Robert Rowthorn

Bio: Robert Rowthorn is an academic researcher from University of Cambridge. The author has contributed to research in topics: Population & Unemployment. The author has an hindex of 33, co-authored 85 publications receiving 3955 citations. Previous affiliations of Robert Rowthorn include King's College London.

Conflict, inflation and money

Abstract: Conflict is endemic in the capitalist system and concerns all aspects of economic life : the techniques of production to be used, the length and intensity of the working day, and the distribution of income. Naturally, these are all interconnected and what happens in one sphere influences what happens in the rest, and all in some way affect the behaviour of wages and prices. So much is obvious, but, in view of the complexity of the inflationary process, the present article focuses on just one particular area, namely how conflict over the distribution of income affects the general level of prices in advanced capitalist economies. A formal model is constructed in which the following factors are combined in a coherent fashion : taxes, the terms of trade, expectations and money. In writing this article I have drawn on a wide variety of past writing on the subject of inflation, although usually without explicit acknowledgement. Amongst the works which influenced me most were: Marx's writing on the reserve army of labour, Keynes' How to Pay for the War, Maynard's Economic Development and the Price Level, Phillips' famous article on unemploy ment and wages, Wilkinson's contribution to Do Trade Unions Cause Inflation? and, finally, monetarist writing on expectations.!

Unemployment, wage bargaining and capital-labour substitution

Abstract: Many economists believe that capital accumulation, technical progress and labour force expansion have no lasting effect on unemployment. This view rests on the empirically doubtful assumption that the elasticity of substitution between labour and capital is equal to unity (i.e., production is Cobb-Douglas). Using a simple model based on the work of Layard, Nickell and Jackman, this paper demonstrates that, with a lower elasticity of substitution, the equilibrium unemployment rate is affected by all of the above factors. It considers briefly how capital accumulation may be endogenised and what long-run implications this has for unemployment. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.

Deindustrialization : causes and implications

Abstract: All advanced economies have experienced a secular decline in the share of manufacturing employmenta phenomenon referred to as deindustrialization. This paper argues that, contrary to popular perceptions, deindustrialization is not a negative phenomenon, but is the natural consequence of the industrial dynamism in an already developed economy, and that North-South trade has had very little to do with deindustrialization. The paper also discusses the implications of deindustrialization for the growth prospects and the nature of labor market arrangements in the advanced economies.

De-industrialisation and the balance of payments in advanced economies

Abstract: This paper defines de-industrialisation as a secular decline in the share of manufacturing in national employment. De-industrialisation, in this sense, has been a widespread feature of economic growth in advanced economies in recent decades. The paper considers briefly what explains this development and quantifies some of the factors responsible. It then examines the experience of Britain and America, which are two countries that have combined rapid de-industrialisation with a strong overall economic performance. The paper considers both the domestic situation of manufacturing industry in these countries and its foreign trade performance. It concludes by examining in detail the British balance of payments, and documenting how improvements in the non-manufacturing sphere have helped offset a worsening performance in manufacturing trade. Copyright 2004, Oxford University Press.

Handbook of Economic Sociology

Abstract: During recent years social scientists have come to reaffirm that understanding almost any facet of social life requires a simultaneous understanding of how economic institutions work and how they are influenced by values and norms. Sociology, and especially economic sociology, is well equipped to be of assistance in this endeavor. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg bring together leading sociologists, economists, and political scientists in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, the first comprehensive view of this vital and growing field. "This excellent volume is a compilation of some of the best writing in this field over the past decade, including basic works like Oliver Williamson's transaction cost theory of the firm, and [is] a helpful comparison of economic sociology to mainstream economics." —Francis Fukuyama, Foreign Affairs "This is the first comprehensive theoretical and empirical account of the burgeoning field of economic sociology. The scholarship is consistently strong. . .. The book will be greeted warmly and read by serious scholars throughout the social sciences." —Robert K. Merton "This is a bold, ambitious, almost daunting project. ... It will surely become the standard reference book for the field—the sort of text every scholar will have to know-, consult, and cite." —Viviana Zelizer

The United Nations Development Programme

Abstract: This project will deliver help to reduce the vulnerability of poor people in Haiti to the effects of climate change, while at the same time conserving threatened coastal and marine biodiversity. Investments in climateproofed and socially-sustainable BD conservation strategies, within the context of the National Protected Areas System (NPAS), will enable coastal and marine ecosystems to continue to generate Ecosystem-Based Adaptation (EBA) services; while additional investment of adaptation funds in the watersheds which drain into these ecosystems will serve to maximize BD benefits and ecosystem functions, as well as generating EBA benefits for the populations living in the watersheds themselves.

The Handbook of economic sociology

Abstract: During recent years social scientists have come to reaffirm that understanding almost any facet of social life requires a simultaneous understanding of how economic institutions work and how they are influenced by values and norms. Sociology, and especially economic sociology, is well equipped to be of assistance in this endeavor. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg bring together leading sociologists, economists, and political scientists in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, the first comprehensive view of this vital and growing field.During recent years social scientists have come to reaffirm that understanding almost any facet of social life requires a simultaneous understanding of how economic institutions work and how they are influenced by values and norms. Sociology, and especially economic sociology, is well equipped to be of assistance in this endeavor. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg bring together leading sociologists, economists, and political scientists in The Handbook of Economic Sociology, the first comprehensive view of this vital and growing field.

Toward a Comparative Institutional Analysis

Abstract: The northern California town of Mendocino, which was the shooting background for the film “East of Eden” starring James Dean, retains some of the air of its late nineteenth century role as a harbor to ship out lumber cut from the mountainsides. Ex-hippies-turned-farmers and artists live in the surrounding area. In the latter half of the 1990s, we rented a house facing the Pacific Ocean from an artist every summer. My wife and daughters went back and forth to Stanford for their activities, but I burrowed myself there for the summer with our dog Robin, brought back with us from Japan, and focused on writing my survey on comparative institutional analysis: Toward a Comparative Institutional Analysis (MIT Press, 2001). Mornings and evenings I took Robin for a walk on the cape where there was a greater than 180 ° view. In the morning, the horizon was veiled in fog, while in the evening the ocean was tinted red by the setting sun. It was the perfect place for rethinking problems and reorganizing chapters. Robin was a small mixed breed with some Shikoku-ken, but she was stubborn and at times got into fights with a large Coast Guard officer’s watch dog. My family enjoyed meals made from the organic produce we bought at the farmers’ market (so many varieties of tomatoes); we also went to the harbor to buy albacore tuna and fresh sea urchin still in its thorny shell.