https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.2307%2F3343168.pdf

Development as Freedom

In 1974 an article appeared in Science magazine with the dry-sounding title “Judgment Under Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases” by a pair of psychologists who were not well known outside their discipline of decision theory. In it Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman introduced the world to Prospect Theory, which mapped out how humans actually behave when faced with decisions about gains and losses, in contrast to how economists assumed that people behave. Prospect Theory turned Economics on its head by demonstrating through a series of ingenious experiments that people are much more concerned with losses than they are with gains, and that framing a choice from one perspective or the other will result in decisions that are exactly the opposite of each other, even if the outcomes are monetarily the same. Prospect Theory led cognitive psychology in a new direction that began to uncover other human biases in thinking that are probably not learned but are part of our brain’s wiring.

Thinking fast and slow.

We investigate whether income inequality affects subsequent growth in a cross-country sample for 1965-90, using the models of Barro (1997), Bleaney and Nishiyama (2002) and Sachs and Warner (1997), with negative results. We then investigate the evolution of income inequality over the same period and its correlation with growth. The dominating feature is inequality convergence across countries. This convergence has been significantly faster amongst developed countries. Growth does not appear to influence the evolution of inequality over time. Outline

https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/81822/1/02-28.pdf

Economic growth and income inequality

NUDGE: IMPROVING DECISIONS ABOUT HEALTH, WEALTH, AND HAPPINESS by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein Penguin Books, 2009, 312 pp, ISBN 978-0-14-311526-7This book is best described formally as a general explanation of and advocacy for libertarian paternalism, a term coined by the authors in earlier publications. Informally, it is about how leaders, systems, organizations, and governments can nudge people to do the things the nudgers want and need done for the betterment of the nudgees, or of society. It is paternalism in the sense that "it is legitimate for choice architects to try to influence people's behavior in order to make their lives longer, healthier, and better", (p. 5) It is libertarian in that "people should be free to do what they like - and to opt out of undesirable arrangements if they want to do so", (p. 5) The built-in possibility of opting out or making a different choice preserves freedom of choice even though people's behavior has been influenced by the nature of the presentation of the information or by the structure of the decisionmaking system. I had never heard of libertarian paternalism before reading this book, and I now find it fascinating.Written for a general audience, this book contains mostly social and behavioral science theory and models, but there is considerable discussion of structure and process that has roots in mathematical and quantitative modeling. One of the main applications of this social system is economic choice in investing, selecting and purchasing products and services, systems of taxes, banking (mortgages, borrowing, savings), and retirement systems. Other quantitative social choice systems discussed include environmental effects, health care plans, gambling, and organ donations. Softer issues that are also subject to a nudge-based approach are marriage, education, eating, drinking, smoking, influence, spread of information, and politics. There is something in this book for everyone.The basis for this libertarian paternalism concept is in the social theory called "science of choice", the study of the design and implementation of influence systems on various kinds of people. The terms Econs and Humans, are used to refer to people with either considerable or little rational decision-making talent, respectively. The various libertarian paternalism concepts and systems presented are tested and compared in light of these two types of people. Two foundational issues that this book has in common with another book, Network of Echoes: Imitation, Innovation and Invisible Leaders, that was also reviewed for this issue of the Journal are that 1 ) there are two modes of thinking (or components of the brain) - an automatic (intuitive) process and a reflective (rational) process and 2) the need for conformity and the desire for imitation are powerful forces in human behavior. …

Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness

Sustainable Development Goals

/pdf/assessing-the-contributions-derived-from-capture-fisheries-51wa7ogtjj.pdf

Assessing the Contributions Derived from Capture Fisheries from a Wellbeing Perspective: Methodological and Policy Implications

Sustainable food systems global index

Der Welthunger-Index-Bericht 2013 stellt die Resilienz WiderstandsfA¤higkeit in Theorie und Praxis in den Mittelpunkt. Nothilfe und Entwicklungszusammenarbeit hatten lange Schwierigkeiten zu verstehen, warum manche Menschen besser als andere mit Belastungen und Krisen zurechtkommen. Angesichts der, laut Index, nach wie vor ernsten Hungersituationin der Welt sind dringend Anstrengungen notwendig, um die Widerstandsfahigkeit armerund verwundbarer Menschen zu starken, so dass sie mit Hungerperioden, DA¼rren und anderen naturlichen und von Menschen verursachten Katastrophen kurzfristig und auch langfristig umgehen konnen. Die Verbesserung der ErnA¤hrungssicherheit ist dafur eine wichtige Voraussetzung. Um dieses Ziel zu erreichen, mussen Nothilfe und Entwicklungszusammenarbeit besser zusammenwirken.

2013 Welthunger-Index: Herausforderung Hunger: Widerstandsfahigkeit starken Ernahrung sichern

The arrival in the 1980s of cultured shrimp has induced large changes on the World shrimp market. In this new environment, the French Guyana fishery production now competes strongly with some of these farm-produced shrimp. Consequently, this fishery has experienced serious export problems during the last decade. This paper is an attempt to analyse the specific impact of the arrival of cultured shrimp to the World markets on the French Guyana domestic market price and on the fleet activity. More particularly, we analyse the relationship between this market and one cultured shrimp market usually considered as benchmark, the Thai market. We use econometric techniques to test whether these two markets are cointegrated and whether causalities exist between them. For these tests, we rely on the two monthly price series recorded over the period 1986-93. The tests indicate that the two series are non-stationary and co-integrated. Therefore, a long-term relationship exists between the two markets, and the identification of the valid dynamic model requires a two-dimension error correcting model. The analysis of the impulse responses derived from the model indicates that the French Guyana market responds significantly to shocks on the Thai market. In other respects, a significant causality from the Thai market to the French Guyana market has been identified. Finally, we discuss these results by briefly analysis the main consequences they induced for the fishery's dynamics.

/pdf/investigating-the-dynamic-relationships-between-wild-shrimp-4z4q8e8ge4.pdf

Investigating the dynamic relationships between wild shrimp and cultured shrimp prices

http://www.cell.com/article/S259033222300204X/pdf

Christophe Béné

Papers

Assessing the Contributions Derived from Capture Fisheries from a Wellbeing Perspective: Methodological and Policy Implications

Sustainable food systems global index

2013 Welthunger-Index: Herausforderung Hunger: Widerstandsfahigkeit starken Ernahrung sichern

Investigating the dynamic relationships between wild shrimp and cultured shrimp prices

Inclusive diets within planetary boundaries