Issue 64: June 27, 2008

In this issue:

Call for Papers

ACES 2008

A Conference on Ecosystem Services
Using Science for Decision Making in Dynamic Systems
December 8-11, 2008 in Naples, Florida

Call for Abstracts

The conference will bring together government, non-government organizations, academia, tribal, and private sector leaders to advance the use of
ecosystem services and related science in conservation, restoration resource management, and development decisions. The conference will highlight
concepts and applications related to four primary themes:
- Mapping and Spatial Relationships: Spatial Relationships / Analysis, Landscape Dynamics, Distribution of Benefits, Remote Sensing, Data Management
Coordination, and Scale / Units of Assessment
- Values and Measurement: Economic, Ecological, Cultural, and Indicators and Monitoring
- Drivers of Change: Urbanization / Population Growth, Climate Change, Natural Hazards, Invasive Species, Non Urban Land-Use, and Resource
Management
- Decision Making: Tools and Models, Institutions, Communities and Stakeholders, and Barriers
For further information about the conference and submitting abstracts go to:
http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/aces/.

Historical Materialism Annual Conference 2008

"Many Marxisms"
7-9 November 2008
School of Oriental and African Studies, Central London

Ever since its foundation in 1997, Historical Materialism has sought to contribute to the intellectual recomposition of the global Left by serving as an international venue for critical Marxist research. The journal's initial wager - that Marxism remains a vital, and heterogeneous political and theoretical tradition - has been borne out in a conjuncture where Marxist thinkers have amply demonstrated the critical resources at their disposal (witness recent debates on imperialism and neoliberalism). Within the academy, the facile dismissal of Marxism seems to have run out of steam, and the attitudes of new generations of students and researchers have changed accordingly. No longer simply forced to survive in hostile conditions or to retreat into isolated academic subcultures, and despite an often adverse global political context, Marxist intellectuals, face new challenges, which this conference seeks to address.

How can we develop the plurality of Marxist debates, fields and schools without making concessions to eclecticism, narcissism or compartmentalisation? How do we square the concrete multiplicity of Marxisms with the strong commonalities in intellectual vocabularies, theoretical sources and political aims? Hasn't the question of the diversity of Marxism - of many Marxisms - accompanied the tradition’s entire development, a testament both to its internationalist horizon, and to the inexhaustible potential of its many critical insights and conceptual formulations? What strategies can allow us to confront, and perhaps overcome, some of the disparities or even misunderstandings born of these processes of differentiation? And how might we profit from them?

Having tried to foster a form of critical cosmopolitanism and debate in past conferences, bringing together thinkers working in different fields, and out of different traditions, this year's Historical Materialism conference wants to emphasise problems and opportunities raised by the existence of 'Many Marxisms'. To this end, it aims to take stock of recent developments in Marxist thought, surveying the most vibrant recent debates; to confront critical moments in the historical development of Marxism; to identify crucial concepts and areas of research than can cut across any preconceived academic specialisation or geographical isolation of Marxism; to reflect on the ways in which Marxism has and continues to intervene in mainstream intellectual debates; and, finally, to generate a space in which the outlines of the many twenty-first century Marxisms may be delineated.

For more details, please contact: historicalmaterialism@soas.ac.uk

Neuroeconomics: Hype or Hope?

Erasmus University Rotterdam, 20–22 November 2008 Hosted by EIPE (Erasmus Institute for Philosophy and Economics)

After having operated as a separate science for decades, economics is now opening up its boundaries to other disciplines. One such discipline is cognitive neuroscience. The nascent field of neuroeconomics is a booming business. Worldwide, more than a dozen of new Centers for Neuroeconomics Studies equipped with high tech brain scanners have been founded within the past few years. Several papers on neuroeconomics already found their way into prestigious academic journals such as Science and Nature. At the same time neuroeconomics meets resistance among economists (as perhaps best expressed in Gul and Pesendorfer's (2008) "The Case for Mindless Economics"). Many economists and methodologists are skeptical about the contribution neuroeconomics can make to economics. They question the relevance of data about decision-making processes at the neural level for addressing the sorts of questions economics is traditionally interested in.

Is neuroeconomics a flimsy and fleeting hype in economics that is overselling itself? Or is neuroeconomics here to stay, offering the hope that economics will finally be transformed into a modern science?

The Conference aims to offer a platform for discussing methodological and philosophical issues raised by the advent of neuroeconomics. More specifically, we invite paper submissions on the following topics:

- What standards of scientific respectability and progress are implied (or invoked) in the claim that neuroeconomics will finally move economics into its proper standing of a modern science?
- What consequences does neuroeconomics have for the subject matter, scope and method of economics?
- How do the different disciplines of economics and of cognitive neuroscience relate to each other in neuroeconomics? Does the relationship between economics on the one hand and cognitive (neuro)science on the other need to be redefined?
- Do we first need to know how different levels of analysis (e.g. of observable choice behavior, of its underlying computational algorithms and of the neural "hardware" in which they are implemented) relate to each other before we can tell how neuroeconomic evidence and findings bear on economics? If so, what levels are at stake and how are they related?
- What light can insights from contemporary philosophy of mind shed on the topics raised here?
- How is neural activity in people related to the various institutions in which they function? How can an improved understanding of neural processes inform institutional analysis?
- What is the role and place of evolutionary theory in neuroeconomics
Keynote Speakers*

- Ariel Rubinstein (Tel Aviv University, New York University)
- Paul J. Zak (Claremont Graduate University)
- Don Ross (University of Alabama Birmingham, University of Cape Town)
- John Davis (University of Amsterdam, Marquette University)
- Uskali Mäki (University of Helsinki)
- Jack Vromen (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
- Francesco Guala (University of Exeter, San Raffaele University)

*Extended abstracts (2 pages) should be sent to eipe-events@fwb.eur.nl

Deadline: 1 August 2008*

Scientific Committee:
Jack Vromen (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Caterina Marchionni (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Julian Reiss (Erasmus University Rotterdam) Frans van
Winden (University of Amsterdam)

For more information please visit our website:
http://www.eur.nl/fw/english/eipe/eipe_conferences/

2nd International Conference of the Buddhist Economic Research Platform

Theory AND Practice.
Faculty of Management Science at Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand December 5-7, 2008.

It will be a three day conference and will feature, among a long list of prominent people in the field of Buddhist economics, presentations by Phra Payutto, author of Buddhist Economics – A Middle Way for the Market Place; Ajarn Sulak Sivaraksa, preeminent Thai scholar and Buddhist activist; Ajarn Apichai Puntasen, author of the first recognized text book on Buddhist Economics; and Laszlo Zsolnai, founder of the Buddhist Economic Platform. Please see the website http://Buddhist-Economics.info  for details on the call for papers, the tentative program, registration and travel and accommodation details.

Theory and Evidence of Growth, Trade and Economic Development

with Special Reference to Latin America
Organized by the School of Economics, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Mexico
Mexico City, September 8-9, 2008
The IPN is one of the two largest public educational institutions in Mexico. The School of Economics conducts research in various fields of economics and attracts the largest number of students in economics in the country, offering undergraduate and postgraduate courses, as well as doctoral programs. The conference is organized with the support of COFAA (Comisión de Operación y Fomento de Actividades Académicas) and aims at providing a forum, open to both researchers and policymakers, to discuss and debate innovative theoretical and empirical research on growth, trade and development. Conference topics
Possible theoretical and empirical topics include, but are not restricted to:
- Effects of trade and FDI on growth, poverty and inequality
- Human development
- Growth theory and applications
- Effects of human capital formation on growth and development
- Determinants of FDI
- Institution building
- Poverty and inequality
- Financial sector and growth
- Industrial development and growth
- Tourism, growth and development
- Sustainable development
Selection process and important dates
Those interested in participating should submit a draft paper in English or Spanish. Please submit your proposal as PDF file by July 29, 2008 to either of the following emails: gangeles@ipn.mx , hrios@ipn.mx , ebringas@ipn.mx . The organizing committee will evaluate all proposals in terms of originality, analytical rigor and policy relevance; the empirical papers should preferably be oriented to the study of Latin America. By August 5, 2008, the organizing committee will announce, via email, the selected/rejected papers. The program and other information on the conference will be emailed in due time. There is no charge for the conference.
Possibilities for publication
A selection of papers will be considered for publication either in a special issue of Panorama Económico http://www.ese.ipn.mx/portal%20ese2_files/publikaciones/index2a.htm  subject to standard peer-reviewing procedure or in an edited book.
Conference venue
Escuela Superior de Economía, Av. Plan de Agua Prieta No. 66, Col. Plutarco Elías Calles, Mexico, D.F., C.P. 11340, Mexico.
Tel.: +52 55 57296000, Ext. 46255, 62036. Fax: +52 55 53415749
http://www.ese.ipn.mx/index2.html
Accommodation
The IPN will offer single rooms at the rate of 30.00 USD per night, for foreigners and non-local participants, in its temporary accommodation centre for researchers. The centre offers comfortable accommodation and is located 30 minutes away by car from the conference venue. Alternatively, the following hotels are suggested:
Del Prado (10 minutes away by car from the conference venue) http://www.hoteldelprado.com.mx/
El ejecutivo (15 minutes away by car from the conference venue) http://www.hotelejecutivo.com.mx/
Organizing committee
Gerardo Angeles-Castro (IPN), Horacio Sánchez-Barcenas (IPN), Mario Duran-Saldivar (IPN), Humberto Rios-Bolivar (IPN),
Francisco Venegas-Martínez (IPN), Ignacio Perrotini-Hernández (UNAM), Efraín Bringas-Rábago

Pluralism in Economics Education

2nd call for papers - new deadline

The International Review of Economics Education (IREE) is publishing a special issue on "pluralism in economics education: issues in teaching and learning", to appear in November 2009.

IREE and the AHE, with support from the Royal Economic Society, are holding a one-day workshop in October 2008 on "Pluralism in economics: rethinking the teaching of economics".

The calls for papers for the journal and the workshop can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/2v4qyv and http://tinyurl.com/2s5ab7. 

The deadlines for submission are:
- for the IREE/AHE workshop: abstracts by Friday, 1 August 2008; and
- for the IREE special issue: full papers by Friday, 28 November 2008.
Abstracts and papers should be sent by email to a.denis@city.ac.uk. 

This is a great opportunity for the AHE and heterodox economists of all kinds to have their say on the teaching of economics. Please consider submitting an abstract and attending the workshop, and submitting a paper for the journal. Please also forward this message to those likely to be interested in participating.

Abstracts must address the theme of the workshop and the issues raised in the call for papers. I would be very happy to discuss your proposal with you before the deadline to maximize the probability of acceptance. This list would be a good place to try out, discuss and develop your ideas on pluralism in the teaching of economics.

Scholarship and War: Ethics, Power and Knowledge

It is generally accepted that the relationship between the academic production of knowledge and the sphere of international relations and political institutions can be characterized as a state of reciprocal influence. But how is the connection between the world of academic practices and power politics altered or radicalized in times of war?

This special issue of the Cambridge <http://tandf.msgfocus.com/c/1qSd4TOXkOnuVyrQ>  Review of International Affairs (March 2010, 23:1) will critically examine the role academic disciplines (in particular anthropology, economics, history, international relations, law, and political science) play in circumstances of war (by which we mean inter-state conflict, internal insurgencies, conflicts caused by state suppression, and cyber-warfare). We especially encourage the submission of papers that address the following issues from different disciplinary perspectives:

* Does a scholar have altered ethical responsibilities during war, for instance a moral responsibility to express their view (pro or con) in public fora, or to lobby public officials?
* What was the nature of historic relationships between scholarship and war (such as German academics prior to WWI or American academics during the Cold War) and how have these past relations shaped contemporary research programs?
* How are discourses of particular academic disciplines assimilated and deployed by the state during war?
* How has the notion of victory in war been reconfigured by scholarship?
* What role have academic institutions historically played in military training and what kind of academic support does the military require during wartime?
* How have academic disciplines determined the course of conflicts?

The detailed schedule is as follows:
Submission of Abstract - 30th December 2008
Notification of acceptance - 30th January 2009
Submission of selected papers - 30th April 2009
Publication - March 2010

Please note that all articles will be subject to our peer review process and that the Editors retain the discretion at all stages of the publication process to accept or reject an article.

Abstracts should be about 600 to 800 words in length. We also look forward to receiving suggestions about topical books to be reviewed.
Please email proposals by 30th December 2008 to the Editor-in-Chief at criacis@hermes.cam.ac.uk


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Conferences, Seminars and Lectures

VI INEM Conference

Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia, Madrid, 12-13 Sept. 2008
Keynote Speakers: Roger Backhouse (University of Birmingham), Partha Dasgupta (Cambridge University)
Plenary panel sessions on:

- Neuroeconomics, coordinated by Don Ross (U. of Alabama at Birmingham & U. of Cape Town), with the participation of Mark Dean (New York University), Benoit Hardy-Vallee (University of Toronto) & Jack
Vromen (Erasmus University Rotterdam)
- Neoliberalism as Philosophy and Politics, coordinated by Philip Mirowski (University of Notre Dame), with the participation of John O'Neill (U. Manchester) & Dieter Plehwe (Social Science Research Center
Berlin)

The preliminary program and registration form are now posted on:
http://www.urrutiaelejalde.org/inem2008.html

REGISTRATION FEES:
Until June 23rd: 60 EUR
After June 23rd: 100 EUR

Scientific Committee: Uskali Maki (Academy of Finland, Chair), Roger Backhouse (U. Birmingham), D. Wade Hands (U. Puget Sound), Esther-Mirjam Sent (U. Nijmegen), Bruce Caldwell (U. N. Carolina
Greensboro), Matthias Klaes (Keele U.), Jesus Zamora-Bonilla (UNED).
Organizing Committee: J. Francisco Alvarez (UNED), Miranda del Corral (UNED), Juan Carlos Garcia-Bermejo (UAM, Chair), Maria Jimenez Buedo (UNED), Julian Reiss (EIPE), David Teira (UNED), Juan Urrutia
(UEF) Jesus Zamora-Bonilla (UNED, INEM representative)

INEM 2008 is immediately preceded by the VIII Winter Workshop on Economics and Philosophy: Ethics, Justice, and Gender (speakers: Diana Strassmann, co-ordinator; Alison Jaggar, Fabienne Peter, Ingrid
Robeyns and Stephanie Seguino) on Sept. 11 and the morning of Sept. 12, also hosted by the Urrutia Elejalde Foundation.

http://www.urrutiaelejalde.org/WinterWorkshop/2008.html
The Iberoamerican Society for Economic Methodology will hold their bi-annual session in Madrid on September 9-10.
http://www.urrutiaelejalde.org/varia/siame2008.html
The VI INEM conference is supported by:
Universidad Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED) • Vicerrectorado de Relaciones Internacionales • Dpto. de Logica, Historia y Filosofia de la ciencia
Ministerio de ciencia e innovacion
• Programa de Acciones complementarias
Urrutia Elejalde Foundation
David Teira Serrano

Association for Social Economics- ASE Plenary Session

2 JANUARY 2009

Title: Ethics and Capitalism
Co-sponsor: International Confederation of Associations for Pluralism in Economics (ICAPE)
Presiding: Morris Altman, University of Saskatchewan, Canada
Deirdre McCloskey, University of Illinois, Chicago
Smith's Proposal: An Ethically Serious Capitalism

Discussants:

Herbert Gintis, Santa Fe Institute and Central European University
Nancy Folbre, University of Massachusetts-Amherst

URPE Summer Conference

The annual Summer Conference of the Union for Radical Political Economics ( www.urpe.org ) is coming up in August!
We invite you to attend, and also to organize (or participate in) a PRESENTATION/PANEL/WORKSHOP.
Please email Al Campbell at al.campbell@utah.edu  with an indication of what you would like to present (and get feedback on).
Click here for detailed information.

A Green Economics Conference

Civilisation: the first 10,000 years - an audit
Economics in an age of uncertainty and instability

Including special conference on:
Green Procurement and the Greening of Business.
Other streams include:
Carbon Reduction and Climate Change, Women and Poverty, Lower Growth Economics, Biodiversity and Species Loss
Thursday 17 eve, all day, Friday 18 and Saturday 19 July 2008
Mansfield College
Oxford University, Oxford, UK

Seminaire Arc 2

ACCUMULATION, REGULATION, CROISSANCE ET CRISE
CEPREMAP - GERME (Paris VII) - IRISES (Paris IX)
CEPN (PARIS XIII) - MATISSE (PARIS I)

Lundi 30 juin (15h-19h)

Salle 6, Centre Panthéon
(Galerie Soufflot, Esc M, 2ième étage, côté Soufflot)

Accès : http://www.univ-paris1.fr/universite/campus/article52.html
Finance et économie de la connaissance
Demi-journée organisée par Mouhoud El Mouhoub, Bernard Paulré et Dominique Plihon
Fondements et dilemmes de l'économie de la connaissance

Lorenzo Cassi (Matisse-Isys, Université Paris 1) co-éditeur, avec Lorenzo Zirulia, de Re/Combining Knowledge and Innovative Activities, numéro spécial du European Journal of Economic and Social Systems
(mai 2008)
Rapporteur : Didier Lebert, Université Paris 1

2- Capitalisme financier et capitalisme cognitif : deux visions alternatives des mutations contemporaines du capitalisme
François Morin (Lereps, Université de Toulouse 1) auteur de Le mur de l'argent, Ed. du Seuil (2007)
Rapporteur : F. Giacalone (Syndex) (à confirmer)

3- La co-évolution de la finance et de la connaissance dans le capitalisme contemporain
Mouhoud El Mouhoub (Université Paris 9 Dauphine) et Dominique Plihon (CEPN, Université Paris 13) auteurs de Le capitalisme à l’ère de la finance et de la connaissance
Rapporteur : P. Petit

Gabriel Colletis (Lereps, Université de Toulouse 1) et Bernard Paulré (Matisse-ISYS, Université Paris 1) éditeurs de Les nouveaux horizons du capitalisme. Pouvoirs, valeurs et temps
Rapporteur : Olivier Weinstein (CEPN, Université Paris 13)

A partir de 18h 30 : Bilan de la session 2007-2008 du séminaire ARC 2 et projets avec les responsables du séminaire

Economics of Immigration & Migration

The Center for Popular Economics invites you to 28th Summer Institute
July 26-August 2, 2008
Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL

Special Track:
Economics of Immigration & Migration
Co-sponsored by Chicago Jobs with Justice, ICIRR (Illinois Coalition for Immigrant & Refugee Rights) and CAAAELII (Coalition of African, Arab, Asian, European & Latino Immigrants of Illinois) and the
Department of Economics/Program in Social Justice Studies at Roosevelt University
Learn how the economy works and
gain tools to make your activism more effective.
CPE's Summer Institute is a week-long intensive training in economics for activists, educators, and anyone who wants a better understanding of the economy. We focus on the how the economic system impacts
our lives, communities and work every day. No background in economics is required.
Core Classrooms At the heart of the Summer Institute program are two core courses, one on the U.S. Economy, one on the International Economy. All participants must choose one core course. The core classes
meet each day in the mornings. Below is a sample of topics.
US Economy
- Intro to the economy
- Race, Class and Gender
- Labor and the workplace
- Macroeconomics: fiscal policy
- Macroeconomics: monetary policy & the Federal Reserve
- Introduction to international economics
- What's the alternative?
International Economy
- Brief history of the global economy
- Development policies & neoliberalism
- Trade
- Globalization of production
- International finance
- Gender and globalization
- What's the alternative?
Afternoon and evening events: In addition to the core courses is a rich selection of speakers, panels, workshops, videos, discussion groups and cultural events. All of these events are open to participants of
both classes.
Special Track: Economics of Immigration and Migration
Each year we choose an issue area that we focus on in the workshops, panels as well as in the core classrooms. This year's special track is on the Economics of Immigration & Migration and will explore questions
such as:
- What's the relationship between corporate led globalization and migration?
- What's the impact of immigration on wages, jobs, state expenditures, healthcare
- Economic dimensions of race, class, gender and immigration.
- What's the economic impact of border militarization
- What's the impact and potential of remittances to the home country
- How are women impacted differently?

For more information or registration form, please visit our website: www.populareconomics.org
or contact us: programs@populareconomics.org , phone (413) 545-0743

Association for Heterodox Economics

10th Anniversary Conference
Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, Wednesday 2nd-Sunday 6th July, 2008

Click here for AHE Conference Schedule.

History of Economic Thought Society of Australia

The HETSA Conference 2008: "The Study of the History of Economics: What does the Future Hold?" is the 21st Conference of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia, to be held on the 9-11 July, 2008 sponsored by the University of Western Sydney (UWS), Parramatta.
Location:
Rydges, Parramatta
Mezzanine Level, Kingston Suite
116 James Ruse Drive
Rosehill NSW 2142

9-11 July, 2008
www.hetsa2008.com
Conference Organized by:
School of Economics & Finance
University of Western Sydney

Contact: John Lodewijks
J.Lodewijks@uws.edu.au
Tel: 9685 9404
0414 017 346
http://www.hetsa2008.com/conference_program.html
 
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Job Postings for Heterodox Economists

The Center for Economic and Policy Research

Organization Description: The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives. It is an independent, nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, DC, conducting professional research and disseminating it to the media, policy-makers, and advocates. CEPR's Advisory Board of Economists includes Nobel Laureate economists Robert Solow and Joseph Stiglitz; Richard Freeman, Professor of Economics at Harvard University; and Eileen Appelbaum, Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers University.
Job Description: CEPR is seeking an economist, Ph.D. preferred. S/he would perform economic analysis, write issue briefs, research papers, and other publications on international economic issues, including trade, globalization, and development, with a focus on Latin America.
Responsibilities:
- Implementing and supervising economic research projects
- Writing original research papers, reports, and other publications
- Coordinating the work of research assistants
- Assisting with funding proposals and reports
- Serving as a spokesperson for CEPR with the media and in outreach to the international policy community
Qualifications:
- The ideal candidate will possess most or all of the following qualifications. However, CEPR will consider strong candidates whose experience and capabilities are roughly equivalent.
- Advanced degree in economics or related field, preferably at the Ph.D. level, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
- Superior writing and analytic skills
- Ability to initiate and conduct research projects independently
- In-depth knowledge of contemporary economic issues affecting Latin America, including trade, globalization, and regional integration
- Fluency in Spanish
- Compatibility with CEPR's perspective and commitment to social and economic justice
Salary & Benefits: CEPR offers a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package. This position will be represented by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, Local #70, AFL-CIO.
To Apply: Send resume, cover letter and salary requirements to jobscepr2008 [at] cepr [dot] net. Please include "Economist" in the subject line. NO TELEPHONE CALLS OR FAXES PLEASE. Due to the volume of applicants, you may not receive a response. Applications may also be mailed to: Economist Search Committee, CEPR, 1611 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC. 20009
Closing Date of Position: This position will remain open until filled.

University of Crete (Greece)

Assistant Professor/Lecturer in History of Economic Thought
Relevant link: http://www.soc.uoc.gr/econ/index.php?newlang=ell
Department of Economics, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Crete, Rethymno 74100, Greece Telephone Number :+30 2831 0 77405 Fax Number :+30 2831 0 77406
NOTE: This call is addressed only to native speakers or candidates with a Level D Certificate of Attainment in Greek
JEL Classification(s): B
Application has to be received by 12. July 2008.
This job offer has been submitted by Emmanuel Petrakis.
Note: The use of any information from the Inomics database for commercial purposes, especially the use of e-mail addresses for advertising products or services, is expressly forbidden.



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Heterodox Conference Papers and Reports and Articles

DESA Publications

We are pleased to announce the release of two DESA publications: "World Economic Situation and Prospects as of Mid-2008", and "Trends in Sustainable Development 2008-2009" in May 2008, as well as the June 2008 issue of DESA News.

In the wake of global financial turmoil, the mid-year update of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008 (WESP 2008 mid-year update) forecasts a deeper downturn in the global economy and warns that in the absence of aggressive and coordinated expansionary policies a more severe contraction will occur, which could trigger a disorderly unwinding of the massive global imbalances and have drastic implications for global trade and finance.

You can download the WESP 2008 mid-year update for free at:
http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/wesp.html 

The report "Trends in Sustainable Development 2008-2009" finds that efforts to reduce poverty and improve food security in developing countries are hampered by declining support for strong agricultural growth, long considered a hallmark of successful poverty reduction strategies. Strong agricultural growth is four times more effective than growth in other sectors in benefiting the poorest half of the population.

You can download the report for free at:
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/publications/trends2008/ 

DESA News is an insider's look at the United Nations in the area of economic and social development policy. The newsletter is produced by the Communications and Information Management Service of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs in collaboration with DESA Divisions. Prior to January 2007, DESA News was issued every other month. It is now issued monthly.
Tha latest DESA News Vol. 12, No. 06, June 2008 is available at:

http://www.un.org/esa/desa/desaNews/v12n06/pubs.html 

Globalization and Modernity: Beyond Definitions

by Miguel Angel Vite Pérez,
University of Alicante, Spain. Email: miguelvite@yahoo.com
Click here to download the paper.

Risk concentrations in financial conglomerates by Andrew Cornford

Click here to download the article.

Questionable timing for tighter GATS rules, liberalized banking by Andrew Cornford

Click here to download the article.

Survey of Economic and Social Developments in the ESCWA Region

Kindly find attached ( 1, 2, 3) the three previous issues of the summary of the SURVEY OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ESCWA REGION (This is the official document presented to the Economic and Social Council about Western Asia). The Survey comprises two parts, namely: a first part that covers recent socio-economic developments; and a second part that explores in depth a topical social and developmental issue. Within the context of the latter, the thematic part has focused since 2005 on economic and social issues in line with development as a human right, with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as guiding principles. Why so?
Because in this region we notice that:
- Average real per capita growth was highly volatile and more dependent on oil than ever; it was over the 1980-2005 at negative one to two percentage points.
- Regional unemployment now stands at a little over 14 percent (official rate), twice the world rate.
- Income inequality measured by the GINI coefficient has steadily risen also to reach the highest levels globally.
- All round human development has been weak. In the case of Egypt, after 25 years of nearly six percent real GDP growth, a 15 percent rise in the price of bread led to mass riots and exposed the fragility of development. Indeed, income inequality measured but the Gini coefficient was rising at the same time. A recent article notes that Egypt is back to the 'two-percent economy' under King Farouk, i.e. when two percent of the population owned most of the wealth.

The focus on rights is because rent economies do not produce commensurate jobs for the population, and welfare can be strengthened by redistribution measures. The region exported nearly a trillion dollars outside since 2002 and what remained, i.e. most investment went into real estate and poorly regulated equity markets. There is, unlike elsewhere, a primacy of politics here and pro-poor economic strategies have to be situated on the basis of the right to development.

Insofar as macro policies are concerned, the idea of right to development is based on the 1986 declaration and couched in it are pro-poor policies. Meaning, first, mass poverty is the most important problem facing the ESCWA countries, and its elimination should be the main priority of their governments. it suggests that poverty cannot be reduced to the inability to reach an arbitrary level of income. Rather, insufficient income is one of the implications of the structural inequalities constituting the economic system in the countries in the region. It follows that the solution to deeply ingrained problems of poverty and inequality is primarily political, rather than economic. The second principle is that pro poor growth must benefit the poor more than the rich; growth is rights-based when it reduces relative as well as absolute poverty. In this framework, economic policies are not selected in order to maximize growth; reciprocally, equity is not an instrument for the achievement of rapid growth. Although high growth can facilitate the achievement of these outcomes, the type of growth is at least as important as the rate of economic growth. In this approach, GDP growth, inflation control, high investment, low public debt and other conventional parameters of economic ‘success’ should not be the most important objectives of government policy. Instead, they should be seen as instruments for the elimination of mass poverty and the achievement of secure, sustainable, equitable and empowering human development. Third, improvements in distribution and social welfare should be pursued directly. These improvements should not be merely marginal or conditional on trickle-down processes, and they must be unambiguous across a broad spectrum of measures of welfare and distribution. Changes in the initial distribution of income and wealth in the ESCWA region (for example, through land reform, universal basic education and training and the introduction of pensions and other entitlements funded by progressive taxation) can promote several pro poor-based objectives simultaneously in the countries in the region.

Recent Turmoil in Financial Markets – Sources and Systemic Remedies

The new CASE E-Brief “Recent Turmoil in Financial Markets – Sources and Systemic Remedies” is available at http://www.case-research.eu/plik--20205120.pdf

Foreign Investment and Sustainable Development: Lessons from the Americas

The report brings together analysis by Latin American economists of the economic and environmental impacts of foreign investment in Latin America during its period of economic reforms. The report finds that Latin America received unprecedented amounts of foreign investment during the reform period but such investment had a very limited impact on economic growth and often accentuated environmental degradation in the region. The report concludes with policy recommendations to increase investment in a manner more conducive to sustainable development.
To download the report and background papers see:
http://ase.tufts.edu/gdae/WorkingGroup_FDI.htm

To read, “When More is Less,” a policy report on the project’s findings, see:
http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/AmerProgFDIJun08.pdf 

A Brief History of the American Economic Association

by Michael A. Bernstein
Click here to download the paper.

EFE Network Papers

1. Links to the presentations delivered during the "Employment Opportunities and Public Employment Policy in Globalizing India" conference.
The conference was organized by Dr. Pinaki Chakraborty and held at CDS, Trivandrum, India, April 3-5, 2008. It consisted of discussions regarding the evolution of employment in recent years in India, evaluation of NREGA, and international experiences as well as new proposals for public job creation. Several of our members were in attendance and the final agenda, with links to papers or powerpoint presentations, are available here .

2. A consultancy announcement by the Poverty Group of the Bureau for Development Policy, UNDP.
UNDP/BDP is currently inviting short (two-page) concept notes for seven consultancies on topics that are of critical interest and importance to our network's members: (a) furthering employment for poverty reduction; (b) employment focus on scaling up of MDG's; and (c) employment for poverty reduction diagnostic tools. Please note that the deadline for submitting a concept note is July 2, 2008. The full description for these consultancies is available here.

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Heterodox Journals and Newsletters

Böckler Newsletter

CONTENTS
A. CALL FOR PAPERS
B. CALL FOR STUDENTS
C. WORKING PAPERS
---
A. CALL FOR PAPERS
1. Conference: Whither Mainstream Economics ?
Call for Papers (Final Reminder)
The Research Network Macroeconomics and Macroeconomic Policies organises its 12th conference on ‘Macroeconomic Policies on Shaky Foundations – Whither Mainstream Economics?’, 31 October – 1 November 2008, in Berlin.
Mainstream economics seems to be changing. The homo economicus has repeatedly been called into questions; many macroeconomic models are not based on a market clearing equilibrium any more. How profound are these changes in mainstream economics? What, if any, is the new orthodoxy in macroeconomics? What are the implications for Post-Keynesian macroeconomics? And how is the relationship between these developments and macroeconomic policies? The 12th conference of the Research Network will address these developments and questions.
The submission of papers in the following areas is encouraged:
- Orthodoxy/Mainstream/Heterodoxy. Past and Present Developments
- Is there Common Ground for Heterodox Economics?
- What Can Macroeconomists Learn From Institutional, Experimental and Post Walrasian Economics?
- Post-Keynesianism and the New Consensus Model
- Towards a Post-Keynesian Consensus?
- Monetary Policy under the Conditions of Ambiguous Theoretical Grounds
- The Return of Discretionary Fiscal Policy?
For the open part of the conference the submission of papers on the general subject of the Research Network is encouraged as well. We also encourage the submission of papers for graduate student sessions, on the specific subject of this conference or on the general subject of the Research Network.
Conference language is English. Selected papers (in English or in
German) will be published after the conference.
Invited speakers include David Colander, John King, Hans-Michael Trautwein, Bruno Amable, Philip Arestis, Marc Lavoie, Charles Goodhart and Tom Palley.
The deadline for paper proposals is *30 June 2008*. Please send an abstract (one page) to Torsten Niechoj (mailto:torsten-niechoj@boeckler.de). Decisions will be made until the end of July. Accepted papers should be sent in by 15 October to be posted on the conference web page.
The Research Network is organised by Sebastian Dullien (FHTW Berlin), Trevor Evans (FHW Berlin), Jochen Hartwig (KOF/ETH Zürich), Eckhard Hein (IMK, Düsseldorf), Hansjörg Herr (FHW Berlin), Torsten Niechoj (IMK, Düsseldorf), Jan Priewe (FHTW Berlin), Peter Spahn (University of Hohenheim), Engelbert Stockhammer (WU Wien), Claus Thomasberger (FHTW
Berlin) and Achim Truger (IMK, Düsseldorf) with financial support from the Hans Böckler Foundation.
Call for Papers (PDF): http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/v_2008_10_31_callforpaper.pdf 
---
2. Conference: Theory and Evidence of Growth, Trade and Economic Development
Organized by the School of Economics, Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Mexico, Mexico City, September 8-9, 2008
Call for papers attached
<<CALL FOR PAPERS September 2008.pdf>>
---
B. CALL FOR STUDENTS
The FHTW Berlin (Berlin’s largest University of Applied Sciences) is now inviting application for the next intake of our Master programme in “International and Development Economics” (MIDE), starting on April 1, 2009.

The programme is an 18-month full-time Master's degree programme in "International and Development Economics" (MIDE), taught entirely in English. Designed for students from developing and transition countries as well as from Germany and other developed countries with a special interest in the economic challenges facing "Third World"-countries, the programme prepares students to work in areas related to global economic affairs and development.

The MIDE programme has been established for students who have a first degree in economics/business administration or in other social sciences with a focus on economics. It is designed to enhance understanding of development economics, the international economic context in which socio-economic development takes place, and of key sectors and policy areas that are relevant for developing countries, with a particular focus on agriculture, financial institutions and public enterprises. In order to understand the challenges of formulating current development policies, the programme covers both the principal theoretical debates as well as specific contemporary examples of strategies, policies and projects.

MIDE has been accredited by the Foundation for International Business Administration Accreditation (FIBAA).

Applications will be accepted until September 30, 2008. The MIDE application form and further information is available on our web page www.mide.fhtw-berlin.de  under "Prospective Students".

We are always looking for qualified applicants, and we would be happy if you would forward the call for application to interested and qualified students and also institutions/organisations.
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Sebastian Dullien
FHTW Berlin - University of Applied Sciences
Fachbereich 3 - Department of Economics I
Treskowallee 8
10313 Berlin
Germany

T +49-30-5019 2547 (office)
+49-30-6162 4885 (home)
---

C. WORKING PAPERS
van Treeck, Till Asymmetric income and wealth effects in a non-linear error correction model of US consumer spending, IMK Working Paper, 6/2008, Düsseldorf:
http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_imk_wp_06_2008.pdf 
Palley, Thomas I.: Asset Price Bubbles and Monetary Policy: Why Central Banks Have Been Wrong and What Should Be Done, IMK Working Paper, 5/2008, Düsseldorf:
http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_imk_wp_05_2008.pdf 
Palley, Thomas I. Financialization: What it is and Why it Matters, IMK Working Paper, 4/2008, Düsseldorf: http://www.boeckler.de/pdf/p_imk_wp_04_2008.pdf 

Levy News

The Collapse of Monetarism and the Irrelevance of the New Monetary Consensus Securitization
17th Annual Minsky Conference Proceedings

FEATURED SCHOLAR
Hyman P. Minsky
(1919–1996)
A Levy Institute distinguished scholar, Minsky spent much of his career advancing the idea that financial systems are inherently susceptible to bouts of speculation that, if they last long enough, end in crises—an idea that earned him a reputation as a maverick. Today, his views on the instability of financial markets are reverberating around the globe, as economists and traders grapple with the widening fallout from the crisis in the subprime mortgage market.

PUBLICATIONS
Policy Note 2008/1
The Collapse of Monetarism and the Irrelevance of the New Monetary Consensus
James K. Galbraith
Milton Friedman defined monetarism as the proposition that “inflation is everywhere and always a monetary phenomenon.” This meant that money and prices are tied together, money is a policy variable, and free and unfettered markets are intrinsically stable. According to Senior Scholar James K. Galbraith, Friedman and the “new monetary consensus” are not only wrong but also irrelevant to the problems faced by monetary policy today. Rather, the relevant economics are associated with John Maynard Keynes, John Kenneth Galbraith, and Hyman P. Minsky.

Galbraith observes that there was nothing in monetarism and the new monetary consensus that anticipated the extraordinary financial crisis that broke over the housing sector, the banking system, and the world economy in August 2007. The danger today is that the intrinsic flaws in the financial, corporate, and social structure that, in combination with bad policy, caused the Great Depression could again happen. Therefore, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke should acknowledge the instability of capitalism, the irresponsibility of speculators, the necessity of regulation, and the imperative of intervention. Read complete text (pdf)

Policy Note 2008/2
Securitization
Hyman P. Minsky
Preface and Afterword by L. Randall Wray
“At the annual banking structure and competition conference of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago in May 1987, the buzzword heard in the corridors and used by many of the speakers was ‘that which can be securitized, will be securitized.’” So notes Hyman Minsky in a prescient memo on the nature and implications of securitization, written 20 years before an explosion in the securitization of home mortgages helped create the current financial crisis. This memo, which served as the basis for a lecture in Minsky’s monetary theory class at Washington University, has not been widely circulated. It is published here in its entirety, with a preface and an afterword by Senior Scholar L. Randall Wray that places Minsky’s work in context.

Minsky argued that the New Deal reforms related to home finance had been spurred by a common belief that short-term mortgages, typically with large balloon payments, had contributed to the Great Depression. Ironically, says Wray, the “innovations” in home mortgage finance leading up to the speculative boom (including securitization) have largely re-created those conditions. We might justifiably wonder whether “It” (another debt deflation) could happen again. Read complete text (pdf)

See also:
Public Policy Brief No. 93, Minsky’s Cushions of Safety: Systemic Risk and the Crisis in the U.S. Subprime Mortgage Market, by Jan Kregel
Public Policy Brief No. 94, Financial Markets Meltdown: What Can We Learn from Minsky? by L. Randall Wray
Working Paper No. 530, Changes in the U.S. Financial System and the Subprime Crisis, by Jan Kregel

Conference Proceedings
17th Annual Hyman P. Minsky Conference
Credit, Markets, and the Real Economy: Is the Financial System Working?
April 17–18, 2008
Given current economic events, there has been a lot of talk about the “Minsky moment” in reference to the 2007 credit crunch. Hyman Minsky was a distinguished scholar at the Levy Institute from 1990 to 1996 and the foremost expert on such crunches. At the Institute’s annual conference named in his honor, top policymakers, economists, and analysts from government, industry, and academia presented their insights about the U.S. economy and the financial sector in the context of Minsky’s economic theories.

Conference sessions focused on the historical precedent and solutions to the mortgage market crisis, Minsky and the (financial) crisis, the impact of the crisis on the economic outlook, and financial market regulation-reregulation. Guest speakers included Paul A. McCulley (PIMCO), Edward Chancellor (Grantham, Mayo, van Otterloo, LLC), James K. Galbraith (Levy Institute and University of Texas at Austin), Robert J. Barbera (ITG), and Maurice D. Hinchey (U.S. House of Representatives, D-NY).

Participants discussed Minsky’s financial instability hypothesis and the ability of monetary policy to stabilize financial markets and the economy, as well as the role of the Fed and its ability to function as a systemic lender of last resort. Speakers frequently compared events in the 1930s (the New Deal era) with the present, and they considered the prospect of another debt deflation rivaling the Great Depression. They also examined today’s complex and fragile financial system (e.g., the advent of securitization) and potential solutions to the mortgage crisis. Other related topics included the timing, cause, and length of recession; the nature and effectiveness of proposed economic stimulus packages; regulatory failures and the reformulation of policy; and the deleveraging process and potential financial losses.

Metroeconomica

Volume 59, Issue 3, July 2008
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/toc/meca/59/3?cookieSet=1
ARTICLES
EQUAL ORGANIC COMPOSITION OF CAPITAL AND REGULARITY
Edwin Burmeister

INCOMPLETE CONTRACTS MODELLING
Liliana Basile and Raffaele Trani

RECONSIDERING THE INVESTMENT PROFIT NEXUS IN FINANCE-LED ECONOMIES: AN ARDL-BASED APPROACH
Till van Treeck

A POST-KEYNESIAN STOCK-FLOW CONSISTENT MODEL FOR DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF MONETARY POLICY SHOCK ON BANKING BEHAVIOUR
Edwin Le Heron and Tarik Mouakil

A SIMPLIFIED, ‘BENCHMARK’, STOCK-FLOW CONSISTENT POST-KEYNESIAN GROWTH MODEL
Claudio H. Dos Santos and Gennaro Zezza

IS THE NAIRU THEORY A MONETARIST, NEW KEYNESIAN, POST KEYNESIAN OR A MARXIST THEORY?
Engelbert Stockhammer

MAURICE POTRON'S LINEAR ECONOMIC MODEL: A DE FACTO PROOF OF ‘FUNDAMENTAL MARXIAN THEOREM’
Kenji Mori

A REFUTATION OF THE COMMODITY EXPLOITATION THEOREM
Takao Fujimoto and Yukihiko Fujita

Journal of Economic Methodology

Volume 15 Issue 2 is now available online at informaworld ( http://www.informaworld.com ).

This new issue contains the following articles:

The roles of stories in applying game theory, Pages 131 - 146
Authors: Till Grüne-Yanoff; Paul Schweinzer

Anger and economic rationality, Pages 147 - 167
Author: Daniel John Zizzo

Collective intention, social identity, and rational choice, Pages 169 - 184
Author: Jelle de Boer

BOOK REVIEWS, Pages 185 - 196
Author: Jelle de Boer

REVIEW SYMPOSIUM, Pages 197 - 231
Author: Jelle de Boer

International Review of Applied Economics

Volume 22 Issue 4 is now available online at informaworld ( http://www.informaworld.com ).

Special Issue: The Governance and Regulation of the Firm

This new issue contains the following articles:

The governance and regulation of the firm
Authors: Michael Dietrich; Jackie Krafft; Jacques-Laurent Ravix

Corporate governance and the long-run investor
Author: Michel Aglietta

The shortcomings of the corporate standard: towards new enterprise frameworks?
Authors: Blanche Segrestin; Armand Hatchuel

Modern corporate changes: reinstating the link between the nature, boundaries and governance of the firm
Author: Cécile Cézanne-Sintès

Nature and governance of the firm: in search of an integrated perspective
Author: Jacques-Laurent Ravix

The governance of localized knowledge externalities
Authors: Cristiano Antonelli; Pier Paolo Patrucco; Francesco Quatraro

Governance transformations through regulations in the electricity sector: the Dutch case
Authors: Albert Jolink; Eva Niesten

Conditions for effective disclosure in the regulation of franchising
Author: Elizabeth C. Spencer

Economic Systems Research

Volume 20 Issue 2  is now available online at informaworld ( http://www.informaworld.com ).

Special Issue:China's Growing Pains

This new issue contains the following articles:

Editorial
Author: Erik Dietzenbacher

China's Growing Pains – Recent Input–Output Research in China on China
Author: Christian Debresson

Yearly Grain Output Predictions in China 1980–2004
Authors: Xikang Chen; Ju-E Guo; Cuihong Yang

A Method to Optimize Gross Fixed Capital Investments for Water Conservancy in China
Authors: Cuihong Yang; Xikang Chen; Jian Xu

Methods for Approximating the Shadow Price of Water in China
Authors: Xiuli Liu; Xikang Chen

Socioeconomic Impact Analysis of Yellow-dust Storms: An Approach and Case Study for Beijing
Authors: Ning Ai; Karen R. Polenske

An Extended Input–Output Model on Education and the Shortfall of Human Capital in China
Authors: Hongxia Zhang; Xikang Chen

A Multi-sector Nonlinear Dynamic Input–Output Model with Human Capital
Author: Jin Shui Zhang

Obituary: Professor Christian DeBresson (1945–2007)
Author: Jin Shui Zhang

Review of Social Economy

Volume 66 Issue 2  is now available online at informaworld ( http://www.informaworld.com ).

This new issue contains the following articles:

Editorial
Authors: Wilfred Dolfsma; Deborah M. Figart; Robert McMaster; Martha Starr

The Black Worker, Economic Justice and the Speeches of Sadie T.M. Alexander
Author: Nina Banks
Framing Obesity in Economic Theory and Policy
Author: Stefan Mann

Minimum Wages and the Wage Structure in Mexico
Authors: David Fairris; Gurleen Popli; Eduardo Zepeda

Uncertainty and Growth in Transition Economies
Authors: Andrej Sušjan; Tjaša Redek

Vicissitudes of Economics Imperialism
Author: Ben Fine

Book Reviews
Author: Ben Fine

Contributors
Author: Ben Fine

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Heterodox Books and Book Series

How to Read Marx's Capital

Stephen Shapiro
Pb: 9780745325613 - £12.99 / $28.95
Hb: 9780745325620 - £45.00 / $90.00

Das Capital Volume 1 is essential reading on many undergraduate courses, but the structure and style of the book can be confusing for students, leading them to abandon the text. This book is a clear guide to Marx’s classic text, which explains the reasoning behind the book’s structure and provides help with the more technical aspects that non-economists may find taxing.
Students are urged to think for themselves and engage with Marx’s powerful methods of argument and explanation. Shapiro shows that Capital is key to understanding critical theory and cultural production.
This highly focused book will prove invaluable to undergraduate students of politics, cultural studies, and literary theory.
Stephen Shapiro lectures in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick.
INSPECTION COPIES

If you are an academic based in the United States, please contact our US distributor, UMP: http://www.press.umich.edu:80/ordering.jsp#exam

If you are based in the UK, Europe or elsewhere (apart from the US) please send the following details to alecg@plutobooks.com: 

- the course name
- the level of the course (level one, two, three or post-graduate)
- the start date of the course
- expected number of students on the course
- name of local (or university) bookshop
- full university address (this is where the book will be sent)

We need all these details to be able to be able to process a request. Inspection copies are provided with an invoice that is cancelled if the book is adopted for a course, or returned in a resalable condition.
ORDERS
To place an order, visit our website at www.plutobooks.com 

Getting By in Postsocialist Romania

Labor, the Body, and Working-Class Culture
David A. Kideckel
A poignant portrayal of the price of postsocialist transition for industrial workers
"David Kideckel challenges celebratory images of postsocialism by focusing on the often neglected working class and allowing the disenfranchised to speak for themselves. In so doing he provides a contribution to the ethnography of eastern Europe that speaks poignantly to broader discussions of work, class, and gender under neoliberalism." —Gerald Creed, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York
This compelling ethnographic study describes how two groups of Romanian industrial workers have fared since the end of socialism. Once labor's elite, the celebrated coal miners of the Jiu Valley and the chemical workers of the Făgăraş region had many social privileges and often derived genuine satisfaction from their work. Today, they are a rarely noted casualty of postsocialist transformations. Fear, distance, and alienation are the physical manifestations of stress experienced due to their precarious job status, declining health, and loss of a social safety net. Kideckel traces these issues in the context of labor, political relationships, domestic and community life, gender identities, and health. Drawing on more than three decades of fieldwork, he presents many narratives from select individuals, in their own words, providing a poignant and illuminating perspective on the everyday lives of ordinary people.
David A. Kideckel is Professor of Anthropology at Central Connecticut State University. He is author of The Solitude of Collectivism: Romanian Villagers to the Revolution and Beyond and has produced a video documentary focusing on Romania's Jiu Valley coal miners, entitled Days of the Miners: Life and Death of a Working Class Culture.

Series: New Anthropologies of Europe
Publication date: 2008
Format: paper 288 pages, 11 b&w photos, 2 maps, 6 1/8 x 9 1/4
ISBN-13: 978-0-253-21940-4
ISBN: 0-253-21940-X
PRICE: £13.99 PAPER

SPECIAL DISCOUNTED PRICE OF £10.00 to CAPITAL AND CLASS Subscribers
Postage and Packing £2.75
To order a copy please contact Marston on 44(0)1235 465500 or email direct.orders@marston.co.uk  or visit our website www.combinedacademic.co.uk
(PLEASE QUOTE REF NUMBER: CC1268GB for discount)

Life as Surplus

Biotechnology and Capitalism in the Neoliberal Era
Melinda Cooper

Focusing on the period between the 1970s and the present, Life as Surplus is a pointed and important study of the relationship between politics, economics, science, and cultural values in the United States today. Melinda Cooper demonstrates that the history of biotechnology cannot be understood without taking into account the simultaneous rise of neoliberalism as a political force and an economic policy. From the development of recombinant DNA technology in the 1970s to the second Bush administration's policies on stem cell research, Cooper connects the utopian polemic of free-market capitalism with growing internal contradictions of the commercialized life sciences.

The biotech revolution relocated economic production at the genetic, microbial, and cellular level. Taking as her point of departure the assumption that life has been drawn into the circuits of value creation, Cooper underscores the relations between scientific, economic, political, and social practices. In penetrating analyses of Reagan-era science policy, the militarization of the life sciences, HIV politics, pharmaceutical imperialism, tissue engineering, stem cell science, and the pro-life movement, the author examines the speculative impulses that have animated the growth of the bioeconomy.

At the very core of the new post-industrial economy is the transformation of biological life into surplus value. Life as Surplus offers a clear assessment of both the transformative, therapeutic dimensions of the contemporary life sciences and the violence, obligation, and debt servitude crystallizing around the emerging bioeconomy.

Melinda Cooper is a research fellow with the Centre for Biomedicine and Society, Kings College London.

Quotes:
"A book of topical timeliness and conceptual and political importance. Cooper reads two terms-biopolitics and neoliberalism-in exciting, exceptional ways, and provides an astute account of contemporary American political culture." - Kaushik Sunder Rajan, author of Biocapital: The Constitution of Postgenomic Life

Reviews:
"A fascinating study of speculative impulses that serve as the foundation of increasingly commercialized life sciences." -Book News

CONTENTS
Introduction

1. Life Beyond the Limits: Inventing the Bioeconomy
2. On Pharmaceutical Empire: AIDS, Security, and Exorcism
3. Preempting Emergence: The Biological Turn in the War on Terror
Intermezzo
4. Contortions: Tissue Engineering and the Topological Body
5. Labors of Regeneration: Stem Cells and the Embryoid Bodies of Capital
6. The Unborn Born Again: Neo-Imperialism, the Evangelical Right, and the Culture of Life

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS
June 2008
208 pages ISBN 978-0-295-98791-0
£13.99 PB

In Defence of Labour Market Institutions

In Defence of Labour Market Institutions: Cultivating Justice in the Developing World Edited by: Janine Berg and David Kucera Published by Palgrave-Macmillan and ILO.
http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=281293

Description
In this age of globalization labour market institutions have been blamed for the poor economic performance of many developing countries. This book shows that the evidence on which this argument rests is weak.
An interdisciplinary team of contributors utilize empirical data and theoretical evidence to offer a greater understanding of why formal labour market regulations and policies were implemented in developing countries, and how informal values and norms also influence the workings of the labour market.
The contribution also analyse the economic effect that these institutions can have while shedding light on conceptual and methodological questions that have plagued the debate.
This volume offers economic and social reasons for maintaining certain policies and standards, differentiating between the needs and challenges of countries with varying levels of income.

Reviews
'This is a timely volume on a critically important topic. Berg and Kucera and their contributors challenge the conventional wisdom that excessive labor market regulation retards growth and development, and that developing countries in particular can ill afford the level of such regulation that they have taken on.
Taken as a whole, the papers make a compelling case for skepticism about this conventional wisdom. The volume provides a vital survey of the state of regulatory institutions in the developing world and the main empirical, theoretical, and normative arguments about the alleged regulation/growth tradeoff.' - Professor Chris Tilly, Department of Regional Economic and Social Development and Center for Industrial Competitiveness, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Contents
Introduction; J.Berg & D.Kucera
Labour Institutions in Developing Countries: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives; J.Berg & D.Kucera Measuring Labour Market Institutions: Conceptual and methodological questions on 'working hours rigidity'; S.Lee & D.McCann Training Institutions and the Finance of General Skills Training: Evidence from Africa; I.Nübler The Origins of Unemployment Insurance: Lessons for Developing Countries; J.Berg & M.Salerno The Revival of Minimum Wage-Setting Institutions; F.Eyraud & C.Saget What Can Labour Demand Functions tell us about Employment? The Case of the Philippines; J.Felipe & J.S.L.McCombie The Impact of Trade Unions: What do Economists Say?; Z.Tzannatos Labour Standards and Informal Employment in Latin America; R.Galli & D.Kucera Legal Determinants of Labour Informality; J.L.Daza Pérez New Trends in Labour Law Reform in Latin America: The Law, its Reform and its Impact in Practice; M.L.Vega Ruíz 

Poisoned for Pennies

Island Press has just published Frank Ackerman’s new book, Poisoned for Pennies: The Economics of Toxics and Precaution. It presents a critique of cost-benefit analysis, describes an alternative, precautionary approach to policy, and applies these ideas to case studies of major environmental policy problems, many of them involving toxic chemicals.
Click here for detailed information.

Introduction to Islamic Banking and Finance

The Author - Brian Kettell M.Sc. (Econ)

What the Reviewers said

“Brian Kettell deserves the thanks of every practitioner of Islamic Finance for he has brought his years of experience, in both conventional finance and Islamic finance , to help explain the fundamental points of convergence and divergence between Shariah compliant finance and mainstream, interest-based finance. In doing so, the book is direct and concise, with the result that readers will easily comprehend the whys and the wherefores of this somewhat different, challenging, and ultimately
rewarding approach to finance”. Shaykh Yusuf
Talal DeLorenzo. AAOIFI Sharia’a Board

Chief Sharia’a Officer and Board Member at Sharia’a Capital. Shaykh Yusuf is a respected Sharia’a advisor and Islamic scholar. He serves as a Sharia’a advisor to over 20 global financial entities, including AAOIFI, index providers, banks, mutual funds, real estate funds, leasing funds, institutional investors, home finance providers and alternative asset managers.
“A valuable resource for all those who wish to be initiated into the emerging domain of Islamic Banking and Finance”. Adnan Ahmed Yousif President & Chief Executive, Albaraka Banking Group, Bahrain.

“An invaluable book for those seeking to know more about Islamic banking. Comprehensive and detailed, the book is an excellent first-read for banking professionals and others to understand where Islamic banking comes from, what philosophies underlie it and the major components of Sharia’a-compliant banking and finance.”
Joseph DiVanna
Editor of “The Banker: Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions”; Author, Islamic Banking: the Value Proposition that Transcends Cultures, and Managing Director, Maris Strategies Limited.

Book Contents
Chapter 1. Muslim beliefs
Chapter 2. Sources of Sharia’a law: legal basis for Islamic banking
Chapter 3. Definition of Islamic banking
Chapter 4. Murabaha as a mode of Islamic finance
Chapter 5. Mudaraba as a mode of Islamic finance
Chapter 6. Musharaka as a mode of Islamic finance
Chapter 7. Ijara as a mode of Islamic finance
Chapter 8. Istisna’a as a mode of Islamic finance
Chapter 9. Salam as a mode of Islamic finance
Chapter 10. Takaful: Islamic insurance
Chapter 11. Sharia’a law and Sharia’a boards: roles, responsibility and membership
Appendix 1. World’s 100 largest Islamic banks
Appendix 2. Top 500 Islamic Financial Institutions

Le Fonctionnement des Economies de Marché, Microéconomie et Macroéconomie de L'équilibre Général

Les éditions De Boeck viennent de publier un petit livre écrit par Angel Asensio (de l'ADEK) et intitulé "le fonctionnement des économies de marché, microéconomie et macroéconomie de l'équilibre général" (192 p, 10 €). C'est un ouvrage d'initiation, quoique sans concession sur le plan analytique, qui présente les approches orthodoxe et keynésienne de l'équilibre général, sans que la deuxième apparaisse écrasée par la première (comme c'est malheureusement devenu la norme), mais en mettant au contraire en évidence la pertinence et l'actualité du cadre théorique keynésien. Une courte présentation figure en pièce jointe (plus d'info sur le site: < http://universite.deboeck.com/livre/?GCOI=28011100500120&fa=description >).

Avec Angel, nous avons convenu de ne pas le mettre sur la liste des livres proposés par l'ADEK lors de l'adhésion car il s'agit plus d'un livre destinés aux étudiants. Par contre proposez le à vos étudiants et mettez le en bibliographie. Si quelqu'un souhaite tout de même le recevoir lors du renouvellement de son adhésion, indiquez le moi et l'ADEK commandera les livres demandés.

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Heterodox Book Reviews

The Cult of Statistical Significance

Stephen T. Ziliak and Deirdre N. McCloskey, _The Cult of Statistical
Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives_. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2008. xxiii +
287 pp. $25 (paperback), ISBN: 978-0-472-05007-9.

Reviewed for EH.NET by Philip R.P. Coelho, Department of Economics, Ball State University.
Click here for the review.

George Soros, The New Paradigm for Financial Markets by Gerry Gold

http://www.aworldtowin.net/reviews/SorosParadigm.html Click here to download the review.

Muslim Civilization: The Causes of Decline and the Need for Reform

M. Umer Chapra, _Muslim Civilization: The Causes of Decline and the Need for Reform_. Leicestershire, UK: The Islamic Foundation, 2008.
xxii + 225 pp. £13 (paperback), ISBN: 978-0-86037-4619.

Review for EH.NET by Jared Rubin, Department of Economics, California State University, Fullerton
Click here for the review.
   

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Heterodox Websites and Blogs

Ideas into Action

Institutional Action and Progress
Working Group on Extreme Inequality

IPS is coordinating the Working Group on Extreme Inequality, a new convening of labor, business, religious and civic organizations concerned about the growing concentration of wealth and power. The Working Group has a new web portal - www.extremeinequality.org  - for data, commentary and action campaigns and has just released a new chartpack of inequality statistics. Visit the website for constant updates on the growing wealth divide.

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Queries from/for Heterodox Economists

Accounting Professor wants to talk with Heterodox Economists

Dr. Glenda Davis, a lecturer in accounting at the University of Western Sydney, is engaged in research on the connection between practical accounting which reflects and interacts with the real world and economics which recognizes and incorporates reality into its theories and models. Her field is accounting but she has some grounding in economics and her belief is that an interdisciplinary approach may provide depth and insight to the economics of the firm. Dr. Davis would like to contact heterodox economists who are interested in discussing the role of accounting in developing theories of the firm/business enterprise. If you are interested in contacting Dr. Davis, her e-mail address is g.davis@uws.edu.au. 

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For Your Information

Accumulation through Crisis: Global Stagflation and the New Wars

High quality video files of the presentation are now available for download in MPEG and AVI formats: http://bnarchives.yorku.ca/250/
Nitzan, Jonathan. (2008). "Accumulation through Crisis: Global Stagflation and the New Wars", Presentation at Harvard Law School as part of a series of lectures on Confronting Empire: Five Years of War in Iraq, 18 March.

AIRLEAP

AIRLEAP ( www.airleap.org ) is offering Free Membership to anyone interested in helping us promote integrity and responsible leadership in the economics profession. The link is: http://www.airleap.org/members.htm.

The 2008 Daniel Singer Millennium Prize

Call for Submissions to The 2008 Daniel Singer Millennium Prize

The 2008 prize of $5,000 will be awarded for an essay of no more than 5,000 words on the subject:
What recent event or political process that you participated in, witnessed or studied has given you inspiration and confidence that “a better world is possible,” and why do you think the fight for a better world will succeed?
Submissions in English, French or Spanish should be sent to The Daniel Singer Millennium Prize Foundation and must be received no later than August 30.
Make a tax-deductible contribution to The Daniel Singer Millennium Prize Foundation
P.O. Box 2371
El Cerrito, CA 94530
www.daniel singer.org
Frank Fried (President), Robert Capistrano (Secretary/Treasurer), Percy Brazil (President,
2001-2006), Albert Ruben (Secretary/Treasurer 2001-2006), Adrian DeWind (Emeritus),
Maurice Lazarus (1915-2004), Board members: Garrett Brown, John DeWind, Barbara
Garson, Adam Hochschild, Victor Navasky, Edward Sadlowski, Jeanne Singer, Suzi Weissman
Daniel Singer
Lives On…
Daniel Singer, author, lecturer and The Nation’s longtime Europe correspondent, died in 2000. His unique voice for democratic socialism lives on through the Daniel Singer Millennium Prize Foundation. Essays developing ideas relevant to Daniel’s themes are judged by an international panel of distinguished scholars and activists. Winners are published in Monthly Review. Authors and colleagues discuss the papers at the annual international Left Forum conference. And so Daniel’s voice continues to resound. It mustn’t die.

Reading Marx's Capital with Prof. David Harvey

Lectures pertain to volume one: http://davidharvey.org/

Scholarship and Copyright

I want to draw the attention of the scholarly community to an unfortunate recent episode concerning monograph publication of my research on Adam Smith, in particular relation to the quotation of text under copyright.

Many will be aware of the "fair dealing" provisions in relation to quotation of text under copyright: when quotation of such texts exceeds, either 400 words in a single quotation, or a total of 800 words in a series of distinct quotations from one source (any one of which exceeds 300 words), then the permission of the copyright holder is required in order for publication to proceed.

My forthcoming book on Adam Smith's political economy and the prehistory of its fundamental concepts (The Science of Wealth: Adam Smith and the Framing of Political Economy, Routledge, 2008) exceeded the fair dealing provisions in respect of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith (the "Glasgow Edition", 6 vols., Oxford: Clarendon, 1976--1983).

I should add immediately that my book in large part involves exhaustive scrutiny of the use of key terms in Smith's texts -- for example, "nature", "scarcity", "capital". Such an exercise is enabled by recourse to the CD-ROM of the Glasgow Edition (The Glasgow Edition of the Works and Correspondence of Adam Smith, with Supplementary Texts, Charlottesville, VA: Intelex Corporation, 2002; Past Masters: Humanities Databases, Full Text Scholarly Editions). Such tracing of word uses is itself a "wordy" business, so that in total, 24,000 words of Smith are quoted from the Glasgow Edition in my book. My book is itself just over 200,000 words.

This is of course a large quantity of words quoted. But I must also emphasize, as I did in my letter of request to the copyright holder (Oxford University Press), that the quotations are entirely in the manner of normal scholarly quotation in an academic book -- albeit on a large scale, due to the intensive textual analysis involved. The single largest quote is 381 words; only four quotations exceed 300 words; a further sixteen quotations are between 200 and 300 words.

I was therefore astounded when OUP replied to my request, indicating they would grant me permission to so quote the Glasgow Edition, but charge a "permission fee" of UK950.00 (pounds sterling). [I add a parenthetical point of information here: strangely, this fee was decomposed into UK650.00 for the Wealth of Nations, UK200.00 for the Lectures on Jurisprudence and UK100.00 for the Correspondence; for the other three volumes (hence, including The Theory of Moral Sentiments), "free permission" was granted. Why this distinction, I have no idea.]

I had no choice but to pay it. It is true that I could have abandoned use of the Glasgow Edition and transformed all my Smith quotations into quotations from earlier out-of-copyright editions of Smith. Almost needless to say, this would have been an extraordinarily large labour -- much "costlier" than UK950.00. Furthermore, it would have been very user-unfriendly for readers, that I was then not using the definitive edition of Smith's works. For these kinds of scholarly purposes, OUP in effect "owns" Adam Smith these days.

As a further sad side issue to this episode, the five years of research I undertook for this book were part funded by a grant of over AU$250,000 from the Australian Research Council (the government grant-funding authority for support of academic research in Australia). The OUP fee was just over AU$2,000 in Australian dollars. The ARC prohibits its grants from being used to fund the "production costs" of books, which is fair enough. I argued to them that the OUP permission fee was a cost of acquiring research materials essential to the communication of the research to scholarly communities. The ARC ruled that it was a book production cost and would not allow me to pay it from their funds. (Happily, my own university came to the rescue on that.)

To say that I was disgusted by all this would be an understatement. I have never heard of such a thing happening before, and that was also the kind of reaction I had from colleagues with whom I discussed the matter.

What is going on? It is possible that the OUP demand was unusual, reflecting the unusually large quantity of words I was seeking to quote. (They offered no explanation of their policy whatsoever.) Alternatively, it is possible that it reflects a more general policy development, in which university and other Presses are taking a rather more commercial -- one might even be tempted to say, "mercenary" -- approach to their management of their intellectual property assets. If the latter is the case, it hardly needs to be said that it would be a disturbing development from the point of view of scholarly communities, particularly those that are at all significantly engaged in textual analysis.

I would be interested to know if my experience with OUP is indeed unusual, or whether others are being asked to make such permissions payments - whether by OUP or other Presses.

Tony Aspromourgos
T.Aspromourgos@econ.usyd.edu.au 

U. of Michigan Press Will Stop Distributing Titles for 'Radical' Publisher

By JENNIFER HOWARD
The University of Michigan Press is ending its controversial relationship with Pluto Press at the end of this year. As of December 31, it will no longer distribute titles for Pluto Press, a London-based independent publisher. Pluto counts Noam Chomsky among its authors and espouses what it calls a "radical political agenda." The Michigan press took fire last year for one of Pluto's books, Overcoming Zionism, by Joel Kovel, a professor of social studies at Bard College. The pro-Israel lobbying group StandWithUs spearheaded a vocal protest, attacking the book as "a polemic against Israel" and a "collection of propaganda, misquotes, and discredited news stories."
On its Web site, StandWithUs wrote that "hundreds of anti-West, anti-American and anti-Israel propaganda texts reach us exclusively via University of Michigan Press."
The unwelcome attention led the university to take the unusual step of drafting guidelines to govern its press's distribution and marketing agreements. The guidelines, announced in January, state that the press may consider entering into partnerships "with other scholarly publishers whose mission is aligned with the mission of the UM Press and whose academic standards and processes of peer review are reasonably similar."
Re-examining Relationships
The guidelines direct the press's director and executive board to review proposed distribution agreements to make sure they fit those criteria. Pluto Press's peer-review process, which involves sending book proposals but not completed manuscripts out to reviewers, apparently did not.
Few university presses maintain formal guidelines for such distribution and marketing agreements, treating them more as business deals than as intellectual partnerships (The Chronicle, December 7).
The controversy over Pluto caused the university and the press's board to re-examine those relationships. "Distribution clients are money-making arrangements, but we wanted the profit-making arrangements to conform to our values," said Peggy S. McCracken, a professor of French and women's studies who also serves as the board's chair.
Ms. McCracken described the decision as a matter of academic standards, not academic freedom. "Certainly the free and open exchange of ideas is the foundation of everything we do at the University of Michigan," she said. Books published by the university press represent "a standard of scholarly rigor," she added. "It's our review procedures that guarantee that that is true."
Philip Pochoda, the Michigan press's director, declined to comment on Tuesday on the severing of ties with Pluto. But Kelly Cunningham, director of the university's office of public affairs and media relations, confirmed that the distribution agreement had been terminated, effective December 31.
The press's board reached the decision "after careful examination," she told The Chronicle. In an e-mail message, Ms. Cunningham said the board had "determined that the Pluto Press mission and procedures are not reasonably similar to UM Press as specified by the guidelines and therefore do not meet the requirements to continue as a distribution client."
The press also has distribution agreements with the American Academy in Rome and two of the university's scholarly centers. Those agreements were vetted by the board and were found satisfactory, Ms. Cunningham said.
Limitations of a Small Press
The impending breakup did not come as a shock to Pluto Press, according to its chairman, Roger van Zwanenberg. The Israel lobby "didn't like the book," he said. "They are unremitting, and the end result is that we're more trouble than we're worth."
Pluto sends every proposal out to half-a-dozen scholars in the relevant field. But small commercial presses like his cannot afford to do the kind of peer review done at subsidized university presses, Mr. van Zwanenberg said.
Were the new guidelines crafted so as to disqualify Pluto? No one has said so publicly. But as Mr. van Zwanenberg sees it, "The hoops that the University of Michigan Press created were only for university presses."
Although he expected the news, the chairman expressed disappointment with how the Michigan press handled the controversy. "They should have defended us much more than they have done," he said. "But we're very small, and they're very large, and there are many interests involved which make principle very difficult to carry out."
"For a tiny overseas publisher to have this sort of effect in the United States is quite astonishing," he said, "and it reflects powerful forces who are deeply antagonistic to free speech when it comes to issues around Israel and Palestine."

Citation Statistics

The Joint Committee on Quantitative Assessment of Research representing the International Mathematical Union (IMU), the International Council of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (ICIAM), and the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (IMS) has just released a report on the use of citation statistics in scientific research. The report concludes that the belief that citation statistics are accurate measures of scholarly performance is unfounded, that use of such statistics is often highly subjective, and that "sole reliance on citation data provides at best an incomplete and often shallow understanding of research." In addition, the report concludes that "the validity of statistics such as the impact factor and h-index is neither well understood nor well studied."

Given the increasing reliance on the impact factor measures in economics for evaluation of scholarly research, this report should be of interest for all individuals in the field whose research is evaluated in this manner. The report is available at:

http://www.mathunion.org/fileadmin/IMU/Report/CitationStatistics.pdf

 Newton International Fellowships

A new multi-million pound initiative to fund research collaborations and improve links between UK and overseas researchers has been launched.

The Newton International Fellowships aim to attract the most promising, early stage, post-doctoral researchers working overseas, who do not hold UK citizenship, in the fields of humanities, engineering, natural and social sciences.

The scheme provides funding to successful candidates for up to 2 years to work with research groups at a UK research Institution and to establish long term international collaborations.

The Fellowships, and the linked alumni association, are an initiative of the UK's leading research academies - the British Academy, The Royal Academy of Engineering and the Royal Society - and Research Councils UK (RCUK).

The funding will be distributed in the form of 50 research fellowships per round of applications. Successful candidates will receive an annual subsistence of £24,000, up to £8,000 for research expenses, and a one-off
payment of £2,000 for relocation.

It is hoped that the collaborations and links formed during the course of the fellowship will continue to benefit Newton Fellows throughout their careers. To facilitate this, former Fellows will be eligible for follow-on funding of up to £6,000 per year, for up to ten years, to help develop lasting international networks with the UK.

Former Newton Fellows will also become members of the UK International Fellowship Association managed by RCUK, which aims to build a network of overseas researchers, help them maintain contact with the UK and provide networking opportunities to encourage new collaborations.

Applications for Newton International Fellowships are invited for Fellowships starting in 2009. The deadline for applications is Monday 4 August 2008.

For more information on the Newton International Fellowship Scheme please go to www.newtonfellowships.org  or email any enquiries to info@newtonfellowships.org.

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