Heterodox Economics Newsletter, Issue 107 | November 8, 2010 | 1
Heterodox Economics Newsletter
Issue 107 | November 8, 2010
http://heterodoxnews.com/n/htn107.html [read]
http://heterodoxnews.com/n/htn107.pdf [download]


 
From the Editors
I [TS] saw Inside Job Saturday evening and it is a must-see  documentary!  Charles Ferguson lays out the financial crisis in a way that is understandable and graphic.  Toward the end of the film Ferguson makes the point that the (mainstream) economics profession also deserves blame for prostituting itself over the past thirty years, acting as paid cheerleaders for deregulation of finance.  The interviewer (I assume it is Ferguson) does a great job, as he first sets up Mishkin, Hubbard, and (John) Campbell, then lays bare their hypocrisy.  Hubbard actually threatens him in the end.  On the other hand, Martin Feldstein is almost smug in his response when he answers that he has no regrets for his actions (or inactions) in his position on the Board of AIG--it's as if he is saying, "F-you pal, I got rich doing this."   The documentary can be a great instructional tool as well as a way to continue to put pressure on the irrelevance of mainstream theory.   Once it goes into DVD distribution, I plan on organizing a showing for our campus and community, with a follow-up panel discussion.
 
Along this same line of thought, a group of students at Berkley have started a campaign against neoclassical economics; see the "Kick it Over Manifesto" in the For Your Information section.
 
As I [TS] mentioned in a previous issue of HEN, I think it's important for heterodox economists to publish our ideas in popular outlets.  In our media section there are links to a Financial Times editorial by Grabel and  Chang, as well as a letter to the editor by our book review editor Fadhel Kaboub.  I also published a piece in our local alternative magazine (on QE2, suggesting an alternative based on Abba Lerner's notion of functional finance). 

Lastly, but not the least, we'd like to call your attention to eye-opening data items kindly provided by Fred Lee, the Editor of the American Journal of Economics and Sociology. Those items are


For more detailed information about rankings and other interesting work done by heterodox economists, please see the forthcoming issue of the American Journal of Economics and Sociology (if you or your institution are not subscribing the Journal, you may consider subscribing it here.)

In solidarity,


Tae-Hee Jo and Ted Schmidt, Editors


Email: heterodoxnews@gmail.com

Website: http://heterodoxnews.com

 
Table of Contents
Call for Papers
AHE Conference 2011
14th Berlin Roundtables on Transnationality: Financialization and Everyday Life
Critical Governance Studies Conference
5th “Dijon” Post-Keynesian Conference
DIME Workshop: Technology, institutions and development
Disaster! A Conference on Catastrophes in History
Feminist Economics: Special Issue on Land, Gender, and Food Security
History of Economics as Culture Workshop 2011
IAFFE (International Association for Feminist Economics) 2011 Conference
Ninth International Conference of the International Development Ethics Association
IIPPE: Second International Conference in Political Economy
The 2011 Left Forum
The Journal of Critical Globalisation Studies: The Idea of Crisis
Nature™ Inc? Questioning the Market Panacea in Environmental Policy and Conservation
Society of Heterodox Economists (SHE) Conference: Additional Sessions
Society for Socialist Studies, Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Call for Participants
Beyond Eurocentrism: A Marx for the 21st Century
Beyond Rationality III Workshop: Resistance and the Practice of Rationality
Crisis and Critique: Historical Materialism Annual London Conference 2010
Evolution de la régulation: bancaire et financière face à la crise
The Global Crisis: Rethinking Economy and Society
Interdisciplinary Seminars: Human Rights, Markets and Governance Challenges
London Seminar on Contemporary Marxist Theory
Marxism Beyond the Boundaries
CPNSS Seminar: Towards Discursive Economics
Society of Government Economists Annual Conference
Workshop: Latent Factor Analysis
Job Postings for Heterodox Economists
Dickinson College, US
Franklin & Marshall College, US
National Chengchi University, Taiwan
National Priorities Project
Saint Peter's College, US
SUNY-Cortland, US
SUNY-New Paltz, US
University College London, UK
University of California, Los Angeles, US
University of Connecticut, US
University of Dallas, US
University of Denver, US
University of Michigan-Dearborn, US
University of Sydney, Australia
University of Vermont, US
Conference Papers, Reports, and Articles
PKSG Keynes Seminar: The financial crisis and the future of macroeconomics
On The Concepts of Period and Run in Economic Theory by Goeffrey Harcourt
Heterodox Journals
Alternative Routes: A Journal of Critical Social Research, 22: 2011
Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34(6): November 2010
Capital & Class, 34(3): Oct. 2010
Challenge, 53(6): November-December 2010
Forum for Social Economics, 39(3): Oct. 2010
Moneta e Credito, 63(251): 2010
PSL Quarterly Review, 63(254): 2010
Mother Pelican, Nov. 2010
Heterodox Newsletters
CCPA: Oct. 2010
Development Viewpoint: Oct. 2010
Economic Sociology - the European electronic newsletter, 12(1): Nov. 2010
Global Labour Column: Nov. 2010
IDEAs: Oct. 2010
Levy News: Oct. 2010
News from Downunder (History of Economic Thought Society of Australia)
Heterodox Books and Book Series
Beyond Inflation Targeting: Assessing the Impacts and Policy Alternatives
Biofuels and the Globalization of Risk: The Biggest Change in North-South Relationships Since Colonialism?
Cosmopolitanism and Global Financial Reform: A Pragmatic Approach to the Tobin Tax
Development, Sexual Rights and Global Governance
Gender and Global Restructuring: Sightings, Sites and Resistances
Global Governance, Poverty and Inequality
The Globalization of Motherhood: Deconstructions and reconstructions of biology and care
Governing Climate Change
Governing Financial Services in the European Union: Banking, Securities and Post-Trading
Heterodox Macroeconomics: Keynes, Marx and Globalization
Routledge Handbook of International Political Economy (IPE): IPE as a global conversation
Marx's Political Writings
The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class: Corporate Power in the 21st Century
The Myth of Development: Non-Viable Economies and the Crisis of Civilization
Population and Development
Ontology and Economics: Tony Lawson and His Critics
Rosa Luxemburg: Ideas in Action
The Politics of Combined and Uneven Development: The Theory of Permanent Revolution
Savage Economics: Wealth, Poverty and the Temporal Walls of Capitalism
Zombie Capitalism: Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx
Heterodox Book Reviews
Capitalism, Institutions, and Economic Development
Them and Us: Changing Britain – Why We Need a Fair Society
Marx and Philosophy Review of Books
RRPE Books for Review
Heterodox Graduate Programs and Scholarships
British Academy Visiting Scholarships
Uppsala University: PhD Student Position in Critical Media/Communication Studies
Heterodox Economists in the Media
Paging Doctor Bernanke (Schmidt)
Why Capital Controls Are Not All Bad (Grabel and Chang)
Speculators deny rights to the Hungry (Kaboub)
Queries from Heterodox Economists
Call for Papers for a Session on: Economics: Left, Right, or Wrong
For Your Information
Geoffrey Harcourt is awarded the Veblen-Commons Award 2011
3rd Buddhist Economics Platform Conference Postponed
Heterodox Syllabi
Joseph Dorfman Best Dissertation Award
Documentary Film: Dystopia: What is to be done?
Documentary Film: Robinson in Ruins
Kick it Over Manifesto
The Handbook for Economics Lecturers
The Nobel family dissociates itself from the economics prize
URPE 2009 Programme with video and audio links online
Why France Matters Here Too (article by R. Wolff)

Call for Papers

AHE Conference 2011

13th Conference of the Association for Heterodox Economics: Economists of Tomorrow

6-9 July 2011 | Nottingham Trent University, UK

 

In more than ten years the AHE has established a reputation as a major national and international forum for the discussion of alternatives to mainstream economics, and for the interdisciplinary and pluralistic nature of its discussions. It is also plays an ongoing role in strengthening the community of heterodox economists, and to the development of heterodox economic theories on various themes through the dissemination of ideas and arguments.

The esteem of the economics profession has reached an all-time low, in the wake of the global financial crisis that most economists failed to predict. In this context we have a particularly important role to play as heterodox economists, many of whom were well aware that the crisis was imminent and who also have a range of proposals for new stable and sustainable economic and social structures.

For 2011 the AHE Conference theme is Economists of Tomorrow. This reflects the fact that, the world over, we are focused on challenging the hegemonic domination of our profession by just one approach embedded in mainstream economics, the neoclassical approach. The clear failure of neoclassical economics to predict, explain or find solutions to the global financial and economic crises makes it vulnerable. It is our intention is to use this opportunity to further expand and strengthen the case for pluralism within the economics profession.

Particular topics of interest under this over-arching theme include: addressing the power structures of the profession such as the Research Excellence Framework, the Royal Economic Society and the ABS ranking of economics journals; pluralism in research and teaching; research evaluation; openness to innovation and creativity; and the relationships between economists and decision-makers. The 2011 Conference will have both refereed and non-refereed papers. All paper proposals should indicate whether the paper is intended to be refereed or not.

A feature of the AHE is as a pluralist forum for dialogue. Consequently, the conference will also provide a broad pluralistic and interdisciplinary forum to discuss issues that members of the AHE and others feel are important. To gain an idea of the sorts of topics and issues that may be of interest to participants please see the details of the AHE conference 2010 at either www.hetecon.org or www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/hetecon/conference/2010/

The international character of the conference has been a vital factor in its growing success. Scholars requiring documentation in support of visa or funding applications should indicate this at the time of submitting an abstract or panel proposal. Conference registration fees, all transportation and accommodation costs are at the expense of participants. Nevertheless, the AHE Conference Steering Committee is able to allocate some limited funding to assist participants from outside the US and European Union whose proposal is accepted. If you wish to apply for help with your conference costs please contact the organising committee (AHEConference@ntu.ac.uk).

The conference language is English.
Details regarding submission and registration
The conference invites submissions for single papers, panels and sessions of relevance to the over-arching conference theme or address topics or issues of importance to heterodox economics from standpoints which differ from, or critically examine, mainstream economics.

To facilitate dialogue and timetabling, participants whose papers are accepted must register by Sunday 12 June 2011. All participants will be expected to take part in at least two full days of the conference, in order to be included in the final programme. Participants should also be prepared to serve as discussants and/or session chairs. Further registration details will be announced later.
Single papers

All participants including those proposed for sessions and themes must submit an abstract to the conference website at www.hetecon.org. The abstract, which must be no longer than one page, should include a brief informative title, a clear statement of the issue the proposed paper will address, its main points, and its argument. Your abstract must state if you wish your paper to be considered for a theme and if you require it to be refereed. You must provide contact and affiliation details for all authors. If your paper is submitted in the name of more than one author, please indicate who will receive correspondence. The authors of successful abstracts will be notified and must provide a complete paper, unless the proposal is to be taken in a poster session, by the deadline for papers (see below). Both papers and abstracts must either be in Word or PDF format.

Complete sessions
The AHE welcomes proposals for complete single sessions and encourages those which address a single topic or issue from a variety of viewpoints or disciplines. Session proposals should be sent to AHEconference@ntu.net and should include:

Themes
We encourage proposals for themes which address a single topic or issue from a variety of viewpoints or disciplines. The conference committee will work with theme organisers, when constructing the conference programme, to construct a coherent list of sessions for the theme, and schedule these so that participants can follow the theme. Theme proposals should be sent to AHEConference@ntu.net and should include:

Themes, once agreed by the conference committee, will be posted on the website along with contact details for theme organisers up until the closing date for papers. When submitting paper proposals, authors will be invited to indicate for which theme, if any, they consider it suitable. Theme organisers will be asked to consider all such submissions for inclusion.

Poster sessions
Poster sessions are intended to encourage new work by postgraduate or postdoctoral students, will depend on the number of submissions, and will be announced nearer the date of conference. If you wish your paper to be presented in a poster session, you need not provide a complete paper.

Deadlines

The AHE Committee will consider all proposals and abstracts and will notify you of the acceptance or rejection of your proposal.

Those submitting refereed and non-refereed papers must register, for a minimum of two days of the conference, by Sunday 12th June 2011. Registration details will be announced later.

All proposals, abstracts and papers are to be submitted via the AHE website: www.hetecon.org.
All queries relating to the conference, but not concerning the submission of proposals or papers, should be addressed to: Bruce Philp (AHEConference@ntu.ac.uk).

To keep up to date with the 2011 conference and other AHE activities, subscribe to the AHE-ANNOUNCE mailing list (www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=AHE-ANNOUNCE) and visit www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/hetecon/conference/2010/ or www.hetecon.org. Earlier conferences can also be found at www.hetecon.com

Download Call for Papers.

14th Berlin Roundtables on Transnationality: Financialization and Everyday Life

25 – 29 June 2011 | the Social Science Research Centre Berlin and Humboldt-University, Berlin
Essay Competition – Conference – Research Grant

Based on an international essay competition, up to 30 applicants will be invited to discuss their research with prominent scholars at one of Europe's leading research institutions. Cost for travel and accommodation in Berlin will be covered by the Irmgard Coninx Foundation. The conference will be divided into two workshops:

Workshop I ‘Deconstructing Credit and Money in Neoliberalism: Power, Culture, and History’ chaired by Jane Guyer (Anthropology, Johns Hopkins University) and Susanne Soederberg (Global Development & Political Studies, Queen’s University, Canada) and

Workshop II ‘Financialization and Corporate Social Responsibility: Consumers and Investors as the New Policymakers?’ chaired by Boris Holzer (Sociology, University of Bielefeld) and Bryane Michael
(Economics, Stockholm School of Economics)

For further information please visit our homepage and the background paper at: http://www.irmgard-coninx-stiftung.de/index.php?id=271

The call for papers extends to scholars (max. up to 5 years after Ph.D.) and practitioners. Please submit your paper (maximum 3500 words including footnotes and bibliography), an abstract (max. 300 words), a narrative biography and a CV using the online submission form on the Foundation’s website. Submission deadline is 27 March 2011. Please note that co-authorship and already published papers will not be accepted.

Among the conference participants, an international jury will award up to two three-month fellowship to be used for research in Berlin. The grant includes a monthly stipend of 1,000 € plus appropriate accommodation.

For inquiries please contact us: info(a)irmgard-coninx-stiftung.de

 

Critical Governance Studies Conference

December 13-14 2010 | Warwick University UK

“Governance” has for some time been a fashionable concept across the social sciences and throughout the public, private and voluntary sectors. Rod Rhodes identified 7 different arenas and senses in which
“governance” discourse is used and promoted: governance as governing without government, the minimal state, new public management, self-organising networks, socio-cybernetic systems, good governance; corporate governance.

Our goal is to establish a forum to challenge orthodoxies and develop a dialogue between scholars and practitioners interested in developing critical approaches to the study and practice of governance. To this end, Warwick University’s Institute of Governance and Public Management has organised a two day international, cross-disciplinary conference to debate these issues, with a view to generating a
post-conference edited collection.

Our keynote speaker is the world-renowned Professor Nancy Fraser (New York’s New School for Social Research). Professor Nigel Thrift (Vice Chancellor, University of Warwick), will give the opening address. Other distinguished contributors include professors Mark Bevir (Berkeley, California), Janet Newman (Open University), Helen Sullivan (Birmingham) and Hugh Willmott (Cardiff).

We welcome individual abstract submissions from now until 19th November and invite colleagues to submit abstracts on themes that might include, among others, critical approaches to the governance of citizens, space, money, networks, risk, security, science and universities. Proposals for panels and streams along these lines are also welcome. Abstracts for both panels and individual papers should be between 200 and 500 words and including the names, positions, affiliations and contact details of all proposers and contributors. 

As the conference theme is “challenging orthodoxies”, we ask colleagues to address it directly in their abstracts by describing a problematic orthodoxy, subjecting it to critical challenge and outlining
new areas of inquiry and new social practices based on the critical approach. At the same time, we encourage people to problematize the key terms, governance, orthodoxy and critique.

After the conference, we plan to publish an edited collection with selected papers, showcasing the best critical governance research from across the disciplines. We are able to offer a small number of discounts to scholars and doctoral students who would otherwise be unable to attend. If you wish to apply for a discounted fee, please state this at the end of your abstract and explain why you need financial support.

Please email abstracts to esme.farrington@wbs.ac.uk and register for the conference at
http://www.wbs.ac.uk/events/2010/12/13/Critical/Governance/Conference.

We look forward to meeting you at the Warwick Critical Governance Studies conference. Warwick University is close to Shakespeare’s Stratford-on-Avon, to the charming and historic Cotswolds, and to
London. Warwick’s campus is easily accessible by road, plane and train (20 minutes from Birmingham International Airport; or 60 minutes from London’s Euston rail station). Warwick’s campus and conference facilities are pleasant and modern, the accommodation is 4 star and the service is professional.

Jonathan S Davies and Penelope Tuck
Institute of Governance and Public Management (IGPM)
Warwick University, Coventry UK

5th “Dijon” Post-Keynesian Conference

13.-14. May 2011 |  Roskilde University, Denmark

The fifth “Dijon” Post-Keynesian conference will be organized as a joined cooperation between the Université de Bourgogne, Laurentian University, Roskilde and Aalborg University, on the 75th year anniversary of The General Theory. This year’s conference themes are:

The (Macro) economic Consequences of:
The General Theory after 75 years:
Teaching Keynes’s macroeconomics:

Proposals for a full session and/or for individual papers within these topics are especially welcome. They could either have a mainly political perspective related to the actual crises in Europe or they might focus on theoretical dimension, how to make a macroeconomic analysis in the spirit of the General Theory. Within the latter category we think that a special session commemorating the original contributions by the late Wynne Godley would be timely.

Papers will be considered for publication by Edward Elgar – if possible in two volumes: 1. European economics crises in Keynesian perspectives and 2. The General Theory after 75 years 3. Teaching Keynes’s macroeconomics – why is it so difficult?

Conference fee:
participation, lunches, dinner (Viking Ships Museum), coffee and fruit, 150€,
Master & PhD-Students (with supervisor recommendation), 50 €

Submission should be send to professor Jesper Jespersen (jesperj@ruc.dk) not later than 1st February 2011.

The organizing committee consists of:
Jesper Jespersen, Roskilde Universitet
Mogens Ove Madsen, Aalborg Universitet
Louis-Philippe Rochon, Laurentian University
Claude Gnos, Université de Bourgogne, Dijon

For more information on the conference visit: www.ruc.dk/kienet.
Download Call for Papers.

DIME Workshop: Technology, institutions and development

Perspectives from economics, anthropology and geography on agrarian change
February 18-19, 2011 | Max Planck Institute of Economics, Jena, Germany | website

Development studies have devoted a large amount of research to understand the processes and impacts of institutional and technological change, using different theoretical and methodological approaches. Notable examples are the post WWII contributions of Hirschman, Rosenstein-Rodan and Myrdal among others, recent economic growth literature, anthropological studies of participatory development, international political economy, economic and cultural geographies of globalization, and the evolutionary and institutional approaches that incorporate insights from various social science sub-disciplines, including economic sociology of networks. Despite the richness of contributions, crossbreeding between different research programs and disciplines has been occasional, and cross-disciplinary discussions of research results on focused issues are rare.
       
A privileged vantage point for conducting such cross-disciplinary discussions is provided by the phenomenon of agrarian change, which has allowed detailed analyses of the relations between institutions (e.g. property rights, socio-cultural power structures, colonial burdens and their post-colonial incarnations), agri-production technologies, exchange practices and wider rural development. The study of agrarian change has also sparked debates on appropriate technology, structural change, poverty alleviation, distribution of resources, and the functioning of markets. Recently, in the wake of the 2007-8 food crisis and massive land-grab investments in Africa for food and fuel, coupled with continuing smallholder distress and indebtedness in fast-growing countries such as India and China, agrarian change and food security/sovereignty have become crucial points of debate on development processes and policies at the national and global scales.

We aim to bring together contributions – theoretical and empirical, qualitative and quantitative, from any disciplinary background – that focus on the multifaceted interactions between (groups of) individuals, science and technology, institutional structures, and the different social practices associated with them in development processes. We especially encourage contributions that map these interactions in the context of the current agrarian transformation in developing countries through further integration into global and local branded markets, changing patterns of use and distribution of resources (e.g. due to climate change impacts), and the multi-dimensional sustainability of development processes.
        
Topics
The following is an incomplete list of themes and topics that should serve as a guide to submit papers, and for which one or more leading scholars in the field has been invited to contribute

AGRARIAN CHANGE:
TECHNOLOGY, INSTITUTIONS AND DEVELOPMENT:
       
For further information, download Call for Papers.

Disaster! A Conference on Catastrophes in History

April 9, 2011 | Hagley Museum and Library, Wilmington, Delaware
 
The University of Delaware-Hagley Fellows invites scholars to join us in a conversation about how disasters have shaped societies, cultures and environments since 1700. What makes a disaster a disaster? Who decides? How have they been interpreted? What are the consequences of disasters? What can historians gain by studying disasters? We particularly encourage proposals for papers that explore how disasters can inform the histories of business, technology, consumption, the environment, work, and everyday life.
 
We welcome proposals by both graduate students and established scholars. Financial assistance for travel will be provided to all conference presenters.

Please email a 300-word abstract and a one-page CV to the Hagley Fellows at hagley.fellows@gmail.com by December 31, 2010. For more information: www.udel.edu/hagley.

Feminist Economics: Special Issue on Land, Gender, and Food Security

Guest Editors: Stephanie Seguino, Gale Summerfield, and Dzodzi Tsikata

In reaction to the global food price crisis in 2007–8 as well as concerns over population pressures and water shortages, wealthier developing countries and newly industrialized ones have begun a surge of leasing and acquisition of millions of hectares of farmland in many poorer developing countries. The expanding global demand for biofuels and other non- food agricultural commodities, along with rising agricultural commodity prices, represent an additional impetus for these acquisitions by wealthier developing countries. Experts are concerned that these large-scale land deals will increase food insecurity and inequalities within the countries that lease or sell land. Such transactions may also widen income gaps between the wealthier and poorer developing countries engaged in them.

To date, analyses of land acquisitions have not addressed human rights and gender implications of these processes. Given women’s important roles as producers and consumers of agricultural products in affected countries and the implications of gender equality for long-run growth, this is a critical lacuna in research. For this special issue, Feminist Economics encourages scholars from economics and related disciplines to submit papers that reveal gender impacts of the leases and acquisitions, including effects on women’s access to land, intrahousehold allocation, on-farm agricultural productivity, household food security, and investments in children’s well-being. Consideration of gender differences related to class, ethnicity, and location are encouraged. Feminist Economics especially welcomes submissions from the Global South and transition economies.

Contributions may cover diverse topics, including but not limited to:

Please direct queries and abstracts (500 words maximum) to the Guest Editors, Stephanie Seguino (sseguino@uvm.edu), Gale Summerfield (summrfld@illinois.edu), and Dzodzi Tsikata (dzodzit@yahoo.co.uk or dtsikata@ug.edu.gh), no later than 15 January 2011.

If the Guest Editors approve an abstract, the complete manuscript will be due 1 August 2011 and should be submitted to Feminist Economics through the submissions website (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rfec). Questions about these procedures may be sent to feministeconomics@rice.edu, +1.713.348.4083 (phone), or +1.713.348.5495 (fax).

History of Economics as Culture Workshop 2011

April 8th, 2011 | University of Cergy-Pontoise (near Paris, France)

This is to announce that we are organizing on behalf of the H2S (History of Social Science) group the third workshop on “history of ‘economics as culture’ (Histoire culturelle des savoirs économiques)” to be held Friday, April 8th, 2011 at the University of Cergy-Pontoise (near Paris, France). Our intention is to bring together scholars from different disciplines to discuss from an historical vantage point, the place of economics in our culture. Below are some suggestions of topics that exemplify what will be at issue:

The workshop will comprise of 5 or 6 papers containing genuine unpublished research. If you have an interest in these topics, please send us a proposal of no more than 1000 words or a draft paper of what you want to present before January, 15 at the following address: historyofeconomicsasculture@gmail.com

If you are interested in the subject but are unable to send a proposal, feel free to contact us at the same address for further discussion/information. Also, last year program is available here: http://economix.u-paris10.fr/fr/activites/colloques/?id=113

IAFFE (International Association for Feminist Economics) 2011 Conference

June 24 - 26, 2011 Hangzhou, China
Conference Theme: Reorienting economic theory, policies, and institutions: Feminist and critical perspectives on the global economic crisis

The global economic crisis that began in 2008 has resulted in widespread critiques of mainstream economic thinking. This has created intellectual and policy space to rethink economic theory and policies in a variety of critical areas: economic development and industrialization, growth, environment and climate change, inequality by gender and ethnicity, and the role of the state. Feminist economic thought has a great deal to contribute at this period of ripe intellectual ferment. Further, feminists are positioned to be able to contribute to ongoing debates on how to reform the global financial architecture, and with that, institutions of global economic regulation, such as the World Bank, World Trade Organization, and International Monetary Fund.

 The theme of the 2011 IAFFE annual conference, Reorienting economic theory, policies, and institutions: Feminist perspectives in the aftermath of the global economic crisis to be held in Hangzhou, China offers an opportunity to bring together scholars whose contributions can stimulate thinking in these critical areas. We welcome paper submissions on the theme of the conference as well topics of interest to feminist economics. Papers do not have to explicitly address gender, but should be gender-relevant.

· Macroeconomic policies to promote full employment
· Gender-sensitive public policy
· Feminist monetary and tax policies
· Large-scale land acquisitions, gender, and food security
· Stratification economics: Gender and racial economic hierarchies
· The economics of identity
· Gender analyses of China’s economic development model
· Feminist analysis of global economic power shift to BRICs
· Feminist economic thought and activism
· Lessons from the Asian development model in the wake of the global crisis
· Feminist human rights approaches to economic policy
· Gender effects of China’s investment in Africa
· Global crisis, international migration, and paid domestic workers
· The global crisis and paid and unpaid work
· Feminist proposals for financial sector reform
· Gender, informal employment, and social security

Conference Structure

Panel proposals and individual paper submissions are invited on any aspect of feminist inquiry into economic issues. This includes papers that focus explicitly on gender as well as those that are on broader topics that are gender-relevant. IAFFE conference panels do not as a rule have discussants. This year, papers will be assigned to regular panels or to a limited number of panels focused on New Projects in Feminist Economics; senior scholar will be assigned as discussants on these panels. The conference language will be in English and Chinese and we hope to provide simultaneous translation for most sessions and panels.

Submissions: Proposals must be submitted on-line via the IAFFE website (www.iaffe.org). (If you do not have internet access, please contact the Conference Coordinator, Jolene Walker, at 1 402 472 3372 for instructions on how to proceed.) Submissions can be made for panels or individual papers. Participants are limited to one paper presentation. Titles and abstracts for all papers (including those that are part of panels) are required. Check the IAFFE website, http://www.iaffe.org/conferences/annual/index.php, for detailed submission guidelines.

Deadline for Submission: The deadline for submissions is March 1, 2011. Acceptances will be announced by early April.

Travel Grant Funds: Through the generous assistance of several granting agencies including the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA), IAFFE is able to provide assistance to a limited number of scholars and graduate students to assist with travel and other expenses associated with attending our Annual Conferences. We are especially interested in funding scholars from Africa and other regions of the Global South as well as a limited number of scholars and graduate students from OECD countries. Our goal is to foster the diversity of the geographical representation and perspectives at IAFFE conferences. People who plan to present a paper at the conference, and who come from countries with developing and transition economies, are also encouraged to apply for this funding.

Applications should be submitted early. Submissions for the travel grant program will be accepted beginning December 1. The deadline for applications to the program is March 1, 2011. Notifications of awards will begin April 1, 2011. Please check the IAFFE website for Travel Grant application information or write to conference@iaffe.org for more information. We encourage applicants to apply for their visas as soon as possible.

The conference will be held at Zhejiang Gongshang University in collaboration with the Chinese Women Economists Research Training Program of the China Center for Economic Research, Peking University.

Ninth International Conference of the International Development Ethics Association

 Gender Justice and Development: Local and Global
June 9-11, 2011 | Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, U.S.

The International Development Ethics Association (IDEA) with Centre on Values and Ethics (COVE) at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada and Center for International Studies (CIS) and Philosophy Department at Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, PA

Plenary speaker:
Naila Kabeer, Professorial Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, Sussex and Senior Research Fellow, Department of International Development, UK

While submissions on any topic in development ethics are welcome, IDEA is particularly interested in submissions that fit the theme of exploring, understanding, and analyzing the role of gender justice in development theory and policy. Scholars and activists in development are increasingly using the concept "gender justice" to replace the terms "gender equality" and "gender mainstreaming". Many now hold that describing situations using the latter terms fails to address adequately the ongoing gender-based injustices from which women suffer. However, there is no single definition of gender justice and much disagreement among local, national, and international power-holders about what constitutes gender injustice and how to alleviate or eliminate it.

IDEA invites submissions that could include discussions of gender as it relates to any of the following list of topics. Gender and

Papers could examine these issues from diverse theoretical and conceptual perspectives including philosophical argument, empirical analysis, examinations of policy, and action strategies. Papers could consider how and to what degree the concrete experiences of women in specific contexts can and should inform theory, practice, and activism at local and global levels. The conference will engage scholars and practitioners from around the world and from a wide variety of disciplines and activities (including philosophy and other humanities, social sciences, policy studies, development, social work, NGOs, local and global agencies and organizations, government officials and policy makers). IDEA particularly welcomes submissions from scholars and practitioners in South countries.

Submission of Abstracts.
Proposals should be submitted by email to Christine Koggel at ckoggel@brynmawr.edu and should include:
1. An abstract of 500 words
2. Name, affiliation, and contact information on a separate page
3. A biography of under 100 words (for the conference program)
The conference will be conducted primarily in English. There may be some presentations in Spanish, depending on the availability of volunteers to give informal translations. Proposals for presentations in Spanish should be sent to Daniela Gallegos at danielagallegos@yahoo.com.

Important dates:
Program Co-Chairs:
Jay Drydyk, President of IDEA and Director of COVE
Christine Koggel, Co-Director of CIS and Board Member of IDEA 

IIPPE: Second International Conference in Political Economy

Neoliberalism and the Crises of Economic Science
May 20-22, 2011 | Istanbul University, Beyazit, Turkey

The global crisis of the last years of the “noughties” has cruelly exposed the deficiencies not only of mainstream economics but also of broader strands of political economy from across the social sciences more generally that have promoted neoliberalism. Media and academic commentary has focused on the inability to predict the crisis and the corresponding inadequacies of the economics profession, expecting a sort of self-criticism and reconstruction from within the discipline, whilst the inadequate treatment of the economic and the economy across the social sciences has been less harshly exposed to criticism.

In the case of economics, this has led to a spirited deference of the existing frame of analysis (What crisis? Bubbles don’t exist) and to the assertion that the discipline’s principles remain adequate but they need to be better and more realistically applied, possibly with the incorporation of other behavioural elements and techniques. Similar minor modifications to analytical frameworks have emanated from the international financial institutions and national treasuries, etc, if to some extent to allow for more discretion in policy rather than fundamental rethinks. Accordingly, the degree of rethinking within mainstream economics is strikingly underwhelming as, indeed, is the rethinking informing policy responses where neoliberal support to globalisation of finance remains to the fore, with dramatic adjustments at the expense of working people and the poor.

Although, then, the urgent issues brought about by the global crisis have made such questioning of mainstream economics both necessary and inevitable, there are also wider implications for a more inclusive reconstruction of economic understanding across the social sciences as a means to inform both academic and policy-making circles.

This conference will probe much deeper into the multiple crises of economic science, informed by the perspectives of political economy that have long been ignored and marginalised by the mainstream, whether deriving from critical political economy and heterodox economics or from the treatment of the economy from across the social sciences as a whole. The ultimate aim is to explore new avenues in promoting and developing critical political economy in view of recent developments. As well as engagements with economics and the economic, we are seeking individual contributions and proposals for panels that address Neoliberalism and the Crises of Economic Science through:


We welcome both individual submissions and proposals for panels (or streams of panels), with the latter ideally already incorporating a number of proposed submissions but allowing for others to be added as appropriate.

The deadline for submission of both individual abstracts of papers and proposals for panels is the 15th of February 2011(submissions should be sent to iippe@soas.ac.uk and/or t.s.b.d@superonline.com.

Potential participants will be notified by the 15st of March. The deadline for the submission of full papers is the 15th of April. Early submissions, even if only provisional, are essential both to avoid disappointment and to help in the appropriate allocation of papers to designated panels and streams that will themselves be strengthened through solicited contributions and the plenaries.

This Conference is Hosted by Turkish Social Sciences Association (TSSA) and  Istanbul University Research Center for Global Politics and Administration (GLOPAR)

Download Call for Papers.

The 2011 Left Forum

Pace University, NYC | March 18-20 | website
 
The 2011 Left Forum will take place at Pace University (NYC). This year's theme is "Toward a Politics of Solidarity." The Left Forum organizers have not announced the details yet but we would like to let you know that URPE members can submit panels to the LF either independently or with URPE sponsorship. The advantage of URPE sponsorship is that you will get more publicity within URPE and you will get help with organizing your panel. The LF lists sponsoring organizations in its brochure and on its website and URPE sponsorship may help your panel get accepted by the LF.

The URPE deadline for submissions of URPE-sponsored panels is Thursday, November 18. The URPE Steering Committee will review the submissions that weekend, and make a decision on which panels will be sponsored by URPE.
People who attend the LF are well-informed but most are not economists. Panels should be on topics of general interest. Please be prepared to make a major contribution toward organizing your panel, but be open to the possibility of accepting additional suggestions of panelists from URPE or from the 2011 LF organizers. The factors involved in determining which panels will be sponsored by URPE include: how many panels apply; whether your panel is of general interest; whether a panel on the same topic has already been accepted by the 2011 Left Forum; whether URPE decides to co-sponsor panels with other organizations; how much effort you are able to contribute toward organizing your panel; whether it is possible to form a complete panel from your suggestion; and whether you have been in an URPE panel recently.

The Left Forum deadline for panel submissions and the cost information have not been decided yet. Last year each panel paid $125, which was generally split between the panelists and sometimes the chair (3 - 5) - and the registration fee for the conference was them waived for these people. See the LF website for further announcements.
Please e-mail panel suggestions to agezici@keene.edu and al@economics.utah.edu by November 18.

The Journal of Critical Globalisation Studies: The Idea of Crisis

The Journal of Critical Globalisation Studies invites submissions for a Special Issue on 'The Idea of Crisis'.

The concept of ‘crisis’ has a long and complex lineage in the human sciences. On the one hand, it has been consistently deployed to understand issues of order and change since at least the 18th century. Influential contributions run the gamut from Marx on the evolution ofmacro-social structures all the way through to Lacan on how the individual finds and maintains its place within these. On the other hand, its sheer ubiquity and apparent polyvalence have served to render the concept an object of inquiry in its own right. Conceptual
historian Reinhart Koselleck, for example, has written at length on how the term’s meanings and referents have varied across space and time.

In the contemporary study of global politics, this richness of meaning is on full display. Indeed, both during and after the Great Credit Crash of 2007-2009, the notion of ‘crisis’ has been widely employed in a range of different ways. For example, it has been used to identify different periods in world history and to account for specific pathways of institutional transformation; to describe the contradictions that underpin the failure of a political or economic system to function, and to understand the interpretive struggles triggered by the recognition of these failures. Within the very broad remit of thinking about ‘The Idea of Crisis’, the Journal of Critical Globalisation Studies invites full-length articles, essays (pieces up to 5,000 words), and book reviews for its fourth issue. The aim of the special issue is to bring together academics from a range of disciplinary backgrounds in order to explore how different theories of crisis or change may feed into the historical process itself. The editors particularly welcome pieces that explore some of the following questions (although without intending to proscribe any other avenues contributors may wish to explore):


To be considered for publication, contributions must be submitted electronically as email attachments to abstracts@criticalglobalisation.com. The submission deadline is 1st December 2010. Manuscripts should be prepared according to the journal’s guidelines which are available on the website. For more information about the themes of the special issue in advance of the deadline for full manuscripts, please contact the editor-in-chief for issue 4, Amin Samman: amin@criticalglobalisation.com.

Nature™ Inc? Questioning the Market Panacea in Environmental Policy and Conservation

30 June – 2 July 2011 | ISS, The Hague, The Netherlands

Nature is dead. Long live Nature™ Inc.! This adagio inspires many environmental policies today. In order to respond to the many environmental problems the world is facing, new and innovative methods are necessary, or so it is argued, and markets are posited as the ideal vehicle to supply these. Indeed, market forces have been finding their way into environmental policy and conservation to a degree that seemed unimaginable only a decade ago. Payments for ecosystem services, biodiversity derivatives and new conservation finance mechanisms, species banking, carbon trade, geoengineering and conservation 2.0 are just some of the market mechanisms that have taken a massive flight in popularity in recent years, despite, or perhaps because of the recent ‘Great Financial Crisis’.

The conference seeks to critically engage with the market panacea in environmental policy and conservation in the context of histories and recent developments in neoliberal capitalism. The conference is steeped in traditions of political economy and political ecology, in order to arrive at a deeper understanding of where environmental policies and conservation in an age of late capitalism come from, are going and what effects they have on natures and peoples. ‘Nature™ Inc’ follows a successful recent conference in Lund, Sweden, in May 2010 and several earlier similar initiatives that have shown the topic to be of great interest to academics, policy-makers and civil society. The present conference is thus meant not only to deepen and share critical knowledge on market-based environmental policies and practices and nature-society relations more generally, but also to strengthen and widen the networks enabling this objective.
Topics include but are not limited to:


Paper proposals are due 15 December 2010. Please send a 250-300 word proposal, with title, contact information, and three keywords as a Word attachment to: nature2011@iss.nl. Proposals for complete panels are welcome. Conference language is English. Authors will be notified by 15 January 2011. Complete papers are due by 1 April, 2011.

More information soon on: www.iss.nl/nature2011 and www.worldecologyresearch.org.

Organization:
The conference will be organized by the Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, together with the University of Manchester, UK, and University of Queensland, Australia.


Society of Heterodox Economists (SHE) Conference: Additional Sessions

An additional  Symposia has been being arranged for this year’s conference:

On Post Keynesian Economics
Please send proposals to Peter Kriesler: P.kriesler@unsw.edu.au
 
Also there will be a Panel on Islamic Economics. Please let me know if you are interested in contributing.
 
Details are available on the Conference website, as well as details of the other symposia:
http://www.economics.unsw.edu.au/nps/servlet/portalservice?GI_ID=System.LoggedOutInheritableArea&maxWnd=_Economics_SHE_2010Conf
 
Also details of accommodation are now available:
http://www.economics.unsw.edu.au/contribute2/Economics/research/Heterdox/Accommodation.htm
 
SHE Website:
http://She.web.unsw.edu.au
 

Society for Socialist Studies, Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences

Continental Shifts, Divisions, and Solidarities
01 June – 04 June 2011 | University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, Fredericton, Canada

The West is looking East. Capitalists are seeking cheap labour and new customers in China. Workers fear low-wage competition and job losses. Politicians wonder whether China, possibly in conjunction with India, Russia and Brazil, will challenge the world dominance of Western countries. Environmentalists worry about the ecological impact of new centres of economic growth.

Yet it is by no means certain whether there really is a continental shift from the West to the East and whether economic growth can be sustained after the world economic crisis 2008/9. Maybe the East is just getting westernized as other parts of the world have before. Moreover, little do we in the West know about the aspirations, hopes and fears of people living on other continents.

What we can do is to speculate about the future. Times of uncertainty are also times of historical openings. Will there be ever-tighter market integration, a trans-pacific solidarity of capitalists? Will there be political divisions between the East and the West? Will workers East and West find ways to overcome the divisions that kept them apart for most of capitalist history? Will today’s workers struggles in China inspire workers struggles of the future in other countries and on other continents?

The changing geography of the world economy is intimately linked to changes in social structures within and between countries. Gender roles and ethnic compositions of societies are shaken, creating the space for new solidarities across the dividing lines of race and gender but also producing the danger of new forms of sexism and racism.

Like any other changes in the past, the “Continental Shifts, Divisions, and Solidarities” are also a challenge to the ways we understand the world(s) around us. Thus, this is a time to rethink established epistemologies, theories and underlying philosophies. The Society of Socialist Studies invites proposals for papers, roundtables, and session addressing any aspect of the theme of “Continental Shifts, Divisions, and Solidarities”.

Proposals for Roundtables and Sessions
At this point we are mainly interested in proposals for roundtables and sessions, which will then be posted on our website so that individuals can propose papers to all suggested sessions. Proposals for roundtables should include a list of participants. Unlike sessions they are not open for individual proposals.
 
Proposals for Papers
You can submit proposals for an individual paper at this point. The Programme Committee will try to find a place for it. Sessions open for individual proposals will be posted to our website as soon as they are accepted by the Programme Committee.

Please submit abstracts (maximum of 100 words) for any proposals before 15 January 2011 to: Ingo Schmidt, Programme Committee Chair, ingos@athabascau.ca

http://socialiststudies.ca/
http://congress2011.ca/
 

Call for Participants

Beyond Eurocentrism: A Marx for the 21st Century

November 21, 2010. 1:00 PM | Community Room A, Westside Pavilion, Pico and Westwood Boulevards, LA. | Sponsored by West Coast Marxist-Humanists | Admission Free.

Speaker: Kevin Anderson, author of the just-published Marx at the Margins: Nationalism, Ethnicity, and Non-Western Societies  (University of Chicago Press, 2010)

While Karl Marx concentrated in his major writings on capital and  class in Western Europe, he also wrote extensively on colonialism and  non-Western societies, especially with regard to India, China, and
Russia. Many of his writings also took up nationalism, race, and  ethnicity, notably in Poland, the U.S., and Ireland. By carrying out  a critical analysis of these neglected writings, this book offers us a  Marx for the twenty-first century.

Kevin Anderson teaches sociology, political science, and feminist  studies at UC-Santa Barbara. He is also the coauthor of Foucault and  the Iranian Revolution (2005) and the coeditor of The Rosa Luxemburg
Reader.

Contact: arise@umarxisthumanists.org, http://www.usmarxisthumanists.org/

Beyond Rationality III Workshop: Resistance and the Practice of Rationality

19 – 20 Nov. 2010 | the London School of Economics & Political Science.

The themes for this workshop involve the linking of the issue of the limits of rationality with the concept of ‘resistance’. This word used to be used as a synonym to irrational or reactionary behaviour in the social sciences. But things seem to have moved on and we now are able to recognise that resistance is a constant of human conduct, and its relation to rationality or irrationality is not determined nor fixed at any historical epoch nor with respect to any topic. The study workshop will ask: to what extent are social scientific conceptions of ‘resistance’ sui generis, or to what extent are they borrowed from the natural sciences by metaphor and analogy and vice-versa?

The meeting will take place at the LSE under the auspices of the Centre for the Philosophy of Natural and Social Science, the Institute for Social Psychology and the Center for Intelligence and Strategic Studies (Oxford MS).

If you would like to attend please email Philcent@lse.ac.uk to reserve a place. Please include your name, your institution and a contact email address.

For more information please see: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/CPNSS/events/BeyondRationality/beyondRationalityIII.aspx'
 

Crisis and Critique: Historical Materialism Annual London Conference 2010

Central London, Thursday 11th to Sunday 14th November
 
Registration and Provisional Programme Now Available online: http://www.historicalmaterialism.org/conferences/annual7

 
ALL ATTENDEES AND SPEAKERS MUST PRE-REGISTER, PRE-REGISTRATION CLOSES AT MIDNIGHT ON NOVEMBER 8TH

Notwithstanding repeated invocations of the ‘green shoots of recovery’, the effects of the economic crisis that began in 2008 continue to be felt around the world. While some central tenets of the neoliberal project have been called into question, bank bailouts, cuts to public services and attacks on working people's lives demonstrate that the ruling order remains capable of imposing its agenda. Many significant Marxist analyses have already been produced of the origins, forms and prospects of the crisis, and we look forward to furthering these debates at HM London 2010. We also aim to encourage dialogue between the critique of political economy and other modes of criticism – ideological, political, aesthetic, philosophical – central to the Marxist tradition.

In the 1930s, Walter Benjamin and Bertolt Brecht projected a journal to be called ‘Crisis and Critique’. In very different times, but in a similar spirit, HM London 2010 aims to serve as a forum for dialogue, interaction and debate between different strands of critical-Marxist theory. Whether their focus is the study of the capitalist mode of production's theoretical and practical foundations, the unmasking of its ideological forms of legitimation or its political negation, we are convinced that a renewed and politically effective Marxism will need to rely on all the resources of critique in the years ahead. Crises produce periods of ideological and political uncertainty. They are moments that put into question established cognitive and disciplinary compartmentalisations, and require a recomposition at the level of both theory and practice. HM London 2010 hopes to contribute to a broader dialogue on the Left aimed at such a recomposition, one of whose prerequisites remains the young Marx’s call for the ‘ruthless criticism of all that exists’.

Evolution de la régulation: bancaire et financière face à la crise

22 novembre 2010 | Centre de Formation Professionnelle Notariale de Paris

La journée est gratuite mais nécessite une inscription avant le 15 novembre car les places sont limitées.

Download Program | Registration Form.

The Global Crisis: Rethinking Economy and Society

December 3–5, 2010 | Chicago Center for Contemporary Theory | part of 3CT’s Economy and Society Series | website

Friday, December 3, 2010
8:45–9:30 Breakfast & Introductory Remarks
9:30–12:30 Panel No. 1: Understanding the Crisis Historically
• Chair: William Sewell
• David Harvey
• Duncan Foley
• Beverly Silver
• Immanuel Wallerstein
• Discussant: Moishe Postone
12:30–1:30 Lunch
1:30–4:00 Panel No. 2: The Crisis and the Global South
• Chair: Lisa Wedeen
• Vivek Chibber
• Ho-fung Hung
• Claudio Lomnitz
• Achille Mbembe
• Discussant: John Comaroff
Saturday, December 4, 2010
9:00–9:30 Breakfast & Introductory Remarks
9:30–11:45 Panel No. 3: The Financialization of Economic Life
• Chair: Paul Cheney
• James Galbraith
• Benjamin Lee/Edward LiPuma
• Greta Krippner
• Discussant: Gary Herrigel
11:45–12:45 Lunch
12:45–3:00 Panel No. 4: Neo-liberalism as Ideology and as Policy
• Chair: Jean Comaroff
• Neil Brenner/Jamie Peck/Nik Theodore
• Peter Evans/Bill Sewell
• Saskia Sassen
• Discussant: James Sparrow
3:00–3:15 Coffee Break
3:15–5:30 Panel No. 5: Unsettled Practices: Work and Expert Knowledge
• Chair: TBA
• Michael Hardt
• Richard Sennett
• Kaushik Sunder Rajan
• Discussant: Andreas Glaeser
Sunday, December 5, 2010
10:00–12:30 Roundtable: Paths to the Future

This conference has been co-sponsored by the Franke Institute for the Humanities, the Norman Wait Harris Fund, the History Department, the Anthropology Department, the Nicholson Center, the Social Sciences Division and the Political Science Department. For further information, please contact Anwen Tormey (amtormey@uchicago.edu)

Interdisciplinary Seminars: Human Rights, Markets and Governance Challenges

October, 25th 2010 to June, 30th 2011 at ISCTE-IUL, Avenida das Forças Armadas, Lisbon, Portugal | website

We are pleased to send you the program of the Seminars on “Human Rights, Markets and Governance Challenges", organised by DINÂMIA-CET, the Centre for Socioeconomic and Territorial Studies of ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute (IUL), which will be held from October, 25th 2010 to June, 30th 2011 at ISCTE-IUL, Avenida das Forças Armadas, Lisbon, Portugal.

The organising committee,
Maria Eduarda Gonçalves
Maria de Fátima Ferreiro
Ana Costa  (DINÂMIA – CET, ISCTE/IUL).

 

Download Program (in English).


London Seminar on Contemporary Marxist Theory

The global economic and financial crisis has witnessed a deepening of interest in different forms of critical and radical thought and practice. This seminar will explore the new perspectives that have been opened up by interventions of contemporary Marxist theory in this political and theoretical conjuncture. It involves collaboration among Marxist scholars based in several London universities, including Brunel University, King’s College London, and the School of Oriental and African Studies. Guest speakers – from both Britain and abroad – will include a wide range of thinkers engaging with many different elements of the various Marxist traditions, as well as with diverse problems and topics. The aim of the seminar is to promote fruitful debate and to contribute to the development of more robust Marxist analysis. It is open to all.

Autumn Term Programme

9th November, 5pm
15th December, 5pm

The schedule for 2011 will be made available at a later date. Speakers will include David Leopold (Oxford), Esther Leslie (Birkbeck), Stathis Kouvelakis (King's) and Alberto Toscano (Goldsmiths).

For further information, please contact:

Marxism Beyond the Boundaries

Thursday 11 November 7.30 pm at the Brockway Room, Conway Hall. 25 Red Lion Square London WC1 (nearest tube: Holborn). Admission free (collection for room). All welcome.

SPEAKERS

Contact: HobgloblinLondon@aol.com

CPNSS Seminar: Towards Discursive Economics

Thursday 11 November 2010 , 4:40pm - 6:00pm | Room T206, 2nd Floor, Lakatos Building, LSE

Speaker:  Vladimir Yefimov
Robert Shiller succeeded to forecast and understand the crisis by paying attention to the dominant discourse among all involved actors concerning housing market. The Discursive Economics makes analysis of any economic phenomena in the same way. It starts the Discursive Turn in economics which already took place in psychology and political science. It studies speech acts taking place in certain arrays of people in order to reveal rules and story lines for understanding socio-economic reality. In the research project the ontological and epistemological comparisons will be made between Discursive Economics and Experimental, Behavioural and Institutional Economics.

This event is open to all.

Society of Government Economists Annual Conference

November 15-16, 2010 | Washington, DC. 

Download the Program.

Workshop: Latent Factor Analysis

Nov. 15, 2010 | University of Manchester – Cathie Marsh Centre for Census & Survey Research

This short course covers latent variables and confirmatory factor analysis. A latent variable is a thing (such as an attitude) that has been measured using a set of three or more indicators. We aim to show what kinds of models would lead to an adequate factor model. Participants will be shown the SPSS and MPLUS methods of doing factor analysis.


For more details and registration, see: www.ccsr.ac.uk/courses/list
You will find this course on 15 Nov. 2010 and there is a fee depending on your status.
Contact for more details wendy.olsen@manchester.ac.uk
Contact for registration Margaret.martin@manchester.ac.uk

Job Postings for Heterodox Economists

Dickinson College, US

Assistant Professor
 
Dickinson College Department of Economics has a fall 2011 opening for a tenure track position at the Assistant Professor level. We are seeking someone qualified to teach environmental and ecological economics. Ideally, applicants would have research interests in either domestic or international environmental and ecological issues. The Department of Economics is deeply committed to pluralism in economics and heavily values diversity of economic perspectives including heterodox economics.
 
Dickinson College is a liberal arts college where excellence in teaching and research are strongly emphasized, and where innovative, interdisciplinary courses and programs are strongly supported, including through our Center for Sustainability Education. Dickinson has a strong global education program. Fluency in a second language would be valuable. Primary teaching responsibilities include: Environmental and Ecological Economics; Introductory and intermediate level theory (either micro or macro); and 200/300 level field courses. All members of the department teach first year and senior seminars in rotation. The teaching load will be five courses per year. Ph.D preferred. Dickinson is committed to diversity, and we encourage candidates who will contribute to meeting that goal to apply. Applications and nominations of women and minorities are strongly encouraged.

Application Instructions:
Applications must be submitted online at: http://jobs.dickinson.edu   by November 15. Your curriculum vitae should include contact information for three professional references. We will be interviewing candidates at the ASSA Meetings in January by pre-arranged appointment only.

Franklin & Marshall College, US

Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics

The Department of Economics at Franklin & Marshall College invites applications for a one-year visiting position at the Assistant Professor level, beginning Fall 2011 and pending administrative approval. Teaching experience is required. Teaching load is 3/2 and may include participation in the College's general education program. The teaching responsibilities will likely include teaching our Introduction to Economic Perspectives course (please check the web site to get a description of the course), an elective course concerning the issues of gender, race, and class, and perhaps another elective chosen in consultation with the department. Salary and benefits are competitive and commensurate with qualifications.

Candidates should send a letter of application indicating why they believe themselves to be an especially good fit for our department and our curriculum. We strongly recommend visiting our website at http://www.fandm.edu/economics for more information about our department and our approach to teaching economics in a liberal arts environment. Also include a curriculum vitae, graduate transcript, three letters of recommendation, a teaching statement, a research statement, and teaching evaluations and send to Tami Lantz, Department Coordinator, Department of Economics, Franklin & Marshall College, P.O. Box 3003, Lancaster, PA 17604. We will not accept electronic submissions. However, questions can be sent to the department coordinator, Tami Lantz, at tami.lantz@fandm.edu. Please reference the position in heterodox and feminist economics in your letter of application.

Franklin & Marshall College is a highly selective liberal arts college with a demonstrated commitment to cultural pluralism. EOE

B5 - Current Heterodox Approaches
B54 - Feminist Economics

National Chengchi University, Taiwan

 Assistant Professor of Economics (2 positions)
 
The Department of Economics at National Chengchi University in Taiwan announces its recruitment plan for autumn/2011. The Department has up to two tenured-track teaching and research positions available. Ability to communicate in Chinese and a Ph.D. degree in Economics are required. The application deadline is January 31, 2011. The full application package including recommendation letters should be received before the deadline. (For more information, see http://econo.nccu.edu.tw)

A complete application should include:

Please send your application file to:
Recruiting Committee
Department of Economics
National Chengchi University
Taipei 116, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Phone: 886-2-29393091 ext 51058
Fax: 886-2-29390344
 

National Priorities Project

Budget Analyst

National Priorities Project (NPP) makes complex federal budget information transparent and
accessible so people can prioritize and influence how their tax dollars are spent. We hold the vision
of an informed and engaged democracy where all people affected by federal spending priorities
have the ability and opportunity to shape our nation's budget. Located in Northampton, MA, since
1983, NPP focuses on the personal and societal impact of federal spending at the national, state,
congressional district and local levels. Find out more at http://www.nationalpriorities.org.

NPP's Budget Analyst works collaboratively with the Database Manager, colleagues in IT and
colleagues in communications and networking. This position plans and executes the research
necessary for NPP's suite of materials and tools.

For more information, download Job Description.

Saint Peter's College, US

Assistant Professor of Economics

The Department of Economics and Finance at Saint Peter's College invites applications for a tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor level, beginning in the Fall of 2011.  Candidates for the position should have already earned a Ph.D. in economics or be near completion of such a degree.  Preferred areas of specialization are economic development or environmental economics.  Teaching experience is required.  Preference will be given to candidates with teaching experience in statistics.  The teaching load is 4/4 and will include statistics, economic development and poverty and inequality.

Saint Peter's College is a liberal arts college with a demonstrated commitment to diversity.  EOE.

Candidates should send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, graduate transcript, three letters of recommendation, a teaching statement, a research statement, and teaching evaluations to

Dr. Edwin Dickens, Chair
Department of Economics and Finance
Saint Peter's College
2641 Kennedy Boulevard
Jersey City, NJ 07306

SUNY-Cortland, US

Assistant Professor of Economics 

JEL Classification: B5 Current Heterodox Approaches

The Economics Department at the State University of New York (SUNY) College at Cortland invites applications for a full-time tenure-track Assistant Professor. A 3-3 teaching load . Teach such courses as intermediate contemporary public policy, intermediate microeconomics, math for economists and at least one political economy elective depending on field(s) of specialization Also, develop an active research agenda, engage in service activities on campus, and advise undergraduate students. Required Qualifications: Ph.D. expected by time of appointment. Preferred Qualifications: College teaching experience and demonstrated potential for scholarship. The Department will interview candidates at the ASSA meetings in Denver. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. For consideration apply online at https://jobs.cortland.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=52363. SUNY Cortland is an AA/EEO/ADA employer. We have a strong commitment to the affirmation of diversity and have interdisciplinary degree programs in the areas of Multicultural Studies.

For further information and application instructions, see the November JOE at http://www.aeaweb.org/joe/listing.php?JOE_ID=201011_394871

SUNY-New Paltz, US

Assistant Professor of Economics
 
JEL Classification codes:
 
The Department of Economics at the State University of New York at New Paltz invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track Assistant Professor position, starting in Fall 2011. Ph.D. and teaching experience are required. Exceptional ABD candidates with a firm completion date will be considered. The candidate must demonstrate effective communication and teaching skills. Teaching responsibilities will include Macroeconomics, Economic Development of the Asia Pacific Region (or Latin America), International Trade and Finance, and lower-division General Education courses.
 
The faculty member will be expected to establish a strong program of research and scholarship, to advise students, and to contribute to the life and work of the department and the college. The successful candidate will develop teaching interests and an active research agenda in Development Economics with an applied research focus on macroeconomic issues (prefer Asia Pacific emphasis; will consider Latin American emphasis).
 
SUNY New Paltz is a highly selective, public college that is recognized for the strength of its academic programs. It is located in the beautiful Hudson River Valley with easy access to New York City and other nearby cultural and recreational amenities. Please send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, student teaching evaluations, and other evidence of teaching effectiveness, a sample research paper, graduate transcript, and three current letters of reference to:

Dr. Edith Kuiper, Search Chair
Department of Economics, JFT 814
State University of New York at New Paltz
600 Hawk Drive
New Paltz, NY 12561-2440
 
Please note Search #F10-18 on all materials submitted. Applications will be accepted until the position is filled; however, priority will be given to applications received by December 7, 2010.
 
We especially encourage applications from individuals who can bring diverse cultural and ethnic perspectives and experiences to the campus and who can advise and mentor all members of our diverse student body. SUNY New Paltz is an AA/EOE/ADA employer.

University College London, UK

Lecturer in Political Science: Public Policy Economics and Analysis

Department / Division: UCL Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy
Grade: Grade 7/8
Hours: Full time
Salary (inclusive of London allowance): Salary will be on the UCL Lecturer A or B salary scale grade 7, (£35,415 - £38,441 per annum), and grade 8, (£39,510 - £46,635 per annum).

Duties and Responsibilities
UCL wishes to appoint a lecturer to contribute to research and teaching within the Department of Political Science/School of Public Policy. The new lecturer will undertake research of the highest international standards within his or her own specialist field, which will contribute to the research standing and culture of the Department. They will teach on the Masters and within the School’s other programmes and supervise PhD students.

As well as teaching Public Policy Economics and Analysis and possibly contributing to other popular current courses, we would expect the new lecturer to offer at least one and possibly two new courses that complement existing offerings. This appointment is available from 1 September 2011.

Key Requirements
The new Lecturer can be in any area of political science but will be expected to make a major contribution to the teaching and administration (lecturing, running seminars and recruiting, mentoring and coordinating PG Teaching Assistants) of the course, Public Policy Economics and Analysis. This is a core course taken by all students on the public policy MSc programmes (Public Policy, International Public Policy and European Public Policy). Candidates must have a PhD in political science, economics or a public policy related area, a proven track record of publications in leading journals and a demonstrated ability to win grant-funding.

Further Information
A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page. To apply for the vacancy please click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below or visit www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/jobs.

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 Ms Nicky Henson, Departmental Administrator, email n.henson@ucl.ac.uk, tel +44 (0)20 7679 4966.

CLOSING DATE FOR APPLICATIONS: 5pm, Friday 26th November 2010

It is anticipated that long listed candidates will be contacted in December 2010 and that successful candidates will be interviewed in January 2011.

University of California, Los Angeles, US

Faculty Position in Housing

The UCLA Department of Urban Planning invites applications for a tenure-track faculty position in housing beginning July 1, 2011. We seek bold and innovative thinkers who show intellectual leadership in addressing the housing challenges and inequalities faced by diverse populations in cities and regions. The appointment is expected to be at the rank of assistant professor, although applicants at other levels may also be considered.

A Ph.D. in Urban Planning or a related field is required. Our department is consistently ranked among the top internationally, and our diverse undergraduate, masters, and PhD students are consistently placed in excellent positions. We have 18 faculty, about 200 graduate students, and nearly 100 students pursuing our urban affairs minor. The UCLA School of Public Affairs - home to the departments of Public Policy, Social Welfare, and Urban Planning as well as five research centers - and its sister schools and centers, including the UCLA Ziman Center for Real Estate, provide an outstanding intellectual setting. Southern California is one of the world's major metropolitan areas, with rich cultural, social, intellectual and recreational offerings.

While applications will be accepted until the position is filled, all materials should be submitted by December 10, 2010 to be guaranteed full consideration. Send hard copies of a (a) letter of application, (2) resume/c.v., (3) names and contact information for three academic referees, and a (4) single representative article or conference paper to:

Ms. Marsha Brown
Department of Urban Planning
School of Public Affairs
University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1656.

Please reference tracking number 1184-1011-01.

UCLA offers an attractive salary and benefits package, including a housing assistance program for new faculty members. Salary is commensurate with education and experience. UCLA is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. For more information about the department, please visit our web site: http://publicaffairs.ucla.edu/urban-planning.
 

University of Connecticut, US

Assistant or Associate Professor Department of Economics and the Human Rights Institute

The Department of Economics and the Human Rights Institute (HRI) at the University of Connecticut seek to fill a tenure track faculty position in Economics and Human Rights at the Assistant or Associate Professor level beginning August, 2011. Candidates must demonstrate the potential for research excellence in Economics and Human Rights and willingness to contribute to the development of economics courses appropriate for the new human rights major. Teaching responsibilities on the graduate and undergraduate levels will be in both the Department of Economics and the Human Rights Institute.

Minimum Qualifications: The completion of all requirements for a Ph.D. in Economics by August 22, 2011; demonstrated excellence in research in economics and human rights; the ability to develop appropriate courses for human rights curriculum; and a teaching background. Equivalent
foreign degrees are acceptable.

Preferred Qualifications: The ability to contribute through research, teaching, and/or public engagement to the diversity and excellence of the learning experience.

This is a full-time, 9 month, tenure track position. Salary and benefits are competitive. Rank and salary will be commensurate with background, qualifications, and experience.

Please submit a letter of interest that describes how your work relates to human rights, a CV, three letters of reference, and a writing sample by December 1, 2010 to
<http://www.econjobmarket.org/>http://www.econjobmarket.org/.

Screening will begin immediately, with interviews planned for the ASSA meetings in Denver. The University of Connecticut is an EEO/AA employer. (Search # 2011152)

University of Dallas, US

Assistant, Associate or Professor of Economics

JEL Classifications:
B--History of Economic Thought
C00--Mathematical and Quantitative Methods: General
N00--Economic History: General
O1--Economic Development: General
P5--Comparative Economic Systems: General

The Economics Program in Constantin College of the University of Dallas seeks to fill a tenure-track position beginning fall 2011. Teaching and research interests should fall in some or all of the listed fields. Teaching load is six courses per academic year, with flexibility in specific teaching assignments. For Assistant Professor, evidence of teaching excellence and refereed publications, or the promise thereof, is expected. For Associate or Professor, evidence of teaching excellence and a record of refereed publication and professional activity are required.

The Economics Program in Constantin College is growing and offers BA degrees in both Economics and Economics and Finance. The liberal arts program of the college has a substantial humanities and sciences core taught in a small class setting with extensive use of original sources. Faculty are expected to be excellent teachers with active research and publications interests. Preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate interest in and commitment to student learning and success, to general education and to interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues in the liberal arts and sciences.

Applicants should send a cover letter, CV, statement of teaching philosophy and research interests, and a list of course teaching capabilities and preferences to:

Dr. Samuel Bostaph
Professor of Economics and Chairman
Department of Economics
Constantin College
University of Dallas
1845 E. Northgate Drive
Irving, Texas 75062

Review of applications will continue until January 31, 2010. Position is subject to final budget approval.

University of Denver, US

Assistant Professor of Economics

Heterodox Economics
Environmental Economics
Urban and Regional Economics
Labor Economics
Applied Econometrics

The Department of Economics seeks to fill one tenure-track position at the rank of assistant professor starting September 2011. Candidates must show promise of distinction in research and publications. They must also show promise of excellent teaching ability, especially for our introductory courses "Macro- and Microeconomics I: History and Theories" and/or "Macro- and Microeconomics II: Theories and Policies." Teaching these courses requires familiarity with economic history, the history of economic thought, philosophy of social science, and heterodox as well as mainstream perspectives on economic theory and policy. Research and teaching strengths in another applied field, such as Environmental, Urban, or Labor Economics, are desirable. Ability to teach M.A. level applied econometrics is also helpful. The teaching load is two (4-5 hour) courses per quarter. Applicants must apply online at www.dujobs.org and follow instructions there. A cover letter, a curriculum vitae, 3 letters of recommendation, and a sample of recent research will be required. Applications received after December 8, 2010, cannot be guaranteed consideration. The University of Denver is committed to enhancing the diversity of its faculty and staff and encourages applications from women, minorities, people with disabilities, and veterans. Please visit www.du.edu/ahss/schools/economics/ for more information about the Department.

University of Michigan-Dearborn, US

Assistant Professor of Economics

JEL Classification: N -- Economic History

One tenure track opening for a position at the Assistant Professor level. The primary area of teaching responsibility is Economic History of US, and European or International. A secondary area is Money and Banking. The Economics program is located within a multi-disciplinary Department of Social Sciences that includes History and Political Science.

Teaching load is three courses per semester, including core courses - principles of economics and intermediate theory. A Ph.D. in economics or evidence of its impending completion is required. Additional selection criteria include demonstrated potential for and commitment to teaching talented and diverse undergraduates, as well as the ability to sustain a productive research agenda. Appointment effective September 1, 2011. Salary is competitive.

The University of Michigan-Dearborn currently enrolls approximately 8,900 students in undergraduate and graduate programs. The University is one of three campuses along with Ann Arbor and Flint - in the University of Michigan system. Faculty and students have the opportunity to collaborate across all three campuses in research and scholarly activity. UM-Dearborn is located ten miles west of Detroit and thirty-five miles east of Ann Arbor.

The University of Michigan-Dearborn is dedicated to the goal of building a culturally diverse and pluralistic faculty committed to teaching and working in a multicultural environment, and strongly encourages applications from minorities and women.

For further information, please visit: http://www.umd.umich.edu/dept/acad/casl/socsci/econ. The University of Michigan, Dearborn is an equal opportunity-affirmative action employer.

University of Sydney, Australia

Lecturer in Political Economy - Two Positions in the Department of Political Economy
Reference No. 3476/1010


Applications are invited for two full-time positions in the Department of Political Economy to commence as soon as possible. The appointments are fixed term for two years, subject to the completion of a satisfactory probation and/or confirmation period for new appointees.

Visit sydney.edu.au/positions and search by the reference number 3476/1010 for more information and to apply.

Remuneration package: a competitive remuneration package is available (consisting of a Level B salary $82,112 - $97,506 plus leave loading and up to 17% employer's contribution to superannuation).

CLOSING DATE: 17 November 2010

University of Vermont, US

 Gund Professor of Ecological Economics and Director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics

The Gund Institute for Ecological Economics is a transdisciplinary research center at the University of Vermont, administered by the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and structured to encourage campus‐wide collaborations that study and develop solutions to society's most pressing challenges. The Gund Professor is an endowed, tenured, 9‐month position, and also serves as the Director of the Institute. The Director provides intellectual leadership for the Institute and works with faculty and students of all of UVM's colleges and schools, as well as state, national, and international organizations to develop the fields of ecological economics and design through practical systems analysis and problem‐solving.

Ecological economics is a heterodox approach to economics and the environment, focusing on the human economy as embedded in complex social and biophysical systems. The Gund Institute is developing practical approaches to problem‐solving for sustainability, tested in Vermont's living laboratory and applied throughout the world. The State of Vermont and City of Burlington are recognized leaders in efforts to redefine economic progress; strengthen rural working landscapes and urban communities; transform energy, food, and health care systems; manage common resources; and design livable human communities. The Gund Institute is ideally situated to play a leading role in developing the science of sustainable development, pioneering policy initiatives, and training the ecological entrepreneurs of the 21st century.

We seek a highly entrepreneurial systems thinker to advance an internationally renowned transdisciplinary research program in ecological economics and design; raise funds in support of that research agenda; build relationships with state, national, and international organizations; and teach and advise graduate students. The Director also works with the Gund's Managing Director in support of business operations, research and teaching collaborations, and campus relations. We encourage candidates from diverse fields, but training or experience in economics is expected. Applicants should demonstrate (1) a record of transdisciplinary research at the interface between ecological and socio-economic systems; (2) established ties to the professional communities of ecological economics, ecological design, or related fields; (3) a history of sustained research funding and support of graduate students; (4) evidence of teaching excellence, including integrative, problem‐based or service‐learning formats; and, (5) a commitment to promoting diversity in educational experiences and staff/student recruitment. The University of Vermont aspires to be among the nation's premier small research universities with a commitment to liberal education, environment, health, and public service. In pursuing that goal, the University recently identified three "Spires of Excellence" in which it will strategically focus institutional investments and growth over the next several years. These include Neuroscience, Behavior and Health; Complex Systems; and Food Systems (www.uvm.edu/~tri/). For this position, we particularly encourage candidates who take a complex systems approach to environmental problem solving. Interests and experience in complex systems modeling, sustainable food and energy systems, climate change adaptation, health and environment, livable community design, or economic behavior research would all be welcome.

Review of applications will begin on December 1, 2010, with an anticipated start date of September 1, 2011. The expected appointment is at full professor rank with tenure. The University of Vermont is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, and welcomes applications from women; underrepresented ethnic, racial and cultural groups; and from people with disabilities. The University is especially interested in candidates who can contribute to the diversity and excellence of the academic community through their research, teaching, and/or service. Applicants are requested to include in their cover letter information about how they will further this goal. Applications must include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and contact information for three references, and must be submitted electronically at www.uvmjobs.com referencing requisition number 033777.
 
Further information about the Gund Institute, current projects, and collaborations are available at www.uvm.edu/giee/. Inquiries may be made to Professor Jon Erickson, Managing Director of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics and chair of the search committee at jon.erickson@uvm.edu or 802-656-2906.


Conference Papers, Reports, and Articles


PKSG Keynes Seminar: The financial crisis and the future of macroeconomics

Tuesday 26 October. Charles Goodhart, London School of Economics | Discussant: Michael Kuczynski, Pembroke College, Cambridge [talk only] [slides only]

For past and upcoming seminars, visit PKSG website: http://www.postkeynesian.net/keynes.html

On The Concepts of Period and Run in Economic Theory by Goeffrey Harcourt

Seminar paper is available here:

http://research.economics.unsw.edu.au/cpimienta/temp/Concepts_of_Period_and_Run_Econ_Theory.doc



Heterodox Journals

Alternative Routes: A Journal of Critical Social Research, 22: 2011

Journal website:http://www.alternateroutes.ca


Saving Global Capitalism: Interrogating Austerity & Working Class Responses to Crises


Introduction

Articles

Media, Arts & Culture

Reviews and Reflections


Cambridge Journal of Economics, 34(6): November 2010

Journal website: http://www.oxfordjournals.org/page/3924/1

FORUM

Capital & Class, 34(3): Oct. 2010

Journal website: http://cnc.sagepub.com/
Guest Editor: guest edited by Adam David  Morton,
"Approaching Passive Revolutions"


Challenge, 53(6): November-December 2010

Journal website: http://www.challengemagazine.com/


Forum for Social Economics, 39(3): Oct. 2010

Journal website: http://springerlink.com/content/l02128637571/


Moneta e Credito, 63(251): 2010

Journal website: http://sead-pub.cilea.it/index.php/MonetaeCredito


PSL Quarterly Review, 63(254): 2010

Journal website: http://sead-pub.cilea.it/index.php/PSLQuarterlyReview


Mother Pelican, Nov. 2010

Mother Pelican is a journal on sustainable human development. It is named in honor of the Human Being that "Mother Pelican" represents. The November 2010 issue has been posted:

What is the Root Cause of Unsustainable Development?
http://www.pelicanweb.org/solisustv06n11page1.html

Articles:
1. Editorial Opinion ~ The Root Cause of Unsustainable Development
2. The Economics of Natality, by Ina Praetorius
3. The Case for Working with our Cultural Values, by Tom Crompton
4. The First Woman Priest, by José Ignacio González Faus
5. Reducing Inequality: The Missing MDG, by Sakiko Fukuda-Parr
6. The Values of Everything, by George Monbiot
7. Reflections on Paying Living Wages, by Rita M. Rodriguez
8. Ecological Perspectives on Business Decision-Making, by Ilia Delio
9. Adam and Eve and the Gender Divide, by John R. Coates

Supplements:
1. Advances in Sustainable Development
2. Directory of Sustainable Development Resources
3. Sustainable Development Simulation (SDSIM) Version 1.2


Heterodox Newsletters

CCPA: Oct. 2010

Website: http://www.policyalternatives.ca

Out of Equilibrium: The Impact of EU-Canada Free Trade on the Real Economy, by CCPA research associate Jim Stanford, models three scenarios to provide a range of estimates regarding the likely impacts of EU-Canada free trade. In every case, Canada's bilateral trade balance worsens significantly. The simulations suggest an incremental loss of between 28,000 and 150,000 Canadian jobs. Click here to read the full report.

Trish Hennessy and Stephen Dale put together an excellent outline of the benefits of taxes in a report called The Power of Taxes: The Case for Investing in Canadians. They show how the public services that taxes pay for provide a bargain for Canadians, how a fair tax system creates more social equity, and how good public services attract business investments and create jobs. Click here to download the report.

Development Viewpoint: Oct. 2010

Is China’s Currency Substantially Undervalued?” by Duo Qin

Economic Sociology - the European electronic newsletter, 12(1): Nov. 2010

Newsletter website: http://econsoc.mpifg.de/newsletter/newsletter_current.asp


Global Labour Column: Nov. 2010


IDEAs: Oct. 2010

website: www.networkideas.org or www.ideaswebsite.org

Featured Articles
Alternatives
News Analysis
Events & Announcements

Levy News: Oct. 2010

NEW PUBLICATIONS
 

News from Downunder (History of Economic Thought Society of Australia)

(From Alex Millmow, President of the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia)

We have some very good news to share with our HET colleagues around the world.

Firstly, Emeritus Professor Peter Groenewegen of the University of Sydney was announced as a Distinguished Fellow of the Economic Society of Australia partly for his meritorius work in the history of economic thought. He joins a list of other distinguished Austrlain economists so recognized.

Secondly, the Victorian Branch of the Economic Society of Australia have for sale at a modest price of $AU15 a calender that celebrates 12 of the most famous diagrams in economics. The choice and the conception of the calendar was the brainchild of Professors Robert Dixon and Peter Lloyd, both of the University of Melbourne. The calendar is advertised on the Economic Society of Australia website. It is likely to become a collecter's piece for the HET afficianado.

Finally the History of Economic Thought Society of Australia 24th annual conference will occur in the first week of July 2011 at RMIT University in Melbourne. It will run from wednesday to friday in the first week in July.It is being organized by Steve Kates from RMIT and details  by Steve on the two compelling themes of the conference will be released soon. On the following Monday, the 11 of July the 40th Annual Australian Conference of Economists, being organised by William Coleman of the ANU will be held at the Australian National University in Canberra.It will run till the 13th of July.
 Overseas visitors will be able to attend if they wish two major economic conferences in south eastern Australia within the space of 7 days, Canberra and Melbourne are only 45 minutes apart by air travel. Both cities and their conference venues are extremely attractive.


Heterodox Books and Book Series

Beyond Inflation Targeting: Assessing the Impacts and Policy Alternatives

Edited by Gerald A. Epstein and A. Erinc Yeldan. Edward Elgar. Oct. 2010. Hardback 978 1 84720 938 2 | website

‘Inflation targeting (IT) has become the sacred cow of central banking. But its suitability to developing nations remains contested. The contributors to this volume perform the valuable service of sketching out plausible, more development-friendly alternatives. They are to be commended in particular for avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach and paying close attention to the needs of specific countries. Their proposals range from relatively minor tinkering in IT to comprehensive overhaul. A common theme is the central role of the real exchange rate, which the central banks ignore at their economies’ peril.’ – Dani Rodrik, Harvard University, US

Biofuels and the Globalization of Risk: The Biggest Change in North-South Relationships Since Colonialism?

By James Smith. Zed Books. Paperback ISBN: 9781848135727 £17.99 | website

'This is a revolutionary body of work that analyses the allure of biofuels from a global, historical and political perspective. Nuances of why the global debate on biofuels, climate change, and sustainable development have lost resonance with the livelihoods and local perspective are explored. The question of whether the biofuel system offers emerging economies, and local communities the opportunity of being exigent from the colonial paradigm is probed.' - Professor Judi Wakhungu, Director of the African Centre of Technology Studies

Cosmopolitanism and Global Financial Reform: A Pragmatic Approach to the Tobin Tax

By James Brassett. May 27th 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-55217-2 | Series in Routledge/RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy | website

Acknowledgement of the ethical dimension of global finance is commonplace in the wake of financial crises. The sub-prime crisis and ensuing credit crunch are only the latest in a long run of global financial crises that wreak social havoc and force us to...

Development, Sexual Rights and Global Governance

By Amy Lind. January 4th 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-77607-3 | Series in Routledge/RIPE Studies in Global Political Economy | website

This book addresses how sexual practices and identities are imagined and regulated through development discourses and within institutions of global governance. The underlying premise of this volume is that the global development industry plays a...

Gender and Global Restructuring: Sightings, Sites and Resistances

Edited by Marianne H. Marchand, Anne Sisson Runyan. 2nd Edition. August 3rd 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-77679-0 | Series in RIPE Series in Global Political Economy | website

In this new edition of this best selling text, interdisciplinary feminist experts from around the world provide new analyses of the ongoing relationship between gender and neoliberal globalization under the new imperialism in the post-9/11 context...

Global Governance, Poverty and Inequality

Edited by Rorden Wilkinson, Jennifer Clapp. May 11th 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-78048-3 | Series in Global Institutions | website

A series of crises unfolded in the latter part of the first decade of the 21st Century which combined to exacerbate already profound conditions of global economic inequality and poverty in the world’s poorest countries. In 2007, the unsound lending...


The Globalization of Motherhood: Deconstructions and reconstructions of biology and care

Edited by Wendy Chavkin, JaneMaree Maher. June 24th 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-77894-7 | Series: Routledge Research in Comparative Politics | website

The convergence of dramatic declines in birth rates worldwide, aside from sub-Saharan Africa, the rise of untrammelled global movement of capital, people and information, and the rapid-fire dissemination of a host of new medical technologies has led to...

Governing Climate Change

By Peter Newell, Harriet Bulkeley. February 26th 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-46768-1 | Series in Global Institutions | website

Governing Climate Change provides a short and accessible introduction to how climate change is governed by an increasingly diverse range of actors, from civil society and market actors to multilateral development banks, donors and cities. The issue of...


Governing Financial Services in the European Union: Banking, Securities and Post-Trading

By Lucia Quaglia. February 22nd 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-56418-2 | Series: Routledge/UACES Contemporary European Studies | website

The global financial crisis that reached its peak in late 2008 has brought the importance of financial services regulation and supervision into the spotlight. This book examines the governance of financial services in the EU, asking who governs...


Heterodox Macroeconomics: Keynes, Marx and Globalization

Routledge. The paperback release, priced at $42.95 and available January 13, 2011.

The book provides a timely, unique and current synthesis of the best work by top heterodox scholars addressing today's most pressing macroeconomic issues. The book analyzes:

The book is divided into four sections:
The book's twenty essays include theoretical, international, historical, and country perspectives on financial fragility and macroeconomic instability.

Heterodox Macroeconomics is an especially useful book for undergraduate or graduate courses on globalization, economic crisis, modern Marxian and post-Keynesian analysis and also for modern history of thought and macroeconomics courses that consider heterodox perspectives.

This book brings together leading world heterodox scholars to make sense out of these topics and to update heterodox macroeconomic theory. Its papers build centrally on recent foundational heterodox macro analyses and authors include: Gerald Epstein, Stephen Fazzari, Martin Wolfson, Makato Itoh, Soo Haeng Kim, Raford Boddy, Gary Dymski, Jonathan Goldstein, David Kotz, Fred Moseley, Ilene Grabel, Malcolm Sawyer, Michele Naples, Bill Gibson and Michael Hillard.

More information about this book can be obtained from the publisher’s website: http://www.routledge.com/books/details/9780415778084/

If you have further questions about the book, please contact the authors:
Jonathan Goldstein, Professor of Economics, Bowdoin College jgoldste@bowdoin.edu 207-725-3595.
Michael Hillard, Professor of Economics, University of Southern Maine mhillard@maine.edu, 207-780-6409 (USA)

Routledge Handbook of International Political Economy (IPE): IPE as a global conversation

Edited by Mark Blyth. June 11th 2010 by Routledge. Paperback: 978-0-415-78141-1 | website

The study of the International Political Economy (IPE), like the IPE itself, is plural and unbounded. Despite what partisans sometimes say, rather than there being ‘one way’ of studying the IPE that is the ‘right way’, we find across the world...


Marx's Political Writings

New editions of Marx’s Political Writings, with a foreword by Tariq Ali. Verso Books. ISBN: ISBN: 9781844676095 | website

Karl Marx was not only the great theorist of capitalism, he was also a superb journalist, politician and historian. In these brand-new editions of Marx’s Political Writings we are able to see the depth and range of his mature work from 1848 through to the end of his life, from The Communist Manifesto to The Class Struggles in France and The Critique of the Gotha Programme.

The Making of a Transnational Capitalist Class: Corporate Power in the 21st Century

By William K. Carroll. Zed Books. Oct. 2010. ISBN:9781848134430 £24.99 | website

Throughout the world, there has been a growing wave of interest in global corporate power and the rise of a transnational capitalist class, triggered by economic and political transformations that have blurred national borders and disembedded corporate business from national domiciles. Using social network analysis, William Carroll maps the changing field of power generated by elite relations among the world's largest corporations and related political organizations.

Carroll provides an in-depth analysis that spans the three decades of the late 20th and early 21st century, when capitalist globalization attained unprecedented momentum, propelled both by the transnationalization of accumulation and by the political paradigm of transnational neoliberalism. This has been an era in which national governments have deregulated capital, international institutions such as the World Trade Organization and the World Economic Forum have gained prominence, and production and finance have become more fully transnational, increasing the structural power of capital over communities and workers.

Within this context of transformation, the book charts the making of a transnational capitalist class, reaching beyond national forms of capitalist class organization into a global field, but facing spirited opposition from below in an ongoing struggle that is also a struggle over alternative global futures.

The Myth of Development: Non-Viable Economies and the Crisis of Civilization

By Oswaldo de Rivero. Zed Books. Oct. 2010. ISBN: 9781848135840 £16.99 | website

The message of this courageous classic book is that the benefits of development, so long promised over the past sixty years, have not come about for most people. Nor are they going to.

State-driven and market-led development models have both failed. Many countries, and their cities in particular, are collapsing into 'ungovernable chaotic entities' under the control of warlords and mafias. Oswaldo de Rivero argues that the 'wealth of nations' agenda must be replaced by a 'survival of nations' agenda. In order to prevent increasing human misery and political disorder, many countries must abandon dreams of development and adopt instead a policy of national survival based on providing basic water, food and energy, and stabilizing their populations.

This much-anticipated new edition not only features updated figures and statistics but also original new writing on the most essential new issues for the development myth, including emerging economies, the global economic crises, environmental issues and particularly, climate change.

Population and Development

By Meghana Nayak and Eric Selbin. Zed Books. Paperback ISBN: 9781842779606 £16.99 | website

'This is a bold and original book which places population change at the centre of human development over the past 250 years. Written in a highly accessible style, this book should be read by everyone interested in the fundamental forces that have shaped the modern world.' - John Cleland, Centre for Population Studies, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

'What a systematic exposition of the linkages between population and development! Dyson, through his life-long experience with strong statistical evidences argues that no other force has greater consequences for development than demographic transition as it influences population aging, international migration and climate change.' - Dr S Irudaya Rajan, Chair Professor, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs Research Unit on International Migration, Centre for Development Studies, Kerala, India

Ontology and Economics: Tony Lawson and His Critics

Edited by Edward Fullbrook. Paperback: 978-0-415-54649-2: $44.95 – £23.50 | website | Series: Routledge Advances in Heterodox Economics

This original book brings together some of the world's leading critics of economics orthodoxy to debate Lawson's contribution to the economics literature. The debate centres on ontology, which means enquiry into the nature of what exists, and in this collection scholars such as Bruce Caldwell, John Davis and Geoffrey Hodgson present their thoughtful criticisms of Lawson's work while Lawson himself presents his reactions.

"This collection of essays between Tony Lawson and his critics is an important contribution to the ongoing critical discourse on ontology, realism and heterodox economics..." -- Frederic S. Lee, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Rosa Luxemburg: Ideas in Action

By Paul Frölich. Haymarket Books. September 2010. ISBN: 9781608460748 | website

Written by a contemporary of (and sometime collaborator with) Rosa Luxemburg with an intimate knowledge of the inner workings of the German Social Democratic Party, this biography strikes the right balance between personal insight and political analysis. Tracing Rosa Luxemburg’s development from a humble Polish girl with a keen interest in herding geese to the most important leader of the German Communist Party, the image that emerges from Frölich’s narrative is that of arguably the most remarkable woman ever produced by the international socialist movement.

The Politics of Combined and Uneven Development: The Theory of Permanent Revolution

By Michael Löwy. Haymarket Books. September 2010. ISBN: 9781608460687 | website

Löwy’s book is the first attempt to analyze, in a systematic way, how the theories of uneven and combined development, and of the permanent revolution—inseparably linked—emerged in the writings of thinkers such as Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky. Such radical reflections permit us to understand modern economic development across continents as a process of ferocious change, in which “advanced” and “backward” elements fuse, come into tension, and collide—and how the resulting ruptures make it possible for the oppressed and exploited to change the world.

Savage Economics: Wealth, Poverty and the Temporal Walls of Capitalism

By David L. Blaney, Naeem Inayatullah. January 4th 2010 by Routledge. Hardback: 978-0-415-54847-2 |
Series in  RIPE Series in Global Political Economy | website

This innovative book challenges the most powerful and pervasive ideas concerning political economy, international relations, and ethics in the modern world. Rereading classical authors including Adam Smith, James Steuart, Adam Ferguson, Hegel, and...

Zombie Capitalism: Global Crisis and the Relevance of Marx

By Chris Harman. Haymarket Books. September 2010. ISBN: 9781608461042 | website

While for most mainstream commentators the financial crisis that opened in 2007 signaled the failure of regulation and accountability, Chris Harman describes the ongoing economic turmoil as a byproduct of capitalism's inability to consider anything but the bottom line.


Heterodox Book Reviews

Capitalism, Institutions, and Economic Development

By Michael G. Heller. New York: Routledge, 2009. xx + 312 pp. $130 (hardcover), ISBN: 978-0-415-48259-2.

Reviewed for EH.NET by Brandon Dupont, Department of Economics, Western Washington University. Read the review here.

Them and Us: Changing Britain – Why We Need a Fair Society

By Will Hutton, Little, Little, Brown & Company (30 Sep 2010). ISBN: 978-1408701515. £20
Reviewed for Our Kingdom by William Davis. Nov. 3, 2010. Read the review here.

Marx and Philosophy Review of Books

New reviews just published online in the
And a new list of books for review. All at www.marxandphilosophy.org.uk/reviewofbooks/

RRPE Books for Review

The Review of Radical Political Economics website has just updated its list of books available for review. Please consider contributing to the RRPE by submitting a book review. More information, including a list of books as well as instructions for reviewers, is here: http://www.urpe.org/rrpe/reviews.htm. Please contact David Barkin, RRPE Book Review Editor, for more information, barkin@correo.xoc.uam.mx

Heterodox Graduate Programs and Scholarships

British Academy Visiting Scholarships

The British Academy is pleased to announce a call for applications to its Visiting Scholars scheme for the year 2011-12 . The scheme is intended to enable overseas postdoctoral academics to come to the UK for a period of between two and six months in order to carry out research in a British institution.

The scheme is open to any scholar from outside the UK. Application must be made in conjunction with a UK-based academic sponsor whose home institution is willing to host the visit.

The closing date for applications is 8 December 2010, for visits to take place after 1 May 2011. Results of the competition will be announced in late March 2011.

For further information and how to apply see the Academy's website:
http://www.britac.ac.uk/funding/guide/intl/visfells.html

Uppsala University: PhD Student Position in Critical Media/Communication Studies

Uppsala University hereby declares the following position to be open for application:

PhD student position in Media and Communication Studies at the Department of Informatics and Media as of January 1st, 2011.

The candidate is supposed to participate in the department’s ongoing research in the field of web 2.0/social media/social networking sites & economic online surveillance/Internet prosumer labour. Therefore applicants with a solid background in the combination of the following areas are solicited to apply: critical media and communication studies, Critical Theory, critical political economy, critical political economy of media, ICTs and communication; Internet studies, surveillance and privacy studies, critical advertising and consumer culture studies.

Qualifications: master’s degree (candidates with any suited disciplinary and interdisciplinary background are welcome to apply), excellent command of written and spoken English.

The application should include
a) an application form including a copy of a degree certificate that proves the applicant’s eligibility for studies at the research level in Media and Communication Studies;
b) a CV;
c) a copy of the master thesis (additional works related to the advertised position’s topic may also be included);
d) an outline of experience in and motivation for conducting research in the advertised research field (minimum: 1000 words)

Education at the research level has a duration of five years, of which the first year is financed with a scholarship (utbildningsbidrag) and the four following years with employment as PhD candidate. PhD candidates are expected to conduct their education at the research level by working full time and by participating actively in the activities of the department. Obligatory administrative and teaching duties at the department may not exceed 20 % of full-time.

The application form and instructions in English are available from:
http://www.uppdok.uadm.uu.se/blanketter/BLfoant.pdf
http://www.uppdok.uadm.uu.se/blanketter/BLfo-enginstr.pdf

More information about PhD studies at Uppsala University and at the Faculty of Social Sciences are available at:
http://www.uu.se/en/node76
http://www.doktorandhandboken.nu (click on the link “English”)
http://info.uu.se/uadm/dokument.nsf/sidor/10CF35EB7132C99BC125721F004AA423?OpenDocument
http://regler.uu.se/

Uppsala University cannot cover travel and accommodation costs for short-listed candidates, who are invited for a job interview. Uppsala University is striving to promote equality through gender balance. The majority of employees are men, so we encourage female applicants to apply for positions. Information about the employment, Professor for Media and Communication Studies: Christian Fuchs (christian.fuchs@im.uu.se): +46 18 471 1019; Head of the Department and Professor Mats Edenius: +46 18 471 11 76. Representatives from the Union are: Anders Grundström, Saco-rådet, tel. +46 18-471 53 80, Carin Söderhäll, TCO/ST tel. +46 18-471 19 96 and Stefan Djurström, Seko, tel. +46 18-471 33 15.

The application should be sent, not later than November 26, 2010, preferably by e-mail to registrator@uu.se, or by fax +46-184712000, or by mail to Registrar’s Office, Uppsala University, Box 256, SE-751 05 UPPSALA, Sweden. In any correspondence, please use the reference number UFV-PA 2010/2775.


Heterodox Economists in the Media

Paging Doctor Bernanke (Schmidt)

Article on why QE2 is misguided, suggesting an alternative stimulus based on Abba Learner's functional finance (here).

Why Capital Controls Are Not All Bad (Grabel and Chang)

By Ilene Grabel and Ha-Joon Chang, Published in the Financial Times (here) October 25 2010
 

Speculators deny rights to the Hungry (Kaboub)

Letter to the Financial Times (here) by Fadhel Kaboub. October 25, 2010


Queries from Heterodox Economists

Call for Papers for a Session on: Economics: Left, Right, or Wrong

Society for Socialist Studies (SSS)m Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, 2011
University of New Brunswick and St. Thomas University, Fredericton 01 June – 04 June 2010

For a long time, right-wing economics served the world’s capitalists quite well as a means to justify their quest for profits and as a toolbox for the management of capitalist economies. The crisis that hit the world economy in 2008 proved this kind of economics wrong on both accounts. Since then, left-wing economists, Keynesians and Marxists, used their chance to say that they had been right with their dire predictions about the future of capitalist accumulation, particularly its neoliberal kind, all along. But they didn’t take the time to ask why just a few people were interested in their analyses. With the crisis in its third year, the demand for left-wing economics is still limited. One might even wonder whether the crisis was just a refreshing phase of creative destruction neoliberal economics.

This workshop will investigate the reasons why demand for left-wing economics is so low. Is there just a lack of supply? And if so, is this because left-wing economists are largely barred from economics departments and the media? Or is it because they still try to sell yesteryears’ ideas instead of offering innovative Marxist and/or Keynesian analysis? Or is there a lack of customers because most people on the left decided to abandon economics for other fields of inquiry and activism?

The workshop “Economics: Left, Right, or Wrong” invites papers that speak to the aforementioned questions or contribute to the re-invigoration of left-wing economics in any other way.

Contact:
Ingo Schmidt: ingos@athabascau.ca

For Your Information

Geoffrey Harcourt is awarded the Veblen-Commons Award 2011

Professor Geoffrey Harcourt has been awarded the Veblen-Commons Award. This is the highest academic honour given by the Association of Evolutionary Economics. It is awarded to those who the Association views as having “substantially advanced our understanding of how economies actually work, in addition to insights that advance economic theory.”  In this regard, the Association deems Geoff’s achievements to have been “monumental”.

 

There will be a lunch in Geoff’s honour at the forthcoming Allied Social Sciences Association Meeting in Denver on 7 January, 2011, on which occasion he will deliver an address.


3rd Buddhist Economics Platform Conference Postponed

With approval from the scientific committee, it is with sincere regrets that I have decided that it is best to postpone the of the 3rd Buddhist economics platform conference in Brisbane January 18-19, 2011.
While we had 16 high quality abstracts, the significant travel to Australia for most participants is unlikely to be justified unless we had a more complete program of papers.

I am very sorry for any inconvenience and the efforts that you made in your abstracts and applications and I hope no-one suffers financially from its postponement.

We will discuss options for a new date as soon as possible but it is unlikely to be well into the second half of 2011.

My apologies again. Thank you for your support, it is greatly appreciated.
Kind regards,
Peter
 
Dr. Peter Daniels
Environmental and Ecological Economics
Urban Research Program
Griffith School of Environment
Griffith University, Nathan 4111
Brisbane, AUSTRALIA
Phone: Australia 61-7-3735-7189
FAX: Australia 61-7-3735-7459
Email: p.daniels@griffith.edu.au

Heterodox Syllabi

From Al Campbell @URPE:

Last Spring (if I recall right!) I sent out a note to you all asking for you to send me syllabi of courses you been teaching that others might want to see to design their own courses (we used to have this on the Web several years back, and it was very useful). I finally got things from last Spring posted about a month and a half ago. As some of you now are thinking about designing your courses for Spring, you might want to check out the new material we got. There are about 40 new ones posted. From the front page of our site www.urpe.org go to Resources ...., and then you will see a link to Syllabi.

As you are now into this semester, some of you that finish up your syllabi after the first few weeks of class may be able to send them. In any case, if an anyone has new material from this Fall, or from last Spring that they did not send to me, please send it and I will post it.  I will likely send out a very brief note asking for syllabi at the beginning of next semester.

Note - we have 4 or 5 syllabi in SPANISH now, and we hope to be getting more of those and posting them - so if you have a syllabus in Spanish, please send that and I will post it.

Joseph Dorfman Best Dissertation Award

Second and Final Call for Nominations

The History of Economics Society is accepting nominations for its annual JOSEPH DORFMAN BEST DISSERTATION AWARD for dissertations in the history of economic thought and economic methodology. In memory of Joseph Dorfman, historian of economic thought and Distinguished Fellow of the History of Economics Society, his family endowed a permanent fund for the award. The winner will receive a stipend of $500 plus travel expenses up to $500 to attend the presentation at the Society's annual conference.

All dissertations in the history of economic thought and economic methodology that are written in English and completed during the previous academic year (September 2009 to August 2010) are eligible. The selection committee considers only nominated dissertations. A list of past recipients can be found at
http://historyofeconomics.org/Dorfman.cfm .

The selection committee comprises Malcolm Rutherford (chair), Peter Boettke, and James Ahiakpor. To nominate a dissertation for the award, please notify Malcolm Rutherford (rutherfo@uvic.ca) by December 15, 2010. Please also send a copy of the dissertation in pdf form.

Joseph Dorfman Dissertation Prize
Malcolm Rutherford (Chair), University of Victoria, Canada
Peter Boettke, George Mason University
James Ahiakpor, California State University, East Bay

Documentary Film: Dystopia: What is to be done?

Dystopia: What is to be done? is an hour long documentary film available for free viewing and/or download and showing for educational purposes on the website: www.DystopiaFilm.com. It analyses a compendium of crises facing humanity - peak oil, climate change, pollution, disease. poverty, terrorism, war etc. - in terms of their complex causal inter-linkages and common framing and exacerbation within the global world economy. The long time Marxist message that humanity faces a choice between (eco)socialism and barbarism is given a renewed urgency. The website in addition to the film contains a one minute trailer, a resources page and information about the book of the same title and it author.

Documentary Film: Robinson in Ruins

Robinson in Ruins is the eagerly awaited sequel to Patrick Keiller's earlier two films London and Robinson in Space. Narrated by Vanessa Redgrave, this cinematic essay intriguingly blends fiction and documentary, taking us on a tour of the English landscape against the backdrop of our current economic predicament and looming environmental catastrophe...

References to the Captain Swing riots of 1830, Shelley, Marx, the opium poppy fields of Oxfordshire and the war in Afghanistan all serve to make this a timely, provocative film, studded with surreal humour.

Intellectually stimulating, mysterious and beautiful, Robinson in Ruins makes us consider the world around us afresh. For more information and to watch the trailer, visit bfi.org.uk/releases

Kick it Over Manifesto

An international student movement to free the economics curriculum from its neoclassical straightjacket was launched last week at the University of California at Berkeley. For its first action, students worldwide are being encouraged to post the following manifesto, preferably printed on brightly coloured paper, on the doors and bulletin boards of their univeristy’s economics department.
More info here.

 

The Handbook for Economics Lecturers

Website: http://www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/

Section 1: Teaching
Editor: Peter Davies

Section 2: Assessment
Editors: John Houston and David Whigham

Section 3: Course Design
Editor: David Newlands

Section 4: Evaluation
Editor: David Newlands

Teaching Assistants


The Nobel family dissociates itself from the economics prize

From Real-World Economics Review Blog, Oct. 22, 2010

On October 11th Peter Nobel, a lawyer and descendent of Alfred Nobel, issued a statement dissociating the Nobel family from the so called Nobel prize in economics.  Below is my translation of Nobel’s statement.

The Economics Prize in memory of Alfred Nobel should be criticised on two grounds. First, it is a deceptive utilisation of the institution of the Nobel Prize and what it represents. Second, the economics prize is biased, in the sense that it one-sidedly rewards Western economic research and theory. 

Alfred Nobel’s testament was not a hasty piece of work. It was a carefully thought out document. Also, Alfred Nobel’s letters suggest that he disliked economists.


The proposal of a Riksbank [central bank] prize “in memory of Alfred Nobel” was discussed by the Nobel Foundation on April 26, 1968. Professor Sten Friberg, rector of the Karolinska Institute, opposed the idea. The Nobel committee of the Norwegian parliament [which selects the peace prize candidate] expressed serious misgivings. But a rapid decision was expected, apparently under pressure. Why? Riksbanken’s chief Per Åsbrink had close contacts within the government, and for the Nobel Foundation it was vitally important to conserve its tax privileges.


What was the position of the Nobel family? Three days before the meeting of April 26, the then director of the Nobel Foundation, Nils Ståhle, met two members of the family and telephonically talked with a third one. Their position was that “it should not become like a sixth Nobel Prize”, but that if the economics prize could be kept clearly separate from the Nobel Prizes then it might be an acceptable idea. On May 10, Ståhle and the president of the Nobel Foundation, von Euler, visited the family’s eldest, Martha Nobel, then 87 years old — with severely impaired hearing but intellectually in good form. They obtained her written approval of the economics prize “under given conditions,” namely that the new prize in all official documents and statements should be kept separated from the Nobel prize, and called the “prize in economic science in memory of Alfred Nobel.”


In a telephonic conversation with a nephew, Martha Nobel said that the whole thing was prearranged and impossible to oppose, so that one could only hope that they would keep their pledge that no confusion with the real Noble prize should occur. There was no approval from the Nobel family as a whole. We were informed only much later.


What has happened is an unparalleled example of successful trademark infringement. However, nobody in the world can prevent journalists, economists and the general public from talking about the “Nobel prize in economics,” with all its connotations. That is why, in the name of decency and in order to honour Alfred Nobel’s memory, this bank prize in his memory should be given on a different occasion than the Nobel day [a day of  ceremonies headed by the king].

With no knowledge of economics, I have no opinions about the individual economics prize winners. But something must be wrong when all economics prizes except two were given to Western economists, whose research and conclusions are based on the course of events there, and under their influence. I can imagine Alfred Nobel’s sarcastic comments if he were able to hear about these prize winners. Above all else, he wanted his prizes to go to those who have been most beneficial to humankind, all of humankind!



URPE 2009 Programme with video and audio links online

Economic Crisis: Radical Analysis and Radical Responses
Saturday, October 24, 2009 | St. Francis College Brooklyn, New York

For videos and audios, visit here: http://www.urpe.org/conf/brooklyn/brookprog.html
 

Why France Matters Here Too (article by R. Wolff)

"For many weeks now, the historic social change sweeping across France has drawn increasing attention globally. It should. A genuine, mass democratic upsurge has surprised all those who thought, hoped, or feared that such things could no longer happen in countries like France or the US." 
 
Full article is published in the Monthly Review (here).