Showing papers on "Veblen good published in 1978"

Veblen and Modern Radical Economics

Abstract: (1978). Veblen and Modern Radical Economics. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 125-146.

Institutional Economics: Its Influence and Prospects

Abstract: . The influence of institutional economics is determined more by the contributions of outstanding mainstream institutionalists such a Myrdal, Colm, and Galbraith than by the Association for Evolutionary Economics (AFEE) established to advance institutionalism. This association as a collective body has a clearcut theoretical image because its membership is largely made up of advocates of a vague evolutionary economics or of a proposed but not clearly defined new general theory of institutionalism regarded as a substitute for mainstream institutionalism regarded as a substitute for mainstream institutionalism. Mainstream institutionalists from Veblen to Myrdal have constructed a well-defined theory of the evolving industrial system, a technological interpretation of this evolving system, and a logic of industrialism that points in the direction of 'indicative’ national planning. Until AFEE builds upon this theoretical work of the mainstream institutionalists it will have neither a well-defined institutionalist image nor policy proposals appropriate to the coming post-industrial society.

Technology and economic dependency: an institutional assessment

Abstract: The theory of Thorstein Veblen that necessity dictates invention is expanded to include the diffusion of technological advances to other countries. This concept is examined in the context of technology transfer from economically developed to developing countries. The interaction of economics, politics, and technology are traced and the point made that policies aimed at self-sufficiency or small-scale applications may tend to isolate an underdeveloped country from the mainstream of world progress. A restructuring of world economic and political relations would be required to change the technological interdependence that exists today. 13 references.

University Presidents and Politicians

Abstract: It is customary to think of the ideal university president as being necessarily opposed to the methods and aims of the public politician. I f , as Thorstein Veblen argued, he adopts those methods and aims, he betrays the university and becomes, in effect, the head of a corporation or a minor state. It is the argument of this paper, however, that the president can lead and direct the University only if he accepts a political role, and strives to establish a high place for the university among public priorities. At the University of Toronto (and at other Canadian universities in varying degrees and in varying ways), the president was not able to play this political role until the great expansion of the 'sixties. Then, the need for long-range planning brought the presidents into the political arena. At the same time, internal stresses led to the creation of more representative governing bodies within the universities, and made the president a political figure who must strive to achieve a central alliance within the academic community.

Growth versus conservation: a Veblenian perspective

Abstract: The theories of Thorstein Veblen are re-examined in terms of today's energy problems and the growth/no growth debate as it relates to investment in energy-saving plant and equipment. Veblen distinguished between industry, which maximizes continuous technological improvement, and business, which maximizes profit and prevents the full evolution of industrial efficiency. This condition leads to policies (such as tax credits, rapid depreciation, and loan guarantees) that stimulate investment in specific areas. An institution analogous to bankruptcy could be introduced for cases of ''technoruptcy'' or failure to maintain technological efficiency. A new process is needed for measuring energy quality as a factor of efficiency in the case of industry. Extensions of Veblenian theory can be seen in the trend toward automobile efficiency as a result of regulation when rising gas prices had little effect. 11 references.

New light on Veblen's Work and Influence

Abstract: . An important recent publication of writings by and about Thorstein Veblen, entitled Essays, Reviews, and Reports; Previously Uncollected Writings (1973), sheds new light on the social critic's work and influence. It was edited by Joseph Dorfman and includes a book by him entitled New Light on Veblen. Veblen's reviews are examined and evaluated. Dorfman's collection of material is surveyed, and it is seen that Veblen influenced an extremely wide range of important people besides the economists known as “institutionalists.” The book will be an essential source for anyone who tries to assess the impact of Veblen on our culture, and it is also a monument to Dorfman's dedication to its subject.

Thorstein Veblen's Economic Aesthetic

Abstract: Thorstein Veblen (1859–1929), an erudite and unorthodox economist of the U.S.A., is noted for his institutional analysis of economics and is best known for his first book, The Theory of the Leisure Class. Scattered through his several works is evidence of his firm functionalist aesthetic credo, a belief contemporary with and supportive of those of leading designers, architects and theorists. Although an admirer of William Morris’ socialist writings, Veblen attacked the Kelmscott Press books as overly precious, deliberately archaic and only within the reach of the wealthy. He predicted that, unless the Arts and Crafts Movement adopted the spirit of the machine production age, it would be no more than an anemic fad. ‘Art industry’, producing rare and costly goods, merely serves the wealthy, who are driven to display their pecuniary power through the conspicuous consumption of goods and services. Ornamentation, expensive and impractical materials and expensive hand processes are considered evidence of beauty, but there is a confusion between aesthetic value and the use of objects in flaunting wealth. Veblen saw the possibility of a fuller life for each member of society, and this would be achieved through machine mass-production. An economic aesthetic—straightforward, functional simplicity in consumer goods—was desirable on economic and on ethical grounds.

Post-Keynesian Theory: Macrodynamics

Abstract: The terms macrodynamics and macrodynamic theory are used by economists today to designate the area of economics that deals with the development of capitalist economies over time. The aim is to describe and explain both business cycles and economic growth patterns in developed market economies. In their early stages, macrodynamic theories were developed on a "grand" and "magnificent" scale by writers such as Malthus, Ricardo, and Marx in an attempt to discover more than just the "laws" of economic development. Social, political, and cultural developments were also considered in a tradition that continued into the twentieth century with Schumpeter and Veblen. The modern versions of macrodynamic theory trace their origins to the work of the English economist, Sir Roy Harrod, and of the American economist, Evsey Domar, in the 1930s and 1940s. While much narrower in scope than the work