amongst risk regulation regimes across policy domains, analysing the significant driving forces shaping those regimes, and identifying the causes of regulatory failure and success. In order to do so, the book develops a systems‐based concept of a ‘risk regulation regime’, which enables comparative description and analysis of the rules, institutional arrangements, and cultures that are bound up with the handling of risk within and between regimes. Using that framework, the book analyses how regimes and their constituent components are differentially shaped by three major driving forces—namely, the pressures exerted by market failure, by public opinion, and by organized interests inside and outside the state apparatus—and blame‐avoidance responses of regimes in the face of pressures for greater openness. The book applies the method to analyse a range of risk regulation regimes that cross the divide between ‘natural’ and ‘socially created’, state‐created and market‐created, ‘voluntary’ and ‘involuntary’, high‐tech and low‐tech, individually, and corporately produced risks. Those regimes include the release of paedophiles into the community, air pollution, local road safety, radon, pesticides, and dangerous dogs. The analysis reveals both variations and paradoxes that can neither be identified by single case studies, nor be easily explained by macro‐oriented approaches to understanding risk regulation. The Government of Risk shows how such an approach is of high policy relevance as well as of considerable theoretical importance.
David B. Resnik
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195309782
- eISBN:
- 9780199871285
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195309782.003.0009
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy
This chapter summarizes the arguments contained in the book. It argues that scientists and society should manage the relationship between research and financial interests, and develop social and ...
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This chapter summarizes the arguments contained in the book. It argues that scientists and society should manage the relationship between research and financial interests, and develop social and economic institutions that promote the values of science, such as objectivity, honesty, and openness. Universities, private companies, granting agencies, journals, and professional associations should develop rules and guidelines for mitigating money’s corrupting influence on science and support education, training, and mentoring on research ethics for scientists and students in all sectors of the research economy.Less
This chapter summarizes the arguments contained in the book. It argues that scientists and society should manage the relationship between research and financial interests, and develop social and economic institutions that promote the values of science, such as objectivity, honesty, and openness. Universities, private companies, granting agencies, journals, and professional associations should develop rules and guidelines for mitigating money’s corrupting influence on science and support education, training, and mentoring on research ethics for scientists and students in all sectors of the research economy.
Edward C. Page and Vincent Wright (eds)
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198294467
- eISBN:
- 9780191600067
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198294468.001.0001
- Subject:
- Political Science, Comparative Politics
Presents a comparative study of the senior civil service in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden, which provides information about ...
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Presents a comparative study of the senior civil service in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden, which provides information about the structures and the composition of the higher civil service, and its position in the political structure. Explores how the higher civil service has developed in the light of the massive changes in European societies over the past thirty years. These changes include the size of the top level of the civil service, the growing social diversity of its ranks, and the tendency to recruit from outside the civil service. Also examines whether wider social changes, such as the democratization of education, the growth of interest groups, and the increasing importance of the European Union have an impact on the higher levels of bureaucracy and produce similar patterns of change throughout Europe.Less
Presents a comparative study of the senior civil service in Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Greece, Denmark, and Sweden, which provides information about the structures and the composition of the higher civil service, and its position in the political structure. Explores how the higher civil service has developed in the light of the massive changes in European societies over the past thirty years. These changes include the size of the top level of the civil service, the growing social diversity of its ranks, and the tendency to recruit from outside the civil service. Also examines whether wider social changes, such as the democratization of education, the growth of interest groups, and the increasing importance of the European Union have an impact on the higher levels of bureaucracy and produce similar patterns of change throughout Europe.
Phillippe Aghion and Abhijit Banerjee
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199248612
- eISBN:
- 9780191714719
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199248612.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
One of the core assumptions of the neoclassical model is that there is a single market interest rate and every firm invests to the point where their marginal product is equal to this rate. There is a ...
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One of the core assumptions of the neoclassical model is that there is a single market interest rate and every firm invests to the point where their marginal product is equal to this rate. There is a large body of research showing that this neoclassical postulate often does a very poor job of describing reality. It is shown that there seems to be clear evidence that the typical firm, at least in the developing world, has a marginal product which is substantially above the market interest rate. This suggests that the firm cannot borrow as much as it wants at the going market rate. In other words, the supply curve of capital to the firm must be upward sloping, or even vertical (a hard limit on how much the firm can borrow). A simple model is sketched that explains why lenders impose limits on how much firms can borrow.Less
One of the core assumptions of the neoclassical model is that there is a single market interest rate and every firm invests to the point where their marginal product is equal to this rate. There is a large body of research showing that this neoclassical postulate often does a very poor job of describing reality. It is shown that there seems to be clear evidence that the typical firm, at least in the developing world, has a marginal product which is substantially above the market interest rate. This suggests that the firm cannot borrow as much as it wants at the going market rate. In other words, the supply curve of capital to the firm must be upward sloping, or even vertical (a hard limit on how much the firm can borrow). A simple model is sketched that explains why lenders impose limits on how much firms can borrow.
