Heterodox Economics Newsletter

ISSUE 144 | March 18, 2013 | WEB | PDF | Heterodox Economics Directory

We would like to call your attention to several important “Calls for Support” in this edition of the Newsletter. Specifically, there are two calls related to expression of academic freedom.  There appears to be a growing movement to marginalize heterodox approaches (as well as the right to organize) in Turkey.  At the University of Zurich, administrators signed a deal with UBS to create a ‘centre of economics in society.’  This 100 million sf deal was completed without any input from research or teaching staff.  One can imagine that the research forthcoming will paint global banking (and UBS) in a positive light only. The third call asks for support in getting the issue of global poverty on the Post-2015 Global Agenda.  

Finally, Routledge Press is offering readers of Heterodox Economics Newsletter a free 14-day trial access to their heterodox journals, such as Review of Political Economy and Review of Social Economy.  Find out how to get your free access here.

In solidarity,

Tae-Hee Jo and Ted P. Schmidt, Editors

© Heterodox Economics Newsletter. Since 2004. Founding Editor: Frederic S. Lee. Current Editors: Tae-Hee Jo and Ted P. Schmidt (SUNY Buffalo State). Book Review Editor: Fadhel Kaboub. The Newsletter may be freely redistributed in whole or in part.  Web: heterodoxnews.com Email: heterodoxnews@gmail.com  


Table of Contents


Call for Papers

Australian Society of Heterodox Economists (SHE) Conference 2013

Cooperatives in Transition in the Era of Globalization

Marx Communnale: The Crisis of World Capitalism and the Left Alternative

Egon-Matzner Award for Socio-Economics 2013

European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE) Conference 2013

European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) Colombia Conference 2013

Ethics & Responsibility in Economics and Business Studies

Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Heterodox Economics

Futures Journal Special Issue: Futures of Capitalism

International Conference on Economic Theory and Policy after the Crisis

Left Forum 2013

Re-industrialisation and Progressive Urbanism

Review of Radical Political Economics (RRPE) Special Issue: The Commons and The Common

17th SCEME Seminar in Economic Methodology

14th Path to Full Employment and 19th National Conference on Unemployment

Sociology: Special Issue on “Sociology and the Global Economic Crisis”

Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy Special Issue on “Global Crisis and Agrarian Transformation: What Future for Re-peasantization?”

Call for Participants

Centro Sraffa Seminars

Japanese Society for Post Keynesian Economics Seminar

Poverty in India

Second Annual Summer Institute in New Economics

Transforming Finance Conference: Fresh Thinking on Democracy, Finance and Debt

Call for Panelists

Capital as Power at Rethinking Marxism Conference 2013

Competition-Regulation Laws and Market Governance at ASE-ASSA 2014 Conference

Heterodox Economics Stream at 8th Annual Green Economics Institute Conference

Heterodox Microeconomics Panels at the EAEPE 2013 Conference

Ph.D. Poster Sessions at UNRISD Conference on the Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy

Research Methods for Heterodox Economists at URPE-ASSA 2014 Conference

Job Postings for Heterodox Economists

Cambridge University, UK

Centre for European Research at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Nottingham Trent University, UK

Poverty Group of the Bureau for Development Policy

Skidmore College, US

University College London, UK

Conference Papers, Reports, and Podcasts

G.C. Harcourt’s Lecture at 2011 Japan Post Keynesian Economics Conference

PKSG Seminars

Randy Wray's Steinhardt Lecture at Lewis & Clark College

Heterodox Journals

Cambridge Journal of Economics, 37(2): March 2013

Challenge, 56(2): March-April 2013

Economic and Labour Relations Review, 24(1): March 2013

Historical Materialism, 20(4): 2012

Journal of Economic Issue, 47(1): March 2013

Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 35(2): Winter 2012-13

Review of Keynesian Economics

Routledge Offers 14 Days Free Access to its Heterodox Journals

Heterodox Newsletters

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)

Economic Sociology - the european electronic newsletter, 14(2): March 2013

Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE)

Global Labour Column

IDEAs

Levy News

Post Keynesian Economics Study Group (PKSG)

Heterodox Books and Book Series

Bleakonomics

Business, Politics and the State of Africa

Divided World Divided Class

Dollars & Sense New Books

Institutional Economics

Introducing Money

The Manipulation of Choice

Heterodox Book Reviews

Marx and Philosophy: New Reviews and List of Books to Review

Heterodox Graduate Programs, Scholarships, and Grants

Bard Center for Environmental Policy Graduate Programs

Middlesex University Ph.D. Research Studentship

Master’s Program in Epistemology and Economic Philosophy, University of Paris 1

Heterodox Websites

Lady Economist Blog

Queries from Heterodox Economists

ASE call for proposals to host World Congress

Call for Support

A letter on the Need to Address Inequalities in the Post-2015 Global Agenda

In Solidarity with Oppressed Academics in Turkey

Petition: International Appeal for the protection of academic independence

For Your Information

ASE Helen Potter Award

Gar Alperovitz’s Film: The Next American Revolution



Call for Papers

Australian Society of Heterodox Economists (SHE) Conference 2013

2- 3 December 2013 | University of New South Wales, Australia | website

Heterodox economics and the crisis that won’t go away.

 

The 12th annual Australian Society of Heterodox Economists (SHE) Conference will be held on the 2nd and 3rd  of December 2013.  The annual SHE Conference provides a vital forum for the discussion of alternatives to mainstream economics. The Conference provides a broad pluralistic and interdisciplinary forum to discuss issues of importance to heterodox economists.

 

For 2013 the SHE Conference theme is “Heterodox economics and the crisis that won’t go away.”

Despite a prolonged economic crisis, which has led to increasing levels of unemployment and low rates of growth, particularly throughout Europe and in the USA, governments and mainstream economists are still talking about balancing budgets and the necessity of austerity measures. Heterodox economists have argued that suggested policies will only deepen the crisis. This year’s conference will focus on the ongoing implications for all sectors of the economy of the crisis, as well as consider viable policy recommendations.

 

Submission details:

Submissions are invited for single papers, complete sessions and symposia (comprising more than one session) relevant to the over-arching conference theme, or which discuss issues of importance from perspectives which differ from, or critically examine, mainstream economics.

Single papers:

All papers should include a 250 word abstract that clearly states the issue being addressed, its main points and argument. It should be stated, at the time of submission, if you require your paper to be refereed and if you wish your paper to be considered for a symposium.  All papers on heterodox issues will be considered.

 

The deadline for refereed papers is Monday 14 October 2013.

The deadline for non-refereed papers is Monday 28 October 2013.

 

Complete sessions:

We welcome proposals for complete sessions. Session proposals should be sent to p.kriesler@unsw.edu.au and include the following information:

  1. A short title
  2. A description of the session which should be no more than one page
  3. The names of the proposed participants in the session
  4. An abstract for each paper to be included in the session
  5. The name and email address of the session organiser

 

The deadline for the submission of session proposals is Friday 13 September 2013.

Symposia:

We encourage proposals for symposia which address a single topic or issue. The SHE Conference Committee will work with symposia organisers, when constructing the conference program, to ensure a coherent list of sessions for each symposium, and schedule these so that participants can follow a symposium across more than one session. Symposium proposals should be submitted to p.kriesler@unsw.edu.au and include the following information:

  1. A short title (no more than 5 words)
  2. A short description of the type of paper that would be suitable for inclusion in the symposium
  3. The name and email address of the symposium organiser

 

The deadline for symposium proposals is Friday 13 September 2013.

 

Deadlines:

The SHE Conference Committee will consider all proposals for papers, sessions and symposia, and will notify you of the acceptance or rejection of your proposal.

 

Complete session proposals and symposium proposals are due by Friday 13 September 2013 and will be notified by Monday 23 September 2013.

The deadline for refereed papers is Monday 14 October 2013.  

The deadline for non-refereed papers is Monday 28 October 2013.

 

Registration details will be announced later and be available here.

Cooperatives in Transition in the Era of Globalization

18-20 September, 2013 | Kozhikode, India

Organised by: The Uralungal labour Contract Co-operative Society Ltd., Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode

                                                                                                       

Cooperatives were the earliest form of organisation of working people in the world. Over the years, they exemplified the importance of worker cooperation and underlined the potential of organisation, solidarity, mutual assistance and unity of action of the working class in a capitalist society. Indeed, the idea of cooperatives had its origins in utopian socialism; earliest proponents of cooperatives held the romantic view that socialism can be grafted into the capitalist system using cooperatives as an instrument. Yet, even as they did not expect cooperatives to transform the capitalist system, writers like Karl Marx never failed to appreciate the importance of cooperatives in pioneering the collective management of social production.

The Uralungal labour Contract Co-operative Society Ltd. (ULCCS) was the first labour cooperative formed in the State of Kerala in 1925. The ULCCS was the product of the reformist movement in Kerala; its formation as the “Uralungal Koolivelakkarude Paraspara Sahaya Sangham” was inspired by the progressive movement led by Vagbadananda. It started as a movement of 14 members. Today, the ULCCS has more than 5000 workers organised under its banner and generates about 4 lakh person-days of employment per year. The ULCCS is widely recognised as the best labour co-operative in India that executes contract works from the Public Works Department, National Highways Authority of India, Kerala Water Authority and other government departments. It has a paid-up share capital of Rs 35 crores, an annual turnover of about Rs 80 crores, has completed more than 3000 projects and is currently undertaking about 300 projects (see http://www.ulccsltd.com). The activities of ULCCS are diversified today given the shift in skills of job-seekers in Kerala; moving beyond the focus on civil construction works, it has also established IT and electronic parks in north Malabar. ULCCS’ is the first IT Park in north Kerala, which was designed by Nikken Sikki of Japan.

As the ULCCS completes 87 years of its existence, it intends to host an international conference titled “Cooperatives in Transition in the Era of Globalization” in association with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode. The conference would be held between the 18th and 20th of September 2013 at Kozhikode in Kerala. The conference is intended to showcase the contribution of ULCCS to the academic world as well as facilitate learning from different experiences of cooperatives across the world. We invite research papers that would broadly fall into the following themes from students, academics and activists:

 

  1. Cooperatives: Kerala experience;
  2. Politics of co-operativisation;
  3. Neo-liberal reforms and cooperatives in India;
  4. Success stories on cooperatives in India;
  5. Accumulation, technological change and cooperatives;
  6. Experiences with credit cooperatives;
  7. Experiences with production cooperatives;
  8. Experiences with consumer cooperatives;
  9. Marketing challenges for cooperatives;
  10. Cooperatives and frontier technology sectors;
  11. Forms of ownership and cooperation;
  12. Management and participation in cooperatives;
  13. Legal frameworks for cooperatives;

Please send abstracts of the papers latest by the 15th of April, 2013. Short-listed abstracts are to be developed into full length papers and send by the 30th of June, 2013.

Applicants should send their abstracts along with the name of the author, designation and contact details to ulccs2013@gmail.com.

Marx Communnale: The Crisis of World Capitalism and the Left Alternative

May 10 – 13, 2013 | Seoul, South Korea | website

After the collapse of Soviet Russia and the Eastern bloc in 1989-91, there was a resurgence of a triumphalist end-of-history ideology, marked by neoliberal globalization on the one hand and the disarray of global Left forces on the other. However, the confidence in capitalism was misplaced: the financial crisis that erupted in 2007 shows no sign of abating, while social polarization, unemployment and severe climate change continue apace. There has also been a magnificent flowering of resistance, as seen in the Occupy movements, the Arab spring and worldwide anti-austerity protests.

In this context, the Korean internationalist Left is hosting the sixth biannual Marx Communnale conference, May 10-13, 2013, in Seoul, South Korea. This is more than an academic conference: over 30 leftist political organizations are participating. Themed The Crisis of World Capitalism and the Left Alternative, Marx Communale invites scholars and activists from around the world to speak on crises of the market, production and daily life, as well as the immense, inspiring efforts to build resistance across the globe. We hope to contribute to newly-emerging renaissance in Marxist theory and practice.

To register, email your presentation title, abstract and brief biographical details (name, email, affiliation) to marxcommunnale@gmail.com. The deadline is March 31.

More information can be found at the Marx Communnale website.

If you have specific questions, please contact Greg Sharzer, conference representative, at gsharzer@gmail.com.

Egon-Matzner Award for Socio-Economics 2013

On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Centre of Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the Vienna University of Technology, the Egon-Matzner-Award for SocioEconomics was established in 2012; it will be conferred on 6 th June 2013 for the second time.

Egon Matzner (1938-2003) was Professor of Socio-Economics, Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy at the Vienna University of Technology’s Centre of Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy from 1972 until his retirement in 1998. He is remembered by many as an innovative thinker, always with an open mind with regard to new topics in economics, especially in the fields of ocio-economics, public finance and infrastructure policy, with a clear political vision and he always retained a critical distance. Professor Matzner had a great influence on several generations of planners and scientists, and was always very supportive towards talented students.

The Egon-Matzner-Award will be presented to young scientists (up to 35 years of age) for their scientific publications (namely contributions to journals or monographs issued by international scientific publishers) and for excellent diploma, master or doctoral theses. In particular, studies in the following thematic fields can be submitted:

  1. Socio-economics, heterodox economics
  2. Evolutionary economics
  3. Institutional economics
  4. Public finance and fiscal federalism
  5. Infrastructure economics and policy

Studies will be preferred that especially

  1. include practical and empirical problems on strong theoretical foundations,
  2. go beyond schools of thought and paradigms, and/or
  3. present interdisciplinary perspectives.

The submitted works should have been published recently (2011-2013). The award is endowed with a premium of EUR 1,000 and can be shared, in the event of parity, by the authors of excellent publications. The award is funded by the revenues of the Centre of Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy. The submitted works can be written in German or English. The prize will be awarded based on the decisions made by an international jury, and will be handed over at the annual conference to be held at the Centre of Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy on 6th June 2013, in Vienna. Award winners are asked to present their work personally in a short presentation at the conference.

Submissions including the author’s CV have to be sent electronically to EMP@ifip.tuwien.ac.at 

For further information, please contact Prof. Dr. Michael Getzner, Vienna University of Technology, Resselgasse 5, 1040 Vienna, Austria (Michael.Getzner@tuwien.ac.at).

The deadline for submissions is 1st April 2013. The jury’s decision will be made known at the beginning of May, 2013.

European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE) Conference 2013

 7 to 9 November 2013 | Université Paris Nord (University of Paris 13), Paris, France

The conference theme, 'Beyond Deindustrialisation: The Future of Industries', will focus on the state and future of industries in Europe, with a special emphasis on policy.

For decades, deindustrialisation has been a major concern in many OECD countries. The global economic crisis has certainly made the situation even more critical. At the same time, there is a revival of industrial policy debates in a context where waves of technical progress are expected to promote the emergence of new industries, boosting employment and preserving the environment. Governments, when they do not see debt-reduction and austerity as the only way to emerge from the current crisis, are trying to design, in more or less cooperative ways, policies to gain competitive advantages in the evolving international division of labour.

The 25th Annual EAEPE Conference 2013 will be a platform for the exchange of ideas and results from both theoretical and empirical research on institutional change and policy design at all levels of implementation.

Keynote speakers (to be announced) will address the theme of the conference and EU policy experts will discuss the main challenges ahead in plenary sessions at the beginning and the end of the conference.

The conference will also feature special sessions on the future of institutional and evolutionary economics, with panelists including: Geoffrey Hodgson (University of Hertfordshire, UK), Richard Langlois (University of Connecticut, USA), Mary Shirley (Ronald Coase Institute, USA), Sidney Winter (University of Pennsylvania, USA) and Ulrich Witt (Max Planck Institute of Economics, Germany).

Submissions on the conference theme or the usual topics covered by the EAEPE Research Areas are welcome. Proposals for special sessions (4 abstracts) are welcome.  Special PhD sessions will be organised. Conference fees will be waived for PhD students. Abstracts (350-700 words) are to be submitted electronically at the conference website by 15 May 2013.

For any information or queries about the conference please contact the local organisers, Nathalie Coutinet (nathalie.coutinet@gmail.com) or Philippe Abecassis (ph.abecassis@gmail.com).

Please visit the EAEPE website for more information.

European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) Colombia Conference 2013

Path Dependence in Economic Development

November 20-22, 2013 | EAFIT University, Medellín, Colombia

The conference is part of the activities of the European Society for the History of Economic Thought (ESHET) taking place outside Europe, and the third in Latin America.

Local organizers:   Juan Felipe Mejia and Gustavo Canavire, EAFIT University                                                                  

Contact: cief@eafit.edu.co                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Economic development is not a process by which eventually certain levels and standards will be reached, independently of the paths taken. Differences in initial conditions, cultures, institutional frameworks and external influences, even if only transitory, lead to persistent discrepancies in the development of different regions and nations. It is thus a commonplace to state that development is path-dependent because “history matters”.  The aim of this conference is to explore to which extent path dependence can explain the variety of development processes within Latin America and other parts of the world. The task is to demonstrate how current economic performance in specific areas, industries or other socio-economic structures has been influenced by previous conditions and events. This can be done in single case studies, comparative analysis, or investigations of cross-border interaction.

A special focus is set on the role of economic thought, both in affecting contemporaneous discourses and in retrospective theorizing. Possible topics are:

  1. regional and national patterns of industrialization and growth
  2. contingent events and positive feedbacks in the economy/economies of the area
  3. distinctive national traditions in economic thought and economic policy
  4. varieties of paths to innovations and structural change
  5. institutional frameworks and social conventions
  6. cross-border influences.

We welcome papers on these topics, but also on other aspects of the history of economic thought in different periods.

  1. For proposals of papers submit abstracts of max. 400 words, for proposals of sessions max. 1.000 words in English and / or Spanish. Please use Arial font, 12 pt., 1.5 spacing on A4 or Letter.
  2. Papers should be written and presentations made in English or Spanish.
  3. The deadline for abstracts and workshop proposals is July 1, 2013.Full versions of accepted papers should be submitted by October 30, 2013 for inclusion into the programme. Proposals and papers should be sent to: cief@eafit.edu.co
  4. Financial support (scholarships):  A limited number of accepted papers of scholars under 40 years of age will be eligible for travel funding (up to a maximum amount). Papers must be written in English in order to be considered. Full versions of the papers should be submitted by September 30, 2013.

Ethics & Responsibility in Economics and Business Studies

20-21 June, 2013 | KEDGE Business School - GRECAM : Marseille - Aix en Provence, France

We invite papers that bear on the above conference question. Possible themes that relate to this question include:

  1. Ethics and Responsibility
  2. Issues of Governance and Institutional Frameworks
  3. Contesting Voices and Ethical Imperialism
  4. Moral Theory
  5. On the possibility of Value Measurement
  6. Measurement and Control
  7. Facts and Values
  8. Institutional and Individual Authority
  9. Ethics versus Morality

Please submit an abstract (500 words max.) before April 15th, 2013 at vinca.bigo@euromed-management.com or thomas.lagoardesegot@euromed-management.com Only online submissions will be considered. Selected papers from the conference will be eligible for publication. For informal information about the conference please contact the conference chairs on the same emails.

Keynote speakers

  1. Prof Tony Lawson (University of Cambridge, UK)
  2. Prof Hugh Willmott (Cardiff University, UK)

IMPORTANT DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

  1. Deadline for Paper Submission 15th April 2013
  2. Notice of Acceptance ~ no later than 1st May 2013
  3. Authors'  Registration Deadline (for inclusion in the Conference Programme) 15th May 2013
  4. Conference Fee Payment Deadline (for inclusion in the Conference Programme) 15th May 2013 Conference 20-21 June 2013

Registration costs are 175 euro and include coffee breaks and two lunches.

Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Heterodox Economics

Call for Book Chapters

I have signed a contract with Edward Elgar to produce a "Handbook of Research Methods and Applications in Heterodox Economics".  Attached is a proposed outline of the Handbook, but it is not written in stone, so suggestions are welcome.  If you are interested in writing a chapter for the Handbook, please e-mail me:  leefs@umkc.edu.

Frederic Lee

University of Missouri-Kansas City

Download the book outline.

Futures Journal Special Issue: Futures of Capitalism

Guest Editors

  1. Dr Michal Izak – University of Lincoln
  2. Dr Samuel Mansell – University of St Andrews
  3. Professor Ted Fuller – University of Lincoln

The purpose of this special issue is to examine the possible futures of capitalism and its relationship to the economic, environmental and social futures of humankind.  

Capitalism is a system that legitimises the pursuit of economic growth through the reinvestment of surplus.  In this respect private ownership of capital is legitimate and often lies in separate hands from those which control the means of producing wealth. It could be argued that both wage earners and capitalists are in a precarious position: the former because they lack ownership of the fruits of their labour, and the latter, because the ongoing accumulation process in which they are involved is prone to crises and disruptions, making their position also perilous.  Arguably, societies have managed the relationship between this system of economic value creation and other systems necessary for human survival and development through various forms of governance. As recent events have reminded us, capitalist systems can go wrong. Even when capitalism works as expected, the externalities can be disastrous, such as the effects of unregulated speculation on world food prices.

Some would argue (e.g. the Chicago School, see Zingales, 2012) that capitalism, albeit in several forms, has been very successful in increasing wealth and well-being globally and that while not perfect is the 'best' approach available.  It could be claimed that capitalism has also co-evolved with society and its structures, seats of power and organisation of activities to the extent of becoming unrecognisable compared to two hundred years ago (e.g. Ricardo, 1817).  According to some accounts (Boltanski and Chiapello, 2005), the major force driving this evolution is capitalism’s ability to respond to its critics by re-organizing the value system it depends upon.

Acknowledging that there are differences in how capitalism is manifested in various cultural contexts, this call for papers invites reflections unrestricted by any status quo and focused on exploring the future directions which capitalism may take, as well as the potential social, economic and organizational implications.

We seek to address the following questions:

  1. What is capitalism vulnerable to? Does it threaten its own existence? Can a line be drawn between practices internal to capitalism which render it vulnerable and non-capitalist practices that threaten the system from the ‘outside’?
  2. What is the ontology of capitalism? In other words, what do we take capitalism to mean, what characteristics does it have and in particular, how does it not only accommodate, but actually thrive from multiple critiques?
  3. What are the dynamics driving the evolution of capitalism?
  4. What alternative forms of capitalism are possible in societies?  For example, is ‘soft capitalism’ (Thrift, 1997) – based upon new discourses of management in which emotional labor (Ashforth and Humphrey, 1993), 'play' (Costea, et al., 2007) and spirituality (Dehler and Welsh, 1994) can have increasingly important roles – a serious and durable reformulation of organizational design in the capitalist system, or yet another fad?
  5. If, as Peter Drucker (1992) suggests, the centrality of economic wealth is marginalised in favour of the centrality of human capital, then what form(s) of capitalism would we expect to emerge?
  6. Corporations are the flagship ‘tool’ of capitalism.  What are the possible futures for corporations?
  7. What is the relationship between capitalism and forms of political structure (which provide legitimacy and protection)? How and why is this relationship maintained?
  8. Have anti-capitalist social movements the potential radically to alter the future of global capitalism, or to negate it altogether?
  9. Will ‘post-bureaucratic’ forms of organisation have a place in the future of capitalism?
  10. What is the future of ‘finance capitalism’ in the wake of the 2007-08 banking crisis?  To what extent can improved regulation and governance prevent future crises, if at all?  
  11. Do the recent critiques, highlighting the consumerist tendencies among students, labor process analysis of academic work and dissatisfaction with "the very purpose of the university [which becomes] grossly distorted by the attempt to create a market in higher education" (Thomas, 2012 in: timeshighereducation.co.uk), suggest that the role of academia in the capitalist system should be re-conceptualized?

Submissions

Papers should follow the normal format for Futures Journal (see link to guide below).  Each paper will be double blind peer reviewed.  The papers should address the aims of the call and be consistent with the mission of Futures Journal which “seeks the rigorous examination of possible and alternative futures of all human endeavours”.

Timetable for submission of articles

Authors are invited to submit abstracts to the editors to signal their intention to submit a paper.  Editors will give feedback on these and in particular state whether the article appears to be in scope of the journal.

  1. Submission of initial Abstracts should be made direct to misak@lincoln.ac.uk between 1st March 2013 and 14th May 2013.  Feedback to authors by 14th June 2013
  2. Submission of articles to Futures Journal will open on June 1st 2013 and close on 30th September 2013. Upload the paper for blind review and also enter additional information here.  

Submit Article / Submit New Manuscript / chose Article Type/ SI:Capitalism

Further information can be found in the Guide to Authors.

Key dates

  1. Initial Abstracts From March 1st to 14th May 2013 to misak@lincoln.ac.uk
  2. Feedback on Abstracts by 30th June 2013
  3. Articles submitted by between 1st June and 30th September 2013 here.
  4. Feedback from review and decisions by 15th November 2013:
  5. Period for revisions of papers accepted subject to amendments: 15th November 2013 to 31st Dec 2013
  6. Final decisions January 2014
  7. Publication, first half of 2014

Bibliography:

  1. Ashforth, B. E., and Humphrey, R. H. (1993) ‘Emotional labor in service roles: the influence of identity’, Academy of Management Review, 18(1), 88-115
  2. Boltanski, L., Chiapello, E. (2005) The New Spirit of Capitalism. London-New York: Verso
  3. Costea, B., Crump, N. and Holm, J. (2007) ‘The spectre of Dionysus: play, work, and managerialism’, Society and Business Review. 2(2):153-165
  4. Dehler, G. and Welsh, M.A. (1994), ‘Spirituality and organizational transformation: implications for the new management paradigm’, Journal of Managerial Psychology, 9(6):17-26.
  5. Drucker, P.F. (1992), “The post-capitalist world”, The Public Interest, Fall, New York, NY, pp. 89-100.
  6. Fidei defensores (2012) ‘Times Higher Education’, online at:, accessed 12/12/2112
  7. Ricardo, D. (1817/1951) On the Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  8. Thrift, N. (1997) ‘The rise of soft capitalism’, Cultural Values 1(1): 29–57
  9. Zingales, L. (2012) A Capitalism for the People: Recapturing the Lost Genius of American Prosperity. New York: Basic Books

International Conference on Economic Theory and Policy after the Crisis

September 16-18, 2013 | Meiji University, Japan  | Website 

 

Prof. Philip Arestis (University of Cambridge) and Prof. Bertram Schefold (Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University) will participate in our conference.

 

Deadline of abstract: June 30, 2013.  mailto: confyagi@kisc.meiji.ac.jp

For more information, visit the conference website.

Question / Query: Please contact the organiser, Takashi Yagi (yagi8@kisc.meiji.ac.jp)

Conference language: English

Left Forum 2013

June 7-9 | Pace University, New York, USA

Mobilizing for Economic/Ecological Transformation

We need to mobilize now! The planet and humankind are in peril. The climate is warming, glaciers are melting, seas are rising, droughts are spreading and species are going extinct, all caused by unsustainable development and overconsumption of every resource on the planet. Meanwhile the ongoing economic crisis the worst since the Great Depression has devastated working people around the world with astronomical rates of unemployment, falling incomes and   brutal austerity measures. Everywhere, the people least responsible for these interrelated crises are bearing their brunt, in particular people in developing countries, women who are the bulk of ecological refugees, and people of color. Bangladesh with its floods and factory fires is a tragic case in point. These twin crises reveal the destructive – indeed eco-suicidal - nature of capitalism’s inherent drive to growth, where everything in nature has a price, and nothing has a value, including human life.

 

At the same time, new forms of anti-capitalist and horizontal democratic resistance are emerging everywhere. There is reason to hope, as the basic question of who should own the Earth is coming to the fore. Come to this year’s Left Forum to explore the environmental and movement-building imperatives that make another world not only possible but necessary.

For more information, download the call for paper or visit the conference website.

Re-industrialisation and Progressive Urbanism

13th of June 2013 | School of Architecture, Design and Environment, Plymouth University, UK

Could urban re-industrialisation be seen as a method of increasing business effectiveness in the context of a politically stimulated 'green economy'? Could it be seen as a nostalgic mutation of a creative-class concept, focused on 3D printing, 'boutique manufacturing' and crafts? These two notions place urban re-industrialisation within the context of the current neoliberal economic regime and urban development based on property and land speculation. The key question for this conference is could urban re-industrialisation be imagined as a progressive socio-political and economical project, aiming to create an inclusive and democratic society based on cooperation and symbiosis that goes way beyond the current model of a neoliberal city?

We invite abstracts (max. 300 words) for papers from researchers and practitioners from a broad range of disciplines, including, but not limited to architecture, urban design, planning, economics, sociology, anthropology, geography, and environmental science. We welcome submissions based on empirical research as well as theoretical and visionary investigations.

Abstracts will be selected for further development as papers to be presented at the conference. Papers shall be 2000 words maximum. Further submission requirements will be distributed to the authors of selected abstracts.

Abstracts should arrive no later than Monday 1 April 2013.

Please send them in .doc or .pdf format to: krzysztof.nawratek@plymouth.ac.uk

Keynote presentations and selected conference papers will be considered for publication following the symposium in an edited volume.

Keynote speakers (confirmed):

  1. Professor Malcolm Miles, Plymouth University, UK
  2. Dr Michelle Adams, Dalhousie University, Canada

Review of Radical Political Economics (RRPE) Special Issue: The Commons and The Common

The Commons (or the common) is of interest to radicals on the left for many reasons. Most obvious at present is the condition of the earth we share—everyone’s common. Global warming and environmental degradation threaten human existence and that of other living creatures and things. Yet agreement on how to better treat planet Earth has proven elusive. Another reason for interest in the commons is the left’s fight against privatization, for decades now a hallmark of neoliberalism.  Enclosure of common space and resources was part of the development of the capitalist system, and it continues today. Can this process be stopped; reversed?

 

The terms commons and common do not simply refer to open access resources (res nullins). This category of common resource is the air we breathe, or the ocean. Another category of the commons is res communis, a commonly held resource.  It has figured prominently in projects and aspirations of socialists, anarchists, feminists, and communists. Privatization can be associated with a world of scarcity, and the common with abundance. In addition, more than property is held in common.  Language, stories, images, humor, culture and other aspects of communal interaction share this root. In addition, more than property is held in common.  Language, stories, images, humor, culture and other aspects of communal interaction share this root. How can a clearer sense of the commons help inform a renewal of left trajectories: a more egalitarian and sustainable world?

 

While advocated to overcome problems presumed to be inherent in managing the commons, privatization substitutes problems fundamental to an individualized world.  One of the most obvious of these problems is inequality: of access, control, income, and resources. Inequality is reflected in class-riven societies, as well as those characterized by differential access to resources by race, gender, sexual orientation, and other means by which invidious distinctions are made.  They are at the heart of schemes to deprive indigenous people of their rights to land, forests, and their control over their knowledge of medicinal and food plants. Can expanded use of commonly held resources help reverse growing inequality?

 

In recent decades privatization has been part of an agenda to strengthen individual property rights. Part of the ideological embrace of privatization was built on a limited understanding of Hardin’s “the tragedy of the commons.”  Hardin later attempted to clarify the meaning of the essay—that tragedy occurred in the unregulated commons.  Elinor Ostrom pioneered investigation of how commons can be effectively managed, and how alternate ways to manage the commons can lead to different outcomes with respect to inequality.  More recently, the discussion has focused on areas of human need, environmental sustenance, social ecology, feminist ecology, and more.

 

In this call for papers we propose a broad heterodox inquiry into the world of the common. How is it to be understood; how do people engaged in common endeavors interact and manage themselves; how do gender, race, and other divisions intertwine with the commons; how do we protect and enlarge what we hold in common?  Who benefits from the existence of different aspects of the commons, and who might be harmed by them?

 

Papers submitted for this special issue should be no longer than 10,000 words, and follow the regular guideless for submission to the RRPE. They should not be under review with any other media. They will be read using standard practices of the RRPE by the collective of Editorial Board members and others assembled for this special issue. The deadline for submissions is December 31, 2013.

Submissions should be sent to:          

Hazel Dayton Gunn,

hg18@cornell.edu                                

Managing Editor                    

Review of Radical Political Economics

Dept. of City and Regional Planning

106 West Sibley Hall

Cornell University

Ithaca, NY 14853

                                                                                

 

 17th SCEME Seminar in Economic Methodology

24 - 25 May 2013 | Cambridge, UK

Coding Economics? Professional Conduct and Scholarly Values after the Crisis

 

The Scottish Centre for Economic Methodology (SCEME) in association with the Institute for International Management Practice (IIMP) at Lord Ashcroft International Business School, would like to invite proposals for contributions to the seventeenth seminar in a series on the methodology of economics.

 

Topic:

In the wake of the financial crisis and the ensuing public debate on the potential entanglement of the economics profession in the origins of this crisis, learned societies of the discipline have been called upon to incorporate professional codes of conduct in their regulations. In response, the American Economic Association, as the world's largest learned society in economics, approved a conflict of interest policy in 2012. Discussions on the merit, extent and reach of such and similar policies and codes continue both within and without the profession. The chief aim of the seminar is to bring together prominent scholars and stakeholders to appraise the current state of those discussions in order to help inform the wider public and policy debates.

 

We are very pleased to announce that Professor George Demartino of the University of Denver, author of The Economist's Oath, has agreed to act as the keynote speaker for the event.

 

Seminar contributions are welcome from any methodological, historical or practitioner perspective shedding light on the potential role, merit, promise and limitations of professional codes of conduct for economists.

 

Organisation:

The two-day seminar (Friday lunchtime to Saturday lunchtime) will take place at the premises of Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge. The day delegate fee, waived for presenters of accepted papers, will be Ł60 (postgraduate students Ł25). Proceedings will be published in SCEME Studies in Economic Methodology(Chatto and Pickering), and it is envisaged that a subset of papers may be selected for submission as a symposium to a suitable academic journal.

 

Further details will be made available here.

 

Submit a proposal:

Proposals should take the form of a one-page outline of the intended contribution, and should be sent, by Friday 5 April 2013, to Dr Ioana Negru Ioana.Negru@anglia.ac.uk

14th Path to Full Employment and 19th National Conference on Unemployment

4th-5th December 2013 | University of Newcastle, Australia (new dates and new venue)

Reconstructing a Full Employment Narrative

It is with great regret that we inform you that our conference planned for July this year in Darwin has been cancelled. Unfortunately logistically we were unable to hold the conference in Darwin at that

time. However, we are pleased to announce that this conference has been moved and will now take place in 4th - 5th December 2013 at the University of Newcastle. In lieu of this change, please be advised of the new Call for Papers listed below:

The global economy is still stuck in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis in 80 years and the legacy has been tens of millions remain unemployed, a large proportion of productive capacity is lying idle, and vast quantities of output and income foregone and lost forever. The downturn is now into its fifth year and large economies such as the Eurozone and Britain are back in recession as fiscal austerity undermines their nascent recoveries.

The political landscape seems divorced from the reality that on-going recession is extremely costly and prolonged unemployment, especially high youth joblessness, has inter-generational effects. Instead of creating jobs, governments are seeking ways to impose undermine the labour markets by imposing fiscal austerity at a time when private spending is still mostly weak.

The Conference will seek to explore the apparent contradictions of the policy stances that are now entrenched and causing the prolonged global unemployment crisis.

Topics

Papers in any area of labour market analysis will be of interest, particularly in the following research and policy areas:

  1. Reflection on the global financial crisis, Reform agendas etc.
  2. Any research on unemployment-its’ dimensions, causes, cures.
  3. The labour market and the inter-generational debate.
  4. The policy challenge of emerging skill shortages and underutilisation-how do we design solutions to both?
  5. The increasing problem of underemployment and marginal workers.
  6. Why has work become more precarious? Is it a problem? What are the solutions?
  7. What is full employment? How is it defined and measured? How close are we to achieving full employment?  What are the challenges that remain?
  8. Employment guarantees versus income guarantees-pros and cons?
  9. Why do disparities in regional labour markets persist? What is the extent of the problem and its solutions? Analysing patterns of work and housing.
  10. Long term, youth, disabled and indigenous unemployment.

Submissions can be made to both the Refereed (peer reviewed) or Non-Refereed streams. Refereed papers will be included in a volume of conference proceedings (which will constitute a refereed conference paper under Australian government rules).

The deadline for all abstracts is:  Friday 26th July 2013.

Guidelines for Submission:

  1. Abstracts should be a maximum of 150 words.
  2. Refereed papers should be 6000 words in length including references. Font should be Times New Roman 12 point and single spaced. Please use Harvard style referencing.
  3. Non refereed papers have no formatting or word length.
  4. All abstracts and papers should be submitted in MS Word version 2003 or 2007. Those interested in submitting abstracts and papers are asked to visit our website for more formatting requirements needed for the submission of papers as well as paper deadlines.
  5. For all Conference Correspondence please use the University of Newcastle contact details. Please submit papers and abstracts to: Melinda Hannan, Administrative Officer:  coffee@newcastle.edu.au.

Sociology: Special Issue on “Sociology and the Global Economic Crisis”

Deadline for submissions: 31 August 2013

 

Editorial Team: Ana C. Dinerstein (University of Bath), Gregory Schwartz (University of Bath) and Graham Taylor (University of the West of England)

 

We hear it, see it, and read about it everywhere; yet, to what extent are we able to translate the quotidian reality of the global economic crisis into adequate forms of knowledge? Has the crisis highlighted important limits in our sociological imagination linked either to the subdivision of our discipline or, more fundamentally, questioned the contemporary relevance of sociology as a social science?

 

This Special Issue of Sociology, to be published in October 2014, invites contributions that will:

  1. Explore how sociology can contribute to a better understanding of (the lived experience of) the global economic crisis; and/or
  1. Reflect on how social processes and movements confronting the crisis can inspire a new sociological imagination.

 

And aims to bring together contributions that:

  1. Bridge disciplines
  1. Unsettle conventions
  2. Cosmopolitanise epistemologies
  3. Renew sociology

 

The Editors welcome contributions on relevant topics in any field of social science engaging with sociological research, from early career and established academics, and from those outside academia.

 

Queries: To discuss initial ideas or seek editorial advice, please contact the Special Issue Editors by email on sociology.specialissue.2014@gmail.com

 

Full Call for Papers can be viewed here.

Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy Special Issue on “Global Crisis and Agrarian Transformation: What Future for Re-peasantization?”

To be published December 2013

The deadline for receipt of manuscripts is 10 June 2013.

Manuscript submissions should adhere to journal styles (see here) and not exceed 8,000 words. All manuscripts will be subject to peer review. Abstracts of 150 words should be sent in advance for early feedback. For inquiries and submissions, please contact the Editors at agrariansouth@gmail.com.

Global Crisis and Agrarian Transformation: What Future for Re-peasantization?

The multiple crises that are unfolding in the twenty-first century, from the economic, to those of climate, energy, and food, will persist and deepen, and challenge generations to come. The crises are unique in their complexity, while the challenge they pose is nothing less than rebuilding a world system that respects the sovereignty of nations, promotes the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources, and re-orients development away from Eurocentric modernization.

The dominant Western model of development projected after the Second World War conceived of economic growth and prosperity as a process of stages. Aided by Western technology, credit, and strategic protection, and supported by a benevolent state, this was to lead to a modernity defined by technological advance, industrialization, urbanization, and mass consumption. Contending models of modernity also existed, most notably the Soviet and the Chinese. The former differed mainly in its emphasis on autonomy from Western monopolies, not its basic vision of modernity. The Chinese model differed more substantively, by defending a peasant path to industrialization, balance between town and country, and an external autonomy reinforced by internal balance. This was the quintessential case of a modernity seen through the eyes of the peasantry.

None of these three models survived the Cold War intact. As neoliberalism spread throughout the system, the Soviet model came undone, the Chinese was co-opted, though not defeated, and the Western model was undermined by its underlying capitalist logic. In the 1980s, aspects of the original Western model were demoted, especially the state as a planning institution and industrialization as a goal for all nations. But development under Western firms, finance, and strategic protection was retained as an ideal and reinforced in the 1990s, as were urbanization and mass consumption of an ever more individualized character. The latter element has now also suffered a severe setback, by the dramatic spending cuts and burgeoning unemployment that have struck the centers of the system, following the 2008 financial crisis. Meanwhile, Western monopolies have been entering a phase of contestation by “emerging” countries in the South; this remains contradictory in its dynamics, including the role played by China, which has embarked on a new path of industrialization and rural-urban migration. Yet, it is clear that the original Western model is a mere shadow of its past. The question remains whether there will emerge a new relation of forces to contest Western monopolies effectively and, moreover, to overcome the idea that modernity requires a rural exodus.

This Special Issue intends to initiate a systematic debate on ‘the return to the countryside’. To be sure, the rural exodus continues unabated, swelling the ranks of populations in flux, as formal employment continues to dwindle and peasant production is further squeezed. This has led many to argue that ‘de-peasantization’ is a social fact, and that it should be supported by public policies which promote the diversification of petty economic activities among those expelled from peasant and formal employment. A contrary position has argued that nowhere in the South has the rural exodus yielded permanent urbanization, but an indeterminate process of semi-proletarianization among societies straddling peasant production and varieties of self- and salaried employment. Thus, what is required is an agrarian transformation which rebuilds agriculture and promotes food sovereignty and new inter-sectoral relations on a more autonomous and sustainable basis. New rural movements have also been staking such a claim since the 1990s, by occupying land and recuperating peasant production, and these have been joined by urban movements similarly staking claims to land on the margins of towns. It appears that there are today, more than ever before, objective conditions, among diverse societies across Africa, Asia and Latin America, for the elaboration of policies with popular appeal for a return to the countryside on new terms.

The global crisis presently unfolding has been experienced in more profound ways among the countries of the South that were forced to adjust to the adversities of their external economic environment, well before the crisis struck the centre. And among these countries, economic crisis amplified their energy and food crises, and also synergized adversely with the local effects of global climate change. These serial national crises may be taken as reasonable indicators of things to come, as the global crisis deepens and its effects are felt more immediately throughout the system.

In a number of cases across the South, beyond China, a new thinking on the countryside has been evolving and new policies put in place from a peasant-friendly perspective. A consensus is emerging, slowly but surely, that development requires the re-building of agriculture, so as to make the countryside viable for a dignified life for larger populations and to transform it into a basic element of national sovereignty, via food production for domestic consumption and new synergies with domestic industries. The factors which have been driving such policies are diverse. In countries which have embarked on a path of radical nationalism, such as Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Zimbabwe, and Nepal, the driving force has been the recognition that food and energy dependence, and monopolistic control over land and natural resources by foreign capital and racial/caste minorities, are contrary to national sovereignty. And in these cases, the agrarian question has once again become a national question, a land question, and a peasant question.

The fuller meaning of ‘re-peasantization’ has not yet revealed itself. Indeed, it is still early days. It remains in dispute even in the countries above, on a series of issues such as land tenure, appropriate technology, sustainability, cooperative production, markets, state support, relations with industry, and not least gender relations, given that the return to the countryside can imply neither a return to an idyllic past nor a regression to patriarchy.

It is important to consider other forms in which a return to the countryside, or to agriculture more generally, has been underway. Among the newcomers to this scenario are urbanites in the North, such as in Detroit, once the ‘Motown’ of the world, whose de-industrialized citizenry has rediscovered farming, or in Southern Europe whose new unemployed are beginning to make their way back to the villages of their grandparents. Moreover, there is a growing number of other countries in the South which are experimenting with policies intended to support peasant production for the domestic market, among which Brazil has claimed a leading role. At the same time, the question of ‘re-peasantization’ is being contested by a wider array of forces led by finance capital and multinational firms, and including governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental organizations, which strive to lock in peasant production to new ‘green’ technologies – all the while they participate directly or indirectly in the scramble for peasant land.

Be it as it may at the level of official policy, the social agency for urban and rural land, and re-peasantization as a political project, will continue to gain strength and remain among the key forms and processes of resistance in the world system. This is a social force which has the unique potential to shift the relation of forces over the long term and create space for a wider range of reflections on development in the twenty-first century.

The Editorial Board of Agrarian South hopes that interested researchers, from both North and South, will engage with this turn of events in development theory and policy and offer conceptually rigorous and empirically-based research, towards a more coherent debate on an issue which will likely define the whole of the century. Articles may explore such issues as:

  1. theoretical approaches to re-peasantization, agrarian transformation, and world-systemic transition;
  2. local, national, and regional experiences of re-peasantization;
  3. land reform, land tenure, and cooperativism;
  4. agrarian change, inter-sectoral linkages, and structural transformation;
  5. the state and regional institutions in agrarian transformation;
  6. production systems and relations of production and reproduction: rural-urban, gender, and class;
  7. productive resources: land, energy, and technology;
  8. the new politics of social movements and international organizations.

Call for Participants

Centro Sraffa Seminars

Centro di Ricerche e Documentazione "Piero Sraffa" is pleased to announce upcoming events organised in collaboration with Dipartimento di Economia, Roma Tre University.

Lecture for PhD Students

Eladio Febrero Pańos (University of Castilla-La Mancha): “The Spanish Economy during the Great Recession.”

Doctoral School in Economics and Quantitative Methods (within the course Monetary Economics)

Monday 8 April 2013, 11:30-13:30

Roma Tre University, Faculty of Economics

Via Silvio D'Amico, 77, Rome

Room 24 - third floor

Seminar for PhD Students

Eladio Febrero Pańos (University of Castilla-La Mancha): “Causes and consequences of Target2 imbalances”

Discussant, Sergio Cesaratto (University of Siena)

Doctoral School in Economics and Quantitative Methods (within the course Monetary Economics)

Tuesday 9 April 2013, 14:30-13:30

Roma Tre University, Faculty of Economics

Via Silvio D'Amico, 77, Rome

Room 24, third floor

Seminar (in collaboration with Dipartimento di Economia, Roma Tre University)

Christian Bidard ( University Paris Ouest): “Getting Rid of Rent?”

Thursday 11 April 2013, 14:30

Roma Tre University, Faculty of Economics

Via Silvio D'Amico, 77, Rome

Room 14

Please, go to www.centrosraffa.org for the complete list of seminars and events at Centro Sraffa.

For further information and to unsubscribe from this list, please write at the address:

centro.sraffa@uniroma3.it.

Japanese Society for Post Keynesian Economics Seminar

March 28-29, 2013 | Meiji University, Japan  | website 

 

Paper Presenters:

  1. Prof. Ferdiando Meacci (Universitŕ degli Studi di Padova, Italy)
  2. Prof. Lefteris Tsoulfidis (University of Macedonia, Greece)
  3. Prof. Mikio Egawa (Asia University, Japan)
  4. Mr. Tetsurou Shimizu (Norinchukin Research Institute, Japan)
  5. Dr. Junpei Tanaka (University of Kitakyuushu, Japan)
  6. Prof. Masayuki Otaki (University of Tokyo, Japan)
  7. et al.

 

Language: March 28 - English

                           March 29 - Japanese

 

For those who wish to participate in the seminar or to present a paper (we may/can accept one or two papers), please send an e.mail to Prof.Takashi Yagi (Meiji University) yagi8@kisc.meiji.ac.jp

 

This seminar is organized by the Japanese Society for Post Keynesian Economics.

Past Seminars can be found here.

Poverty in India

March 21, 2013 at 5:30 pm | University of Westminster, UK

The Development Law and Theory Research Group at the University of Westminster invite you to a panel discussion on ‘Poverty in India’.  The discussants will take the recent publication titled ‘The Politics of Poverty: Planning India’s Development’ (Information here)– a selection from the writings of Late DK Rangnekar as their points of departure to reflect on the persistence of poverty in India in the past, present and future.

The Panel will comprise Radha D’Souza (Westminster University), John Hilary (War on Want) and Subir Sinha (School of Oriental and African Studies) and chaired by Dwijen Rangnekar (Warwick University).  

You are invited to a reception before the event which will begin at 5.30 pm. The panel discussion will begin at 6 pm.

Venue: The Pavilion (first floor) at University of Westminster, Cavendish Building, 115 New Cavendish Street, London W1W 6UW. Map.

RSVP: Debdatta Chowdhury: debdatta.chowdhury@gmail.com

For more information about the event contact Dwijen Rangnekar at dwijen.rangnekar@gmail.com.

Second Annual Summer Institute in New Economics

 August 12-18 | Wingspread Retreat Facility in Wind Point, WI, USA

In view of the continuing failures of mainstream economics to address our ecological, unemployment and social challenges, and the growth of alternatives I am organizing the second annual Summer Institute on New Economics. I have attached a flyer about the institute as well as the application form.  It will be held from August 12-18 at the Wingspread Retreat Facility in Wind Point, WI and is open is open to graduate students enrolled in any degree program. In addition to me, this year’s faculty include Gar Alperovitz, Joel Rogers, Gill Seyfang, Prasannan Parthasarathi, and Michel Bauwens. I am hoping that you will circulate this flyer to your graduate students and through your networks. We will have ample scholarships, so please encourage all interested students to apply, regardless of their financial status. Feel free to contact me (juliet.schor@bc.edu) or neweconomics@bc.edu with any questions you may have about the institute.

 

Many thanks for any help you can provide in getting the word out to graduate students about this program,

Download Flyer and Application Form

 

Juliet Schor

Boston College

Department of Sociology

519 McGuinn Hall

140 Commonwealth Avenue

Chestnut Hill, MA 02467

 

tel: 617-552-4056

email: juliet.schor@bc.edu

website: julietschor.org

Transforming Finance Conference: Fresh Thinking on Democracy, Finance and Debt

Friday 10th May 2013, 9:00 - 17:30 | Chartered Accountants' Hall, Moorgate Place, London | website

This one day event, supported by an alliance of think tanks and NGOs, will bring together leading academics, policy-makers and campaigners to address these urgent questions:

  1. How can we get finance flowing into projects with social and environmental value?
  2. How can we end the injustice of privatised gains and socialised losses from our financial system?
  3. What can we do about unpayable debts?

Please note that delegate places are limited, and we advise early booking.

Confirmed speakers include:

  1. Thierry Philopponnat, General Secretary of Finance Watch
  2. Nicola Smith, Head of the TUC's Economic and Social Affairs Department
  3. Prof Tim Jackson, author of Prosperity Without Growth and Professor of Sustainable Development at the University of Surrey
  4. Thomas Keidel, Head of Financial Relations at the German Savings Banks Association, DSGV which represents 450 publicly owned regionally headquartered banks
  5. Victoria Chick, one of the world’s leading scholars of Keynes and monetary economics and Emeritus Professor of Economics, University College London
  6. Ann Pettifor, whose book The Coming First World Debt Crisis predicted an Anglo-American debt-deflation crisis
  7. Paul Woolley, co-author of The Future of Finance: The LSE Report, and Founder of the Paul Woolley Centre for the Study of Capital Market Dysfunctionality, LSE
  8. Prof Marianna Mazzucato, economist, author of The Entrepreneurial State, and Professor of Science and Technology Policy at Sussex University
  9. Prof Richard Werner, Director of the Centre for Banking, Finance and Sustainable Development, Southampton University whose 2005 book New Paradigm in Macroeconomics correctly predicted the collapse of the UK banking system and property market.

The Transforming Finance conference has been organised by an alliance of think tanks and NGOs with an interest making the financial system work for people and planet, including Friends of the Earth, the New Economics Foundation, the Finance Innovation Lab, ResPublica, Civitas, Fair Pensions, the World Development Movement and Positive Money.

 

The event is aimed at leaders in civil society, academia, policy-making, finance and journalism. Do please forward to colleagues that you think might be interested.

Call for Panelists

Capital as Power at Rethinking Marxism Conference 2013

"Capital as Power" to be organized as a series of panels at the forthcoming Rethinking Marxism Conference. The conference will be held at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst on September 19-22, 2013.

Internal deadline for abstracts: May 15, 2013

Full Text of the call can be found here.  

Competition-Regulation Laws and Market Governance at ASE-ASSA 2014 Conference

January 3-5, 2014 | Philadelphia, USA

The general theme of the ASE-ASSA 2014 Conference is “Exploring the Relationships between Law and Social Economics.” Under this theme I would like to organize a panel on “Competition-Regulation Laws and Market Governance.” I am particularly interested in following topics: Laws (anti-trust laws, collective price fixing laws, laws/regulations on mergers and acquisitions, etc.) and their impact on market governance/control, corporate personhood (its history and its relation to the changing social provisioning process), the theoretical-empirical study on corporate governance, market governance, and market regulations, and the like. If you want to present a paper in those areas, please let me know with a title and an abstract by April 1st. See the ASE-ASSA 2014 call for paper here.

Tae-Hee Jo

SUNY Buffalo State

taeheejo@gmail.com 

Heterodox Economics Stream at 8th Annual Green Economics Institute Conference

17th -20th July, 2013 | Oxford University, UK

We would like to have  a Heterodox Economics Stream during the conference and would like to encourage anyone thinking of presenting  a paper to contact us for a Heterodox Economics Theme for the Conference this year consisting of 6 papers from 6 speakers on an umbrella Heterodox Theme of  “The role of Heterodox Economics and Philosophy in an increasingly fundamentalist and orthodox world.”  Please apply if you would like to be one of them.. with a presentation of your own theme.

The conference will kick off in the House of Commons the day before and is attracting a fascinating group of speakers, campaigners, policy makers and academics from all over the world.

Please email greeneconmicsevents1@yahoo.co.uk for more information or visit the GEI website.

Miriam Kennet

The Green Economics Institute

Heterodox Microeconomics Panels at the EAEPE 2013 Conference

7 -9 November, 2013 | Université Paris Nord (University of Paris 13), France | website

I am thinking about setting up some sessions on heterodox microeconomics at the EAEPE 2013 Conference in Paris.  If you are interested in presenting such a paper, please send me an e-mail with the title of the paper and an abstract by April 15th (or sooner).

 

Frederic Lee

University of Missouri-Kansas City

leefs@umkc.edu

Ph.D. Poster Sessions at UNRISD Conference on the Potential and Limits of Social and Solidarity Economy

6-8 May, 2013 | Geneva, Switzerland

As interest in alternative production, finance and consumption grows in the face of global crises, this conference will explore the potential and limits of Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) — comprising organizations such as cooperatives, women’s self-help groups, social enterprise and associations of informal workers that have explicit social and economic objectives, and involve various forms of

cooperation and solidarity.

On May 6 or 7, we hope to facilitate the active participation of PhD candidates through a poster session. This session provides an opportunity for up to twenty PhD candidates working on Social and Solidarity Economy-related topics present their ongoing work and receive feedback from key

researchers from the field. Posters should present the conceptual and empirical dimensions of your doctoral research.

Please be advised that due to limited funding available for this conference, UNRISD is unable to fund travel and accommodation costs for poster presenters.

Please inform us whether you are interested in presenting a poster at the conference. Please submit a one-page abstract (max 300 words) that outlines what theory, methodology and findings you would present on your poster, as well as the title and short description of your doctoral project

by 18 March 2013. Please state your name, affiliation and position and address your message to Nadine van Dijk at sse@unrisd.org. Selected poster presenters will be notified by 22 March 2013.

If you are interested in attending the conference without presenting a poster, please register here.

Research Methods for Heterodox Economists at URPE-ASSA 2014 Conference

I am trying to organize a 2014 ASSA-URPE session on research methods for heterodox economists—in particularly research methods that are not econometrics.  The papers need to both delineate the research method(s) and show how they are applied to carry out a research project.  The various research methods and their applications that would be appropriate for the session are given in parts II and III below.  If you have any questions, please e-mail me at leefs@umkc.edu.  I need proposals—which includes an abstract, name, institutional affiliation, address, e-mail address--by April 2, 2013.

Frederic Lee

University of Missouri-Kansas City

leefs@umkc.edu 

Job Postings for Heterodox Economists

Cambridge University, UK

Lectureship in Land Economy, Department of Land Economy

Applications are invited for a University Lectureship in Land Economy within the Department of Land Economy. The post will involve teaching and research within one or more of the following fields:

  1. urban or rural economics;
  2. regional economics;
  3. environmental policy and economics.

The post is available from 1st September 2013 or another date to be arranged. The successful candidate will be expected to undertake research in one of the above fields, to publish in the international literature in the field, to contribute to teaching, to supervise research students, and to make a general contribution to his or her discipline and to the work of the Department. The successful candidate will provide lectures, principally on Paper 4 'Land Economy, Development and Sustainability' of the Land Economy Tripos (the undergraduate degree) and/or on the MPhils (taught Masters course) in Planning Growth and Regeneration and Environmental Policy.

Candidates for the University Lectureship should hold a PhD and have published in leading international journals. They should have achieved international recognition for their research in some aspect environmental policy and/or environmental economics. They should also be able to demonstrate an effective contribution to teaching and to their subject in areas other than teaching, such as the management of research, general contribution to their discipline and administration.

The current salary for University Lecturer is Ł37,382-Ł47,314 pa. Informal enquiries may be made to Professor Phil Allmendinger (e-mail: pma32@cam.ac.uk or tel: +44 (0)1223 337120).

Further particulars and other information on the Department are available from the Department's website at: www.landecon.cam.ac.uk.

Applications, consisting of a CHRIS6 form (available from here), a curriculum vitae, a statement of research interests, a list of publications and the names of three referees, should be sent to Ms M Ballard, Administrative Officer, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge, 19 Silver Street, Cambridge CB3 9EP, or can be emailed to mb346@cam.ac.uk to arrive not later than 9am on 28 March 2013.

Quote Reference: JP25952

Closing Date: 28 March 2003

Centre for European Research at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden

2 two-year postdoctoral research positions

CERGU promotes multidisciplinary research on a broad range of European issues that are of interest

to both the humanities and the social sciences. Researchers at CERGU focus, for example, on issues

concerning migration and European integration, nationalism, languages and culture, judicial politics,

decision-making and lobbying in the EU institutions, relations between Europe and the rest of the

world, and matters of gender, trade, citizenship and sustainable development. The spatial and  temporal parameters of CERGU research are broad as is the level of analysis. CERGU scholarship  ranges from local to global perspectives on Europe.

CERGU welcomes research situated within and combining different fields of both the humanities and

social sciences (including economics and law), and on any of the above mentioned or related topics.

Applicants are encouraged to explain how their proposed research contributes to and can benefit  from the ongoing research at CERGU. To this end, the applicants are invited to consult the CERGU  homepage or directly contact relevant researchers (see more under “Further Information”).

The researcher will be financed by CERGU but affiliated with and located in one of the departments  at the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Social Sciences, or the School of Business, Economics and Law at  the University of Gothenburg. Being a network-based research centre, CERGU gathers its researchers  around many activities, ranging from weekly breakfasts and regular working seminars to bigger  conferences, creating a welcoming and stimulating atmosphere for both scientific and social interchange. Together with its sister organization, the Centre for European Studies (CES), CERGU also  promotes the integration of teaching and research on European issues. Many of the researchers  affiliated with CERGU are involved in teaching courses and programs for European Studies, as well as  disciplinary courses within their home departments.

DUTIES: The appointees shall independently conduct their own research and also be part of the  planning and execution of the activities at CERGU. The appointee will also be expected to actively  participate in the seminar activities at CERGU and regularly present his/her research at international  conferences. After recruitment it may be possible to reach agreement with the disciplinary  institution for teaching or administrative duties up to maximum 20 percent of the full time.

Start date is the 1st of September 2013, or by agreement with the appointee.

QUALIFICATIONS: Doctoral degree in humanities or social science disciplines (including economics  and law), or a set date for the thesis defense. The degree must have been completed within the  three years preceding the application deadline and applicants must not have previously been  employed as a post-doctoral researcher.

PROCEDURE OF ASSESSMENT: CERGU’s Steering Group will assess the applications and the final

appointment will be made in consultation with the relevant department. In assessing candidates,

particular attention will be given to scientific proficiency. Applicants will be evaluated on the quality of the proposed research that would be conducted within the position and on previous scientific merits. The application must include information on which publications are expected during the twoyear period.

FURTHER INFORMATION: More information about CERGU, affiliated researchers and their

research can be found here.  

For more information and questions about the position, please contact Director Linda Berg (linda.berg@pol.gu.se, +46 31 786 4062), the Steering Group Chairman, Mats Andrén (mats.andren@lir.gu.se, +46 31 786 4476), or the research coordinator, Birgitta Jännebring (birgitta.jannebring@cergu.gu.se, +46 31 786 4286).

APPLICATION: Applications must include: reference number (PER 2013/47), description of the  research that the applicant proposes to conduct as a CERGU postdoc (max 12 000 characters plus  references), curriculum vitae, thesis and max 2 additional publications, and the names and contact  information of three referees. Applications should be sent to anstallning@gu.se.

Complementary documents, such as publications/books can be sent to the following address:

CERGU, P.O. Box 711, SE-405 30 Göteborg, Sweden.

Closing date is the 18th of March 2013.

Link to the full call at the University of Gothenburg website

Nottingham Trent University, UK

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Economics | College of Business, Law and Social Sciences, Nottingham Business School

Post Ref No: H0353

Salary: Ł30,424 - Ł44,607 Per Annum

Grade: H/I

Campus: City

The Division of Economics is one of five Divisions within Nottingham Business School (NBS). Currently it provides:

  1. undergraduate degree programmes in Economics/Business Economics/ Economics, Finance and Banking;
  2. taught MSc programmes in Economics and Finance/International Finance;
  3. postgraduate supervision leading towards MPhil and PhD awards;
  4. an input into non-specialist programmes at both undergraduate and postgraduate level across the NBS.

We are looking to recruit a Lecturer/Senior Lecturer who can not only teach Economics effectively at the undergraduate and postgraduate level but also contribute proactively to the Division’s research profile.  Applications from candidates with an interest in contributing to the Division’s Macroeconomics teaching at Level One and/or Level Two will be particularly welcomed.

For an informal discussion regarding this position, please contact Dr Andrew Cooke, Head of the Division of Economics on +44 (0)115 848 6127  or via email Andy.Cooke@ntu.ac.uk

Closing date – 03 April 2013

Interview date - TBC

To submit an online application for this position please visit www.ntu.ac.uk/vacancies.

If you require documentation in alternative formats (e.g. Braille, large print) please contact us at job.vacancies@ntu.ac.uk

The re-advertisement of the position has been approved. Please reach out and circulate to qualified candidates and encourage them to apply early. The deadline is next Friday the 22nd. For external people, use this link.  

Poverty Group of the Bureau for Development Policy

Consultant | website

Deadline: Friday March 22, 2013.

The primary objective of the consultancy is twofold: i) to provide coordination support to all activities related to the inequality report; and ii) to provide technical and project management support to the IGG Team as needed.

The Poverty Group (PG) of the Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) is the institutional anchor of UNDP’s work on poverty reduction and MDGs support. It provides core services designed to support global, regional and national efforts to reduce poverty and reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the areas of: technical and policy advice, policy analysis and advocacy and knowledge brokering. Within the Poverty Group the Inclusive Green Growth (IGG) Team covers issues of inequality, vulnerability and resilience, social protection and sustainability.            

The IGG Team at the Poverty Group is preparing a report on “Inequality in Developing Countries” (with a target publication date of Sept 2013). The objective of the report is to support the substantive discussions on a Post 2015 development agenda. The report will review the different conceptual approaches to inequality addressing questions such as inequality of what and inequality between whom.

Skidmore College, US

Lecturer/Visiting Assistant Professor | Department of Economics | Website 

The Department of Economics at Skidmore College invites application for a one-year position at the Lecturer or Visiting Assistant Professor level, beginning Fall 2013. The teaching load is 3 courses per semester. The primary teaching requirement is introductory macroeconomics. May include other introductory or intermediate level courses as needed.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in Economics or be at the dissertation stage in the degree process. Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled. We are especially interested in candidates from under-represented groups as well as individuals who have experience with diverse populations who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through their research, teaching, and/or service. Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Review of applications begins immediately and will continue until the position is filled.

To learn more about and apply for this position please visit us online here.

Skidmore is a highly selective liberal arts college that fosters creative approaches to teaching and learning. With its relatively small size and student-faculty ratio, the College is a close-knit academic community. Skidmore’s faculty of teacher-scholars are devoted to the instruction and mentoring of approximately 2,400 talented undergraduate men and women from some 47 states and 46 countries.

We are especially interested in candidates from underrepresented groups as well as individuals who have experience with diverse populations who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through their research, teaching, and/or service. Women and minority candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.

Skidmore College is committed to being an inclusive campus community and, as an Equal Opportunity Employer, does not discriminate in its hiring or employment practices on the basis of gender, race or ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, age, disability, military or marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression*, domestic violence victim status, predisposing genetic characteristics or prior arrest or conviction record or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.

*Gender identity and expression, while protected under Skidmore College policy, are not currently protected under federal, state, or local laws.

Employment at Skidmore College is contingent upon an acceptable background check result.

University College London, UK

Lecturer in International Political Economy | Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy

 

Salary will be on the UCL Lecturer A or B salary scale grade 7, (Ł36,064 - Ł39,132 per annum), and grade 8, (Ł40,216 - Ł47,441 per annum) inclusive of London Allowance.

 

Duties and Responsibilities

UCL wishes to appoint a Lecturer (equivalent to Assistant Professor) to contribute to research and teaching within the Department. We desire applications from candidates with research and teaching interests in all areas of International Political Economy. We are particularly interested in candidates that will complement and contribute to our existing research clusters and programmes in the areas of global trade governance, international organisations, financial markets, economic development, or regional political economy.

The new lecturer will be the Programme Director for the MSc in International Public Policy; and contribute to teaching and supervision on the Department’s affiliate undergraduate, MSc and PhD programmes. S/he will be expected to undertake research of the highest international standards within his or her own specialist field, which will contribute to the research standing of the Department.

The appointment is available from 1 September 2013.

Key Requirements

Candidates must have a PhD in political science or a public policy-related area, a proven track record of publications in leading journals and/or major university presses and a demonstrated ability to win grant-funding. Previous experience of teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level is essential. Experience of conducting research that feeds into policy-making is desirable.

Further Information

A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page.  To apply for the vacancy please visit www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs. Please quote reference number 1317934.

Further information on the Department of Political Science and our teaching programmes is available on our website (www.ucl.ac.uk/spp).  Further information on the Affiliate Programme can be found here.  

 

Informal enquiries may be made to Professor David Coen, d.coen@ucl.ac.uk. If you have any queries regarding the vacancy or the application process, please contact Ben Webb (email: ben.webb@ucl.ac.uk/ telephone: +44 (0) 207 679 4977).

 

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 5pm, 10th April 2013

 

It is anticipated that short listed candidates invited to interview mid/late April 2013.

Conference Papers, Reports, and Podcasts

G.C. Harcourt’s Lecture at 2011 Japan Post Keynesian Economics Conference

Professor Harcourt’s lecture at the International Conference on Post Keynesian Economics held at Meiji University and a special lecture to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the publication of The General Theory at Meiji University on September 16, 2011.

 

Follow the links below to watch the video:

  1. Part 1: The Crisis in Mainstream Economics
  2. Part 2: Ricardo and Cambridge

 

His paper on "Keynes and his Cambridge pupils and colleagues" has been published in the inaugural issue of our online journal, Meiji Journal of Political Science and Economics, published by the School of Political Science and Economics, Meiji University, Japan. The paper is available for download here.

 

PKSG Seminars

  1. The podcast of the discussion at the Keynes Seminar on 26 February of Özlem Onaran's paper asking “Is aggregate demand wage-led or profit-led?” with Jo Michell, together with the slides, is now available at here.
  2. Mario Nuti made a very topical presentation to EAEPE in Krakow in October 2012 on the continuing relevance of Kalecki, the self-contained slides of which can be downloaded here.

Randy Wray's Steinhardt Lecture at Lewis & Clark College

Podcast and transcript of Dr. Wray's Steinhardt Lecture at Lewis & Clark College can be found here.

Heterodox Journals

Cambridge Journal of Economics, 37(2): March 2013

Website: http://www.oxfordjournals.org/page/3924/1

 

  1. How to evaluate creative destruction: reconstructing Schumpeter’s approach / Christian Schubert
  2. Schumpeter and Georgescu-Roegen on the foundations of an evolutionary analysis / Christoph Heinzel
  3. Work arrangements and firm innovation: is there any relationship? / Caterina Giannetti and Marianna Madia
  4. Can working and employment conditions in the personal services sector be improved? / Franck Bailly, François-Xavier Devetter, and François Horn
  5. Working time regulation in France from 1996 to 2012 / Philippe Askenazy
  6. Investigating the anatomy of the employment effect of new business formation / Michael Fritsch and Florian Noseleit
  7. Labour productivity and the law of decreasing labour content / Peter Flaschel, Reiner Franke, and Roberto Veneziani
  8. Rhetoric and Keynes’ use of statistics in The Economic Consequences of the Peace / Larry Lepper
  9. On Keynes as an investor / J. E. Woods
  10. Sraffa, Marshall and the principle of continuity / Nuno Ornelas Martins

Challenge, 56(2): March-April 2013

Website: www.mesharpe.com/mall/results1.asp?ACR=CHA 

  1. The Rich Get Richer: Neoliberalism and Soaring Inequality in the United States / Tim Koechlin
  2. Rethinking Retail: How Investments in the Retail Workforce Can Affect Families, Firms, and Economic Growth / Catherine Ruetschlin
  3. The Growth Trap, Ecological Devastation, and the Promise of Guaranteed Employment        / Jon D. Wisman
  4. The Eurozone Needs to Rethink the Powers of the European Central Bank / Leonard Santow
  5. The Libertarian Welfare State / Robert Hockett

Economic and Labour Relations Review, 24(1): March 2013

Website: http://elr.sagepub.com/

  1. Neil H. Buchanan / Will the United States Government Ever Again Have a Functioning Budgetary System?
  2. J.E. King / A Case for Pluralism in Economics
  3. J.  Pixley, S. Whimster and S. Wilson / Central bank independence: A social Economic and Democratic Critique
  4. p. Kriesler, J.W.  Nevile and G.C. Harcourt / Exchange Rate Management in an Era of Global Financial Crises
  5. A. Nevile / The Curse of Accountability: Assessing Relationships in the Delivery of Employment Services
  6. A. Morris /  Public Housing in Australia – a Case of Advanced Urban Marginality?
  7. S. McGrath-Champ and T. Jefferson / Gender and Pay Equity in a Global Knowledge Organisation
  8. J.E. King / Review:  N. Hart (2012) Equilibrium and Evolution: Alfred Marshall and the Marshallians

Historical Materialism, 20(4): 2012

Website: http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/ 

  1. Marx on the Dialectics of Elliptical Motion / Thomas Weston
  2. Profitability and the Roots of the Global Crisis: Marx’s ‘Law of the Tendency of the Rate of Profit to Fall’ and the US Economy, 1950–2007 / Murray E.G. Smith; Jonah Butovsky
  3. A Critique of Localist Political Economy and Urban Agriculture / Greg Sharzer
  4. Islam in Gramsci’s Journalism and Prison Notebooks: The Shifting Patterns of Hegemony / Derek Boothman
  5. French Absolutism and Agricultural Capitalism: A Comment on Henry Heller’s Essays / Stephen Miller
  6. Human Rights Are the Rights of the Infinite: An Interview with Alain Badiou / Max Blechman; Anita Chari; Rafeeq Hasan
  7. Perepiska [Letters], Mikhail Lifschitz and György Lukács, Moscow: Grundrisse, 2011; Pisma V. Dostalu, V. Arslanovu, M. Mikhailovu [Letters to V. Dostal, V. Arslanov, M. Mikhailov], Mikhail Lifschitz, Moscow: Grundrisse, 2011 / Evgeni V. Pavlov
  8. The American Crucible: Slavery, Emancipation and Human Rights, Robin Blackburn, London: Verso, 2011 / Charles Post
  9. Cosmopolitanism and the Geographies of Freedom, David Harvey, New York: Columbia University Press, 2009 / Pete Green
  10. Razzismo di Stato. Stati Uniti, Europa, Italia, edited by Pietro Basso, Milan: Angeli, 2010 / Corradi Laura

Journal of Economic Issue, 47(1): March 2013

Website: http://www.mesharpe.com/mall/results1.asp?acr=jei 

Articles

  1. The Monetary and Fiscal Nexus of Neo-Chartalism: A Friendly Critique / Marc Lavoie
  2. Male Earnings Inequality, Women's Earnings, and Family Income Inequality in Australia, 1982 2007 / Siobhan Austen and Gerry Redmond
  3. Corporate, Social, and Political Networks of Koch Industries Inc. and TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation: Extension to the State of Nebraska / F. Gregory Hayden, Alyx Dodds Garner and Jerry Hoffman
  4. Logics of Action, Provisioning Domains, and Institutions: Provisioning Institutional Logics / David Dequech
  5. Economic Development in Latin America and the Methodenstreit: Lessons from History of Thought / Natália Bracarense
  6. The Political Market / Jay R. Mandle
  7. A Critical Institutionalist Reconciliation of "Contradictory" Institutionalist Institutions: What Is an Institution? / Linwood F. Tauheed        
  8. Growth Performance in Portugal since the 1960s: A Simultaneous Equation Approach with Cumulative Causation Characteristics / Elias Soukiazis and Micaela Antunes
  9. From T(h)e(le)ology to Evolution: The Typological Legacy and the Darwinian Possibility of Economic Theorizing / Manuel R. Souza Luz and Paulo S. Fracalanza
  10. Bringing Politics Back In: Violence, Finance, and the State / Ann E. Davis

Policy Note

  1. Economic Freedom, Material Wellbeing, and the Good Capitalist Governance Index / Morris Altman

Comment and Reply

  1. The Hobbesian Individual in Prehistory: Joseph Pluta vs. Thorstein Veblen A Comment / John Henry
  2. Veblen and the Study of Prehistoric Humans: A Reply to Henry / Joseph Pluta

Book Reviews

  1. James R. Barth, Gerard Caprio, Jr. and Ross Levine: Guardians of Finance: Making Regulators Work for Us / Eric Tymoigne
  2. Dora L. Costa and Naomi R. Lamoreaux, eds.: Understanding Long-Run Economic Growth: Geography, Institutions, and the Knowledge Economy / Joshua C. Hall
  3. James E. Alvey: A Short History of Ethics and Economics -- The Greeks / Irene van Staveren
  4. Alessandro Roselli: Financial Structures and Regulation: A Comparison of Crises in the UK, USA and Italy / Ronnie J. Phillips
  5. Susan Rose-Ackerman and Tina Soreide, eds.: International Handbook on the Economics of Corruption / Ararat L. Osipian
  6. Javier A. Reyes and W. Charles Sawyer: Latin American Economic Development / John Hall
  7. Michael J. Trebilcock and Marina Mota Prado: What Makes Poor Countries Poor? Institutional Determinants of Development / Henning Schwardt

Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 35(2): Winter 2012-13

Website: www.mesharpe.com/mall/results1.asp?ACR=PKE 

 

  1. Financialization and the theory of the monetary circuit: fiscal and monetary policies reconsidered / Louis-Philippe Rochon
  2. Securitization and financialization / Alicia Girón and Alma Chapoy
  3. Finance-dominated capitalism in crisis—the case for a global Keynesian New Deal / Eckhard Hein and Achim Truger
  4. Financialization, neo-liberalism, and securitization / Marc Lavoie
  5. Effects of financialization on the structure of production and nonfinancial private enterprises: the case of Mexico / Noemi Levy-Orlik
  6. Financialization in Mexico: trajectory and limits / Eugenia Correa, Gregorio Vidal, Wesley Marshall
  7. Financialization and the transformation of commercial banking: understanding the recent Canadian experience before and during the international financial crisis /  Mario Seccareccia
  8. Is risk management a science? /  Paul Davidson
  9. In Memory of Albert Hirschman

Review of Keynesian Economics

The new website for ROKE can be found here. You will find all free articles, information on forthcoming issues, and more.

Routledge Offers 14 Days Free Access to its Heterodox Journals

Routledge are delighted to offer 14 days free access to 2011 and 2012 content from our wide range of heterodox journals including Review of Political Economy, Review of Social Economy and many more.

To enjoy this free access visit this website.  You’ll then be asked to sign in using existing account details, and if you do not yet have an account, you’ll be able to fill in our quick registration form on the same page to begin your trial. Free trial begins with registration data.

If you have any questions about this trial, or would like to find out more about our wide range of titles, please email Danny Lovatt at danny.lovatt@tandf.co.uk.

Heterodox Newsletters

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA)

  1. Alternative Federal Budget 2013

Economic Sociology - the european electronic newsletter, 14(2): March 2013

Website: http://econsoc.mpifg.de/newsletter/newsletter_current.asp

  1. Note from the editor: Economic Discourses and Economic Dispositives
  2. On Coordination: Stories and Meaning Making in Markets by Sophie Mützel
  3. Dispositive, Discourse and the Economy by Dietmar J. Wetzel
  4. "Days of Revelation" by Ronald Hartz
  5. Spectral Performativity by Jens Maeße
  6. How the Firm Became Consultable by Christian Schmidt-Wellenburg
  7. Justification, Conventions, and Institutions in Economic Fields by Lisa Knoll
  8. Discourse Conventions in the Construction of Wine Qualities in the Wine Market by Rainer Diaz-Bone

Interviews

  1. with Christian Bessy: Economics of Convention as the Socio-Economic Analysis of Law
  2. with Claude Didry: Contributing to a Pragmatic Institutionalism of Economic Law

Book Reviews

Ph.D. Projects

Global Development and Environment Institute (GDAE)

  1. Capital Account Regulations and the Trading System: A Compatibility Review

Global Labour Column

  1. Planet Earth is Wage-Led! by Özlem Onaran
  1. The Meaning of Marikana, by Sam Ashman and Ben Fine
  2. A Site of Struggle: Organised Labour and Domestic Worker Organising in Mozambique by Ruth Castel-Branco
  3. Right to Work and Michigan Labour, by Roland Zullo

IDEAs

Website:  www.networkideas.org  or www.ideaswebsite.org

News Analysis

  1. No Standards, Not Poor by C.P. Chandrasekhar
  2. David Cameron's Bad Date in Delhi by Jayati Ghosh
  3. European Authorities Still Punishing Greece: Can they be stopped? by Mark Weisbrot
  4. Randomise This! On ‘Poor Economics' by Sanjay G. Reddy
  5. How Not to Urbanise by Jayati Ghosh
  6. Is China Changing? by C.P. Chandrasekhar

Featured Articles

  1. The Endless Eurozone Crisis, Where Do We Stand? A Classical-Kaleckian Overview by Sergio Cesaratto
  2. Evolution of Commerce and Risk Management in Commodities since 2000 B.C.: Snapshots by Andrew Cornford

IDEAs Working Paper

  1. Weak Expansions: A distinctive feature of the business cycle in Latin America and the Caribbean by Esteban Pérez Caldentey, Daniel Titelman and Pablo Carvallo

Focus

  1. Changing the Investment Policy Menu by Smitha Francis

Events & Announcements

  1. Call for Papers for the 61 Annual Conference of the JSPE: Cataclysm of Global Economy and Future of Capitalism

Levy News

New Publications

  1. Is the Link between Output and Jobs Broken? by Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Greg Hannsgen, and Michalis Nikiforos. Strategic Analysis
  2. Toward a Post-Keynesian Political Economy for the 21st Century: General Reflections on an Era Ripe for Change by C. J. Polychroniou. Policy Note 2013/2
  3. The Tragedy of Greece: A Case against Neoliberal Economics, the Domestic Political Elite, and the EU/IMF Duo by C. J. Polychroniou. Policy Note 2013/1
  4. Expanding Social Protection in Developing Countries: A Gender Perspective by Rania Antonopoulos. Working Paper No. 757

Post Keynesian Economics Study Group (PKSG)

I am writing to advise you of two major changes in the way PKSG will operate from now on and to request some actions from you.

The first change arises from the fact that PKSG has been accepted as an archive or paper repository by RePEc (the Research Papers in Economics bibliographic database). This means our working papers will be indexed through RePEc's specialist search engines, in particular EconPapers, substantially increasing their visibility, so we have decided to move to open access rather than limiting access to the closed circle of paid-up members as at present.

Open access requires some degree of quality control and Nina Kaltenbrunner at Leeds has kindly agreed to become our Working Papers Editor. We have agreed a standard cover sheet and basic format which can be found in our Instructions for Authors. A light-touch review will be applied rather than a formal referral process - the presumption is that if you have been accepted as a formal member of PKSG, we will normally be happy to present your work to the world. You will also see a reference to Policy Notes, which will be one page summaries of a Working Paper to which we think it appropriate to draw the attention of the policy-making community. More on this once the system is fully up and running.

ACTION FOR YOU: Authors of our existing (restricted access) working papers are invited to resubmit them to Nina using the new template in accordance with the Instructions. For a finished example see here. If an author takes no action or explicitly wishes the paper to remain available only to PKSG members, that will continue to be the case. During the transition, papers will remain private until reformatted and entered in the RePEc database.

The second change relates to the membership directory on our website. With the move of the working papers to RePEc it becomes much simpler for all of you to have your own RePEc author page which can then link to all your publications, and indeed, if you are new to this, the RePEC software will help you build the list by searching for publications already in its database and suggesting new ones as they are published. Here is a good example.

ACTION FOR YOU: I cannot create an author page for you but once it exists our directory can simply point to it. Please would formally subscribed (paying) members email me their RePEc short-id or link to their author page (whether already existing or newly created). To create an author page and obtain your short-id visit here. The link to the RePEc page will replace any link in our directory to an existing web page, which you may wish to record instead on the author page itself.

All this is summarised on the updated membership page.  

Your committee believes the first change will substantially increase the value of PKSG membership and I hope that you will either renew your existing membership for 2013 if you have not already done so, or if you are an eligible scholar or student receiving this through the wider mailing list, please consider applying to join us formally using the application form on the membership page.

ACTION FOR YOU: If you are an existing member and wish to renew your subscription, please visit here. See my previous email dated 6 February for the username and password, or just ask.

The second change will substantially reduce the load on your humble secretary and I will no longer be updating the currently listed publications (the listing of articles and books). Direct maintenance of the records by you and your publishers means that your new publications will be listed without delay. Our own publication listing will then be discontinued at the end of 2013. Research interests will continue to be shown in our directory and searchable.

With thanks for your interest and support,

Mark Hayes

Heterodox Books and Book Series

Bleakonomics

A Heartwarming Introduction to Financial Catastrophe, the Jobs Crisis and Environmental Destruction

By Rob Larson

October 2012. Pluto Press. ISBN: 978-0-7453-3267-3 | website

 

Bleakonomics is a short and humorous guide to the three great crises plaguing today's world: environmental degradation, social conflict in the age of austerity, and financial instability. Written for anyone who is wondering how we've come to this point, Rob Larson holds mainstream economic theory up against the grim reality of a planet in meltdown. He looks at scientists' conclusions about climate change, the business world's opinions about its own power, and reveals the fingerprints of finance on American elections. With a unique and engaging approach to each crucial subject, students, academics, and activists will find a lot to appreciate in this quiet call-to-arms for a saner and more stable world.

Business, Politics and the State of Africa

Challenging the Orthodoxies on Growth and Transformation

By Tim Kelsall

2013. Zed Books. ISBN: 9781780324210 (pb) | website

Drawing on a variety of timely case studies - including Rwanda, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Ghana - this provocative book provides a radical new theory of the political and institutional conditions required for pro-poor growth in Africa.

Divided World Divided Class

Global Political Economy and the Stratification of Labour Under Capitalism

By Zak Cope

September 2012.  Kersplebedeb. 9781894946414 | website

Divided World Divided Class charts the history of the ‘labour aristocracy’ in the capitalist world system, from its roots in colonialism to its birth and eventual maturation into a full-fledged middle class in the age of imperialism. It argues that pervasive national, racial and cultural chauvinism in the core capitalist countries is not primarily attributable to ‘false class consciousness’, ideological indoctrination or ignorance as much left and liberal thinking assumes. Rather, these and related forms of bigotry are concentrated expressions of the major social strata of the core capitalist nations’ shared economic interest in the exploitation and repression of dependent nations.

Dollars & Sense New Books

  1. The Economics of the Environment. ISBN: 978-1-878585-90-5.
  2. The Wealth Inequality Reader. ISBN: 978-1-939402-00-4.
  3. Real World Globalization, 12th edition. ISBN: 978-1-939402-01-1.
  4. Labor and the Global Economy. ISBN 978-1-939402-02-8. List Price: $35.95

Institutional Economics

Property, Competition, Policies, 2nd Edition

By Wolfgang Kasper, Manfred E. Streit, and Peter J. Boettke

2012. Edward Elgar | website

This thoroughly revised, extended and updated edition of a critically acclaimed textbook provides an accessible and cohesive introduction to the burgeoning discipline of institutional economics. Requiring only a basic understanding of economics, this lucid and well-written text will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students wanting to understand the problems of the real world – such as entrepreneurship, innovation, the cost of the welfare state, international financial crises, and economic development. As institutional economics is now revolutionising policy making, the book can also serve as a guide to the pressing problems facing policy makers in mature and emergent countries alike.

 

Introducing Money

By Mark Peacock

March 2013. Routledge.  ISBN: 978-0-415-53988-3 (pb) | website

This book provides a theoretical and historical examination of the evolution of money. It is distinct from the majority of ‘economic’ approaches, for it does not see money as an outgrowth of market exchange via barter. Instead, the social, political, legal and religious origins of money are examined. The methodological and theoretical underpinning of the work is that the study of money be historically informed, and that there exists a ‘state theory of money’ that provides an alternative framework to the ‘orthodox’ view of money’s origins.

The contexts for analysing the introduction of money at various historical junctures include ancient Greece, British colonial dependencies in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, and local communities which introduce ‘alternative’ currencies. The book argues that, although money is not primarily an ‘economic’ phenomenon (associated with market exchange), it has profound implications (amongst others, economic implications) for societies and habits of human thought and action.

The Manipulation of Choice

Ethics and Libertarian Paternalism

By Mark D. White

January 2013. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 978-1-137-28776-2 | website

Dr. Mark D. White explains the informational, ethical, and practical problems faced by libertarian paternalism and 'nudges,' by which the government subtly influences people's choices for their own good, in his exciting new volume The Manipulation of Choice. In a lighthearted manner, the author points out critical flaws in the way economists model decision-making, how behavioral economics failed to correct them, and how they led to the problems with libertarian paternalism and nudges. Sprinkled throughout with anecdotes, examples, and references to a wide range of scholarly literature, this new volume argues against the use of paternalistic nudges by the government and makes a positive case for individual choice and autonomy.

Heterodox Book Reviews

Marx and Philosophy: New Reviews and List of Books to Review

New reviews just published online in the Marx and Philosophy Review of Books:

  1. Peter Stone on G.A. Cohen, Finding Oneself in the Other
  2. Ashley Bohrer on Rancičre, Althusser’s Lesson
  3. Piotr Stalmaszczyk on Bowring, Hannah Arendt
  4. Christian Lotz on Marazzi, Capital and Affects
  5. Patrick Ainley on Cederstrom and Fleming, Dead Man Working
  6. Richard Fitch on Gutting, French Philosophy since 1960
  7. Sean Murphy on Vallas on Work

The reviews and new list of books for review can be found here.

Heterodox Graduate Programs, Scholarships, and Grants

Bard Center for Environmental Policy Graduate Programs

Bard Center for Environmental Policy and the Bard  MBA in Sustainability! We offer multiple degree options, great fellowships and project assistantships, and engaging dual degree options. Bard offers a holistic approach to learning through interdisciplinary coursework and professional development. Students gain specialized expertise in a professional setting through in depth coursework and research, with practical applications to present day environmental and sustainability issues.

 

Graduates enter their careers with both a strong academic foundation and a specialized skill set, making them versatile and uniquely qualified for their career of choice. The leadership and communication courses augment the educational experience and prepare students for high-level positions in their chosen field. Our graduates are changing the future in business, non-profit and public sector jobs in the U.S. and abroad.

Here are some upcoming events that they might be interested in:

  1. Climate Change and the Economy-Building Resistance through Agriculture: Please join the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and Bard College at Simon's Rock for a panel discussion that aims to uncover the benefits and challenges of local sustainable agriculture from the perspective of climate change, the economy, and our natural resources. 6:00-8:00 pm, March 21st. Register for it here.
  1. March 27th Webinar with Bard Graduate Programs in Sustainability: You can now register for our upcoming Webinar at 7pm EST, Wednesday evening, March 27th! Chat live with admissions counselors from the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and the Bard MBA in Sustainability, ask detailed questions about our programs, application process, or any other inquires you might have. Please register for it here today.
  1. National Climate Seminar: Listen in real time to climate and clean energy specialists talk about the latest science, policy, law, and economics of climate change. Learn more about it here. NCS is an ongoing event that occurs bi-weekly throughout the fall and spring semesters at Bard CEP. For the spring schedule, look here.
  2. Bard MBA in Sustainabilty Spring Sustainable Business Series: Join Bard MBA in Sustainability as we bring together sustainable business experts for our weekly conversation series. Each evening will begin with a conversation amongst our panelists on the topic of the night, followed by questions from the audience. This is a unique opportunity to engage in conversation with some of the most well known experts in the field of sustainability. Prospective students will also have a change to learn more about the Bard MBA program from Director Goodstein and admissions representatives. Learn more about it here.  

Middlesex University Ph.D. Research Studentship

Ph.d. Research Studentships in Business, Management & Economics

Applications are particularly welcome in the following areas:  managing across employee life courses; the management of flexible working; labour economics; business and labour in 'transition' contexts; behavioural economics; leadership; international business; business and development studies.

More information can be found here.

Master’s Program in Epistemology and Economic Philosophy, University of Paris 1

Economics is a constantly moving Science. Its frontiers are changing continually and it is not easy to find a demarcation criterion to differentiate its limits with those of other Social Sciences. Furthermore, the philosophical foundations of economics are questioned permanently.

 

The Master 2 Research Programme in Epistemology and Economic Philosophy at the University of Paris 1 critically questions the very foundations and the methods of contemporary economic theory, taking into account the multiple relations that economics maintains with other disciplines such as mathematics, statistics, law, philosophy, sociology, psychology and the cognitive sciences.

 

The aim of this Master is to study the new approaches that transform economics, within its multidisciplinary context, from a historical, epistemological and methodological perspective, necessary to understand the most fundamental questions.    

 

The new Master’s Students, instructed by and for the research activities, will be in contact with the latest contributions in economic methodology and history of economic thought, thanks to the organization of multidisciplinary seminars, where the Professors will present their academic work.

 

Moreover, every year a renowned Professor is invited to the Master during a whole month. The visiting Professor will not only present his/her investigations and academic work, but he/she will also discuss with the Master’s Students about their personal reflections and their research projects (a list of ancient visiting professors can be found by going to the following link: http://www.univ-paris1.fr/diplomes/master-2-recherche-esh/).

 

The Master in Economic Methodology and Economic Philosophy is directed to all students wanting to bring about an academic research project, write a Ph.D. Thesis or work at a research institution. This Master also prepares students planning to become a High School or academic professor, or those wanting to work at international organizations or at any kind of institutions looking for “general” economists able to analyse contemporary economic theories from a historical and philosophical perspective.

 

If you have further questions or if you just want to discuss with the current Master’s Students, please do not hesitate in writing us to the following e-mail:etudiant.m2r.esh@gmail.com 

Heterodox Websites

Lady Economist Blog

Fellow New School for Social Research graduate student Katherine Moos and I have been developing a new blog titled Lady Economist. It is a feminist blog about how economics impacts women and girls. It is intended be both educational and entertaining. We also have a facebook page and a twitter account for the project. We invite people to visit the page and follow us on social media. We'd also be happy to have people contribute a post or become regular contributors by reaching out to us directly or at ladyeconomistblog@gmail.com.

We also invite everyone in the New York area to join us to celebrate International Women's Day with our blog launch party tomorrow night, Friday March 8th, at 7pm at Richlane bar located at 595 Union Avenue in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Best,

Kate Bahn

Queries from Heterodox Economists

ASE call for proposals to host World Congress

The Association for Social Economics is pleased to consider expressions of interest for hosting sites for the 2014 or 2016 World Congress of Social Economics.

The World Congress represents an exciting opportunity to interact with social economists from around the world.  The 14th World Congress was in Glasgow, Scotland in June 2012.  ASE also hosted the first Summer School in Social Economics at that Congress.  For a history of World Congresses please see the ASE website.

If you are interested in proposing a site for either the 2014 or 2016 World Congress, please visit the ASE website and follow the instructions on Conferences => World Congress => Expression of Interest in Hosting.  Please submit your suggestions using the on-line form.

The deadline for expressing interest in a 2014 site is April 5, 2013.

Thank you for your efforts in helping promote social economics.

Best regards,

Jonathan B. Wight

President, ASE

wight@richmond.edu

Call for Support

A letter on the Need to Address Inequalities in the Post-2015 Global Agenda

Dear Friends,

Please find copied below a letter to the members High Level Panel on the post-2015 Global Agenda on the need to address inequalities in this agenda. If you are interested in signing this, please send your name and affiliation to Kathryn Rawe at K.Rawe@savethechildren.org.uk.

 

As a group of economists, academics and development experts, we are writing to ask that you put inequality at the heart of any potential post-2015 framework discussed during the meeting of the High Level Panel in Bali. In order to eradicate extreme poverty in all its dimensions by 2030, we must find a way to reduce vast and increasing inequalities both within and between countries.

 

While the MDGs did spur some progress in human development in the last two decades, there is evidence of growing gaps in terms of income, health, nutrition, education and many other areas that impede the fulfillment of human rights and wellbeing.  Global inequality has increased. The incomes of the world’s top 1.75% earners now exceed those of the bottom 77% (Milanovic, 2010).

 

Inequalities threaten our ability to pursue fair and sustainable development as much as they threaten the eradication of extreme poverty. Research shows that inequality – both within and between countries - is a barrier to individual development and sustained economic growth. It undermines social cohesion and distorts the democratic process.

 

For this reason, a core objective of the post-2015 framework must be to enshrine our joint responsibility to tackle inequality at many different levels. The international community must continue its efforts to reduce inequalities between countries which, according to the World Bank, are still responsible for half of global inequality. This requires an international context that is conducive to progressive government strategies, including promoting poor and developing countries’ efforts to diversify their economies, ensuring fair access and equitable distribution of natural wealth resources, establishing just and effective tax systems, and ensuring financial and economic stability. International agreements must be sensitive to these requirements, including those relating to trade, investment and financial flows.

 

The post-2015 development framework must also aim to reduce the gaps within countries.  To this effect, we believe the framework should include a top-level goal to reduce inequalities, including income and gender inequalities in particular. This should be in addition to disaggregated indicators and targets in every other goal to ensure equitable progress across different social groups towards agreed development objectives. Whilst it may be early in the process to discuss detail, we suggest that an inequality target could be based on Palma’s (2011) ratio of the income share of the top 10% of a population to the bottom 40%. In more equal societies this ratio will be one or below, meaning that the top 10% does not receive a larger share of national income than the bottom 40%. In very unequal societies, the ratio may be as high as seven. A potential target could be to halve national Palma ratios by 2030, compared to 2010, and dramatically reduce the global Palma ratio, which is currently 32.

 

Prioritising the need to tackle inequality in this way will ensure that the new development framework is truly inclusive and can drive the human progress we all seek.

 

With best wishes for a successful meeting,

 

  1. Kate E Pickett, Professor of Epidemiology, University of York
  2. Richard Wilkinson, Emeritus Professor of Social Epidemiology, University of Nottingham
  3. Lars Engberg-Pedersen, Head of Research, Politics and Development unit, Danish Institute for International Studies
  4. Isabel Ortiz, Director Global Social Justice Program, Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University
  5. Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India
  6. Thomas Pogge, Leitner Professor of Philosophy and International Affairs, Yale University,
  7. Ilene Grabel, Professor of International Economics, Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver, USA
  8. Kevin Watkins, Overseas development Institute, London, U.K.

In Solidarity with Oppressed Academics in Turkey

There is an immediate threat to academic freedoms in Turkey. Day by day, we hear that dissident/socialist/Marxist academics are facing repressive procedures and enforcements from university administrations. Recent developments show that these are not exceptions, but are gradually becoming the rule. An anti-democratic, anti-unionist and yet market-friendly mind is shaping the path of Turkish higher education.

 

Recently, at the University of Ordu, a formal investigation has been launched for seven academics regarding their union activities, i.e. putting up a poster about their unions (Eğitim-Sen) stating that they want a university which would be in favour of Humanity, Society and Nature, or a poster against the new market-friendly law drafted by the Higher Education Council. The posters themselves were removed by private security forces when five of those seven academics were out of the city.

 

A prominent critical academic, Deniz Yıldırım of the University of Ordu, received a disciplinary punishment for his attendance and speech at a panel discussion in Ankara about the Higher Education Council's new law draft. This punishment is the first of its kind for the academics who position themselves against the formation of the law. It gives us a clue about the implications for critical/dissident academics if this law passes in parliament.

 

This repressive behaviour is not limited to the University of Ordu. Recently two research fellows, Barkın Asal and Mehmet Cemil Ozansü at Istanbul University, have been subject to an official investigation launched by university administration for their speeches at a student demonstration concerning the proposed law - a law which will restructure universities fundamentally.

 

We fiercely condemn these authoritarian practices at the universities in Turkey. We are in solidarity with the academics who suffer from this repressive and authoritarian intimidation. Freedom of speech and unionization are democratic rights. University administrations should stop being an impediment to these rights and should stop censoring dissident academics.

 

Request you support and endorsement with mail to erincyeldan@gmail.com.

Petition: International Appeal for the protection of academic independence

Now that cooperation between the private sector and public universities has all but become the norm, in Europe as elsewhere, it is time to ask some basic questions: What is a university? And what is its role in society?

Universities grew out of the idea of establishing a place where freedom of research, education and scholarship is protected and beyond venal influence. They serve the common good and in turn are supported by the community. Directly linked to this founding idea is the academic ethos that preserves the institution of the university as a special place, free from political, ideological and commercial interests. Freedom of teaching and research is protected by the Swiss Constitution.

Against this background, it is self-evident that a public university should neither cooperate with nor accept sponsorship from institutions associated with public scandal or unethical conduct. That is damaging to the academic reputation of any university. And it impinges upon the independence of the scholars concerned, particularly those directly funded by such institutions, undermining their status as guarantors of independence and ethically-minded scholarship.

The University of Zurich was born of this same spirit of independent thinking in 1833. It is “the first university in Europe to be founded by a democratic state instead of by either a monarch or the church”. This proud claim stands to this day on the university’s website. The question is: are today’s universities still sufficiently independent in an age of cooperation and sponsorship?

In April 2012, the Executive Board of the University of Zurich concluded a cooperation agreement, in camera, with the top management of UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland). The agreement entails sponsoring of the university by UBS to the tune of 100 million Swiss francs and the establishment of a “UBS International Centre of Economics in Society” within the scope of the university. Neither the public nor the research and teaching staff were asked their opinion. The agreement between the university and UBS was concluded secretly in the spring of 2012.

This procedure brings the issue of sponsorship into sharp focus. The Executive Board of the University concedes that the bank is using the university as a platform to further its interests. However, UBS is a particular case of a business that has been shown in the past to have engaged in unethical practices. The fact that the bank was able to place its logo at the University of Zurich has nothing to do with scholarship and everything to do with marketing.

It is a glaring example of the problematic nature of academic sponsorship. But there are many more instances, in other European countries, of questionable university sponsorship deals. In one case, in June 2011, Deutsche Bank had to withdraw from a controversial sponsorship arrangement because of justified public criticism. This shows that sponsorship involving specific vested interests and secret deals – in contrast to altruistic patronage and donation by benefactors – represents a threat to the impartiality of university research and teaching. The very academic ethos is at risk.

As citizens, researchers, academics and students, we appeal to the leaders of the universities and all who bear responsibility for our educational institutions, at home and abroad, to safeguard the precious heritage of free and independent scholarship, and to avoid endangering the academic ethos in controversial collaborations.

  1. (English) http://zuercher-appell.ch/index_en.php 
  2. (Deutsch) http://zuercher-appell.ch/index.php 
  3. (French) http://zuercher-appell.ch/index_fr.php 
  4. (Italiano) http://zuercher-appell.ch/index_it.php 

For Your Information

ASE Helen Potter Award

The Helen Potter Award was created and endowed in 1975. It is presented each year to the author of the best article in the Review of Social Economy by a promising scholar of social economics.

The 2012 recipient is Pavlina Tcherneva of Bard College for her article “Permanent On-the-Spot Job Creation — The Missing Keynes Plan for Full Employment and Economic Transformation” published in the March 2012 issue of the Review of Social Economy.

Gar Alperovitz’s Film: The Next American Revolution

My new film, produced by the Media Education Foundation, is now available to order.

Watch the trailer here. More information about the film here.