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Issue-7 February 11, 2005

From the Editor

The last three weeks have been quite busy for heterodox economists.  The content of the Newsletter given below is due to heterodox economists all over the world sending me material to be included.  Hopefully it will be of some interest to you in one way or another.  All the entries deserve to be highlighted, but I am going to mention four items that perhaps are of significant general interest to all. 

 The first is the Informational Directory for Heterodox Economists:  Journals, Book Series, Websites, and Graduate and Undergraduate Programs compiled and edited by Steven Cohn, Geoffrey Schneider, Paddy Quick, and myself.  Much of the content has been published with the support of Paddy Quick in the URPE Newsletter over the past three years and has been continuously updated.  The Directory makes it clear at heterodox economics is widespread—there are about 69 journals and 13 book series to publish in; there are 30 graduate programs that emphasis heterodox economics to attend; and there are 47 undergraduate programs that provide a congenial environment for heterodox economists-and there may be more hiding out there somewhere! 

The second item was the Association for Heterodox Economics 4th Post-Graduate Workshop on Advanced Research Methods that took place in Manchester on 4-6 February 2005.  There were 22 students from across the U.K. including four from SOAS, four from Sheffield, and the other fourteen from nine other universities.  The point of the Workshop is to make the students critically aware of some of the shortcomings of econometrics and introduce them to alternative quantitative and qualitative approaches to carrying economic research.  Tony Lawson and Sheila Dow opened the Workshop with a 1-2 punch on open systems and pluralism in economics.  Many of the students found this puzzling but interesting and asked many questions.  The next day Steve Ziliak painted a graphic picture of the social disaster that comes through the religious adherence to t-tests.  If you ever want to give your students nightmares about using t-tests, Steve is the person to call.  After that Paul Downward and Andrew Mearman talked about the method of triangulation for economic research and this was followed by presentations on the case study method and the method of grounded theory.  The final presentation on the third day of the conference was by Wendy Olsen of combination statistics and qualitative methods to do economic research.  Many of the students were quite interested in what she had to say.  Overall the Workshop was a success and the students asked really interesting questions.  My favorite concerned the role of ethics in economic research, evaluating data, and theory formation. 

The third item concerns the search for a new editor for the Review of Social Economics.   The Association for Social Economics is carrying out a search—more information concerning the search is given below:

 The Association for Social Economics is seeking nominations for the editorship of the Review of Social Economy.  The new editor or editors will succeed John Davis and the current associate editors. Responsibility will be assumed on July 1, 2005 barring clearly extenuating circumstances.

The Review's editorial structure is open to change.  Persons interested in sole editorship as well as those interested in being part of an editorial team with one or two other persons are encouraged to apply.  

The final date for submitting offers to edit the Review is March 31st, 2005.  Submissions can be sent by e-mail or postal service to the addresses shown below.  Each should include a resume, a brief statement of your editorial policy objectives and what you individually, or as a member of a team, could bring to the job, a brief statement of what you consider to be the appropriate subject matter of social economics, and the names and contact information of two references.  It is preferable that one of these references be a member of the Association for Social Economics.

We are open about the geographic location(s) and field(s) of primary interest of the editor or editors.  We simply want to engage the best person or persons for the job.

Patrick J. Welch,
Professor of Economics
Department of Economics
Saint Louis University
3674 Lindell Blvd.
St. Louis, MO  63108
U.S.A.
welchpj@slu.edu
(314) 977-3814

 The final item concerns Professor R. Larry Reynolds is trying single-handedly “to undermine the publishers by providing fee e-books and materials. I think that there are lots of us (heterodox economists) who are quite capable of desk top publishing.”  There are two links to his work:

 (1)  this portal is to Professor Reynolds my entire web site; and

http://www.boisestate.edu/econ/lreynol/web/

 (2)  the index to the pdf electronic texts and other materials

 http://www.boisestate.edu/econ/lreynol/web/Micro.htm

 Professor Reynolds teaches at Boise State University. He has maintained a web site for several years and has just updated it. He has written and posted 6 chapters of an alternative view of microeconomics. It is quite possible that heterodox economists who are teaching micro might be able to use these chapters to provide some social context to neoclassical mechanics.

I hope you find this issue of the Newsletter useful and interesting.

 Fred Lee

 

 

 
In this issue:

- Call for Papers

             - MET Network 16th Research Conference  
             - Association for Social Economics, Call for Papers, Annual A.S.S.A. Meetings, Boston, Massachusetts, January 5 – 8, 2006
             - JOINT SESSION ASSOCIATION FOR SOCIAL ECONOMICS AND THE U.S. BASIC INCOME  GUARANTEE NETWORK
             - 2005 History of Economic Thought Conference, U.K.
             - ‘‘DEVELOPMENTS IN ECONOMIC THEORY AND POLICY’
             - European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE)

 

Conferences, Seminars and Lecture

           - The Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE)
           - The Post-Keynesian Study Group: Special Meeting on Finance and Development
           - The New Space: the New School for Pluralistic Anti- Capitalist Education  

- Job Postings for Heterodox Economists

            - Eastern Washington University
 

- Heterodox Conference Papers and Reports and Articles

            -“The Americab Tragedy: The Quagmire of War, Rhetoric of Oil, and the Conumdrum of Hegemony”

- Heterodox Journals and Newspapers

            - Economic Sociology: European Electronic Newsletter
            - CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: New School Economic Review
            - THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS AT FIFTY
            - Political Economy Research Institute Bulletin
           -  RETHINKING MARXISM
         

- Heterodox Books and Book Series

           - A Guide to What’s Wrong with Economics
           - Three books published online, By: Jacques Gouverneur
 

- Heterodox Associations

             - Ideas website: www.networkideas.org

- Heterodox Announcements

             - Capacity Building and Knowledge Networking on Gender, Macroeconomics and International Economics
             - Isaac & Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize

 - Heterodox Queries

            - The Fondazione Centro Ricerche Studi e Documentazione Piero Sraffa
            - Participatory Budgeting

 

 

 
 

Call for Papers

MET Network 16th Research Conference

Hosted by:Economic and Social Transition Research Group - EST
Brighton Business School
The focus will be on Macroeconomic aspects, in particular Monetary and Fiscal Policy.
Papers in both economics and management are very welcome. The area of reference includes Central Eastern Europe and CIS. Comparative papers, including the EU, especially 'cohesion countries' and other middle income countries, e.g. Latin America, are also welcome.
Proposed papers should be e-mailed to Dr Jens Hölscher J.Holscher@brighton.ac.uk no later than 15th March.
Whilst abstracts are acceptable, preference will be given to papers (even in draft form).
Conference details:
•Friday 15th April 2005
•The Board Room
Grand Parade
University of Brighton
•10:00 till 17:00
For further information go to: http://www.brighton.ac.uk/bbs/research/met.shtmlAnnual

Association for Social Economics, Call for Papers, Annual A.S.S.A. Meetings, Boston, Massachusetts, January 5 – 8, 2006

THEME: Understanding Living Standards

The year 2006 marks the 100th anniversary of Monsignor John A. Ryan’s publication of A Living Wage: Its Ethical and Economic Aspects. Social economists such as Ryan have long fought for a decent standard of living, through paid work and welfare state supplements. Though best known for his advocacy of a living wage, Ryan has also argued for higher minimum wages, employee participation at work, reduced work hours, full employment policy, improved race relations, and other aspects of socioeconomic reform. The theme of papers for the 2006 meetings will be how economies across the globe come to understand what constitutes a living and how we can improve living standards, including balancing paid work with family life and civic responsibility. Possible sessions could include:

•An evaluation of the work of John A. Ryan and other social economists who address living standards
•Improved quantitative and qualitative measures of socioeconomic status and well-being
•The role of the public and private sectors in improving living standards
•Policy proposals to reduce work time, improve earnings, reduce inequality and discrimination, provide food and health security, enrich work life, alleviate underemployment, reconcile work and family, etc.

There will be an opening plenary session, seven other sessions, and a Presidential Address at the ASE breakfast by David George. Both members and nonmembers of the Association for Social Economics are invited to submit proposals. Also, anyone willing and able to organize a full session with three or four papers and discussants on an appropriate topic is encouraged to submit such a session for consideration.

A selection of papers presented at the sessions will be published in a forthcoming issue of the Forum for Social Economics. To be eligible for consideration, papers must be limited to 3,250 words of text with no more than three pages of endnotes and references. Three hard copies and one electronic copy of the final draft of the paper must be submitted to the Forum editor by January 20, 2006. Each paper will be sent to two referees.

Proposal Submission: A one-page abstract (including name, postal and e-mail address) should be submitted before the deadline of May 2, 2005. It is preferred that abstracts be sent by e-mail to Deb.Figart@stockton.edu.

Deborah M. Figart
Dean of Graduate Studies and Professor of Economics
Richard Stockton College
P.O. Box 195, Jim Leeds Road
Pomona, NJ 08240-0195 USA

JOINT SESSION ASSOCIATION FOR SOCIAL ECONOMICS ANDTHE U.S. BASIC INCOME GUARANTEE NETWORK

Annual A.S.S.A. Meetings, Boston, Massachusetts, January 5 – 8, 2006

The U.S Basic Income Guarantee Network invites three or four papers and discussant(s) for a joint session with the Association of Social Economics.

THEME: The Basic Income Guarantee and Living Standards

The year 2006 marks the 100th anniversary of Monsignor John A. Ryan’s publication of A Living Wage: Its Ethical and Economic Aspects. Social economists such as Ryan have long fought for a decent standard of living, through paid work and welfare state supplements. Though best known for his advocacy of a living wage, Ryan has also argued for higher minimum wages, employee participation at work, reduced work hours, full employment policy, improved race relations, and other aspects of socioeconomic reform. The theme of papers for the 2006 meetings will be how economies across the globe come to understand what constitutes a living and how we can improve living standards, including balancing paid work with family life and civic responsibility.

The History of Economic Thought Conference this year is being held at the University of Exeter, England from 5-7 September. This is to invite you to submit a paper to the conference. Please send an abstract of your paper (not more than 300 words) to John Maloney, at the address above (as email text) by 30 April 2005. You will hear whether we are able to put your paper on the programme no later than 20 May. If you want to enquire further about the conference before sending an abstract, please email the address above.

If you wish to attend the conference, please go to its web page, http://www.sobe.ex.ac.uk/conferences/historyofeconomicthought/ and download the registration form. Further details of the conference will be posted on the webpage as they become available. If you are considering attending but want more details of the programme first, please check this page again after 20 May, the date on which the full programme will be posted.

I hope to see you in September.

John Maloney, School of Business and Economics, University of Exeter, Streatham Court, Rennes Drive, Exeter EX4 4PU.

2005 History of Economic Thought Conference, U.K.
The History of Economic Thought Conference 2005 will be held at Exeter University from Monday 5- Wednesday 7 September 2005. The programme will include a special lecture by Dr Geoff Harcourt (University of Cambridge). The full progamme will be posted in May.

The cost of the conference is £195, to include accommodation for two nights and all meals from tea on Monday to lunch on Wednesday (including the conference dinner on Tuesday evening.)
If you would like to give a paper, please email an abstract (maximum 300 words) to J.Maloney@ex.ac.uk no later than 30 April 2005. You will hear whether we are able to put your paper on the programme no later than 20 May. If you want to enquire further about the conference before sending an abstract, please email the address above.
If you wish to attend the conference, please complete the registration form and return to John Maloney, the conference organiser at the address provided below. Cheques should be made out to "H.E.T. conference."
If you are considering attending but want more details of the programme first, please check this page again after 20 May, the date on which the full programme will be posted.
We have five bursaries which will allow Ph.D. students to attend free of charge, so, if you are a research student, please say so, and include a supporting letter from your supervisor, when you book a place.
Further information will be posted on this page as it becomes available.

‘DEVELOPMENTS IN ECONOMIC THEORY AND POLICY’
July, 7-8, 2005
Bilbao (Spain)


The Department of Applied Economics V of the University of the Basque Country (Spain) and the Center for Economic and Public Policy of the University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) are organizing the International Conference “Developments in Economic Theory and Policy”. The Conference will be held in Bilbao (Spain), from 7th to 8th of July 2004, at the Faculty of Economics and Business of the University of the Basque Country.

Papers are invited on all areas of economics. Papers must be written in English. Accepted papers will be grouped in sessions. Every session will comprise three papers.

Suggestions for ‘Organized Sessions’ are also welcomed. An organized session is one that has been constructed in its entirety by a session organizer and submitted to the Conference Organizer as a complete package (title of the session, papers and session chair).

The final deadline to submit papers and ‘organized sessions’ is 31st May 2005. The Conference Committee will review and select papers and sessions submitted for the Conference. Acceptance letters will be sent out by e-mail by 10th June 2005.

For more information, you can get in touch with Jesus Ferreiro (ebpfeapj@bs.ehu.es) or with Carlos Rodriguez (ebprogoc@bs.ehu.es), or visit the web page of the Conference: www.eventia.org/developments

European Association for Evolutionary Political Economy (EAEPE)

A Pluralistic Forum
Announcing the 17th EAEPE Annual Conference

EAEPE 2005 Conference
Bremen/Germany
November, 10-12, 2005

Call for Papers

A New Deal for the New Economy?
Global and Local Developments,and New Institutional Arrangements

For further information please visit the EAEPE website (http://www.eaepe.org/)
or http://www.iiso.uni-bremen.de/elsner
or
contact the local organizers:

Wolfram Elsner at: welsner@uni-bremen.de and Rebecca Schmitt
at:rschmitt@uni-bremen.de

For detailed information: EAEPE_Bremen_2005_Call_for_Papers_2_05.doc

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Conferences, Seminars and Lectures

The Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE)

The Centre of Full Employment and Equity (CofFEE) is pleased to announce its first Workshop of 2005.

Debt, money and budget deficits
Wednesday 23 February 2005
at The University of Newcastle

The Workshop will feature the following speakers:

Dr Tom Palley, a notable Post-Keynesian scholar, currently the Chief Economist for the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in Washington. Dr Palley will be talking about debt and deflation.

Assoc Prof. Peter Kriesler, UNSW, will discuss effective demand and Europe.

Prof. Bill Mitchell, CofFEE Director, will speak on the myths of the intergenerational debate.

Dr James Juniper, CofFEE Research Associate, will present a paper on modern theories of liquidity preference.

Participation in the Workshop is free. 

For organisational purposes, if you would like to attend please register online at:
http://e1.newcastle.edu.au/coffee/events/registration.cfm

 

The Post-Keynesian Study Group: Special Meeting on Finance and Development
25th February, 2005 at the University of Cambridge

VENUE: Mill Lane lecture room 3, Mill Lane, University of Cambridge
TIMES: 2-6 PM


SCHEDULE:

Session 1: 2 PM-3:30 PM

PHILIP ARESTIS (UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE) & HOWARD STEIN (UNIVERSITY OF
MICHIGAN): An Institutional Perspective to Finance and Development as an

Alternative to Financial Liberalization

HA-JOON CHANG (UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE): Financial Institutions in Macroeconomic Management

Coffee Break: 3:30-4 PM

Session 2: 4 PM-6 PM

AJIT SINGH (UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE): Shareholder Wealth Maximisation, Stock Market and New Technology: Should the US Corporate Model be the Universal Standard?

MICHELLE BADDELEY (UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE): The Impacts of Armed Conflict on the Evolution of Financial Institutions in Developing Economies

SHAILAJA FENNELL (UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE): Institutional Reform and Financial Transition in Russia: an Evolutionary Perspective


FINANCIAL SUPPORT: thanks to the generous support of Triados Bank, we are pleased to say that we will be able to reimburse travel expenses (APEX
fares) for PKSG members and postgraduate students.

FURTHER INFORMATION: for further information please contact Mark Roberts

(mr10013@cam.ac.uk). Please also contact if you are interested in moving on to dinner following the end of the meeting- just so we can ascertain numbers and try to arrange something appropriate!

 

The New SPACE: The New School for Pluralistic Anti-Capitalist Education


Teachers, speakers, and organizers include:
Stanley Aronowitz, Jack Z. Bratich, Stephen Eric Bronner, Silvia Federici, Andrea Fishman, Jeannette Gabriel, Loren Goldner, David Graeber, Charles Herr, Joshua Howard, Anne Jaclard, Andrew Kliman, Louis Kontos, Joel Kovel, Raymond Lampe, Alan Moore, Bertell Ollman, Howard Seligman, Seth G. Weiss

*******************************

UPCOMING CLASSES AND TALKS

"Capital, Volume I." Instructor: Andrew Kliman.
Tuesdays, 6-7:30 pm,
March 1-June 14. Tuition: $150-$180, sliding scale.

"Finance Capital, Fictitious Capital, and U.S.
Economic Decline."
Instructor: Loren Goldner. Tuesdays, 7:40-9:40 pm, March 1-April 12.
Tuition: $88-$115, sliding scale (cont.)

For detailed information and course descriptions: The New SPACE


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Job Postings for Heterodox Economists

Eastern Washington University
The Economics department at Eastern Washington University will be hiring for a full-time lecturer position to start in the Fall 2005. This is not a tenure track position. HOWEVER, the last four tenure track hires started out as lecturers in the department. In fact, it seems to be the only way to get onto the tenure track.

The lecturer will teach three courses per quarter. The pay is pretty low, approximately $30,000, but the cost of living in Spokane is also low. You can buy a pretty nice house on this income.

Before you delete the rest of this message, you should know that the current department includes three heterodox economists, (four if you count someone who thinks of himself as a Post-Keynesian), and two of our traditionally neo-classical people are becoming so disillusioned that they are moving toward the heterodox more each day. So this would be an intellectually comfortable place for a heterodox person.

If you decide that you are interested in this position, you should send your materials to the Chair of the Department, listed in the JOE ad below. You should also let me know that you are applying. Since this is not a tenure track position we are being somewhat less structured in our search procedures. My email address is: dorr@ewu.edu

Doug Orr

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Heterodox Conference Papers and Reports and Articles

The Americab Tragedy By Cyrus Bina
An interesting article by Cyrus Bina: “The Americab Tragedy: The Quagmire of War, Rhetoric of Oil, and the Conumdrum of Hegemony"

Please see attached: bina.pdf

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Heterodox Journals and Newspapers

Economic Sociology: European Electronic Newsletter
The Newsletter is very interesting and relevant to Heterodox economists and its website is http://econsoc.mpifg.de. The editor of the Newsletter is Olav Velthus (Velthuis@dds.nl).

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: New School Economic Review
Issue II, Spring 2005

The New School Economic Review is a student-run online journal of critical Economics and Political Economy. The journal was initiated by students of the Economics Department at the New School University to serve as a forum for critical thinking in economics that includes a
multidisciplinary perspective encompassing all the social sciences.

Our first issue was a great success, with contributing authors including
Philip Arestis and Malcolm Sawyer
Ha-Joon Chang
Ejeviome Eloho Otobo
Ben Fine
Duncan Foley
Michael Heinrich
Massimiliano La Marca
Scott Moss
Robert Pollin
Stephen Resnick and Richard Wolff
Diego Sanchez Ancochea
Luca Zamparelli

To read the first issue and learn more about us, please visit our web page at www.newschool.edu/gf/nser

There is no single theme for the second issue of the journal. We will accept articles on topics ranging from macroeconomics, development, policy, reflections on the discipline of economics, analysis of current events, political economy, philosophy and economics and others.In light of his recent passing, we would welcome and greatly appreciate essays in memory of Robert Heilbroner (whether they are anecdotal, reflecting upon his intellectual legacy, or furthering it).

To submit, please email us at nser@newschool.edu

The deadline for articles will be Monday, March 28th, 2005. Articles should be 3-10 standard, double-spaced pages in length. For further style guidelines please see our submissions procedure at http://www.newschool.edu/gf/nser/submission_procedure.htm

Thank you very much,
The Editors, New School Economic Review

THE WORLDLY PHILOSOPHERS AT FIFTY
A Social Research tribute to Robert Heilbroner

Guest Editor, William Milberg

Volume 71 No. 2, ISSN 0037-783X
www.socres.org/vol71/issue712.htm

In recent years, Robert Heilbroner planned a book to develop the ideas presented in the new and final chapter he added to the seventh edition of his landmark book, The Worldly Philosophers, now fifty years old. As his health deteriorated and he was forced to abandon the project, he proposed an alternative project in which a group of “thoughtful (although not like-minded) economists” would instead respond to his arguments. The result is this special issue of Social Research.

Sixteen world-class economists and philosophers have contributed to this festschrift issue, extending Heilbroner’s discussion of the “great dynamics of capitalism.” Some of their essays focus on the social embeddedness of markets in the 21st century. Others examine the ethical and political dimensions of contemporary economics and especially its conception of rationality. A third group of essays provides an assessment and critique of worldly philosophy as an economic method. Together, these far-reaching essays explore the current state of economic thought and the prospects for 21st century capitalism.

The issue opens with an introduction by William Heilbroner and contains sixteen essays in four sections:

I. Heilbroner’s Methodology
Robert Solow: “Even a Worldly Philosopher Needs a Good Mechanic,” engaging Heilbroner’s ideas of the purposeful end of worldly philosophy
Julie Nelson: “Is Economics a Natural Science?”
Susan Haack: “Science, Economics, ‘Vision’”
William Milberg: “The Robert Heilbroner Problem,” on Heilbroner the classicist vs. Heilbroner the contemporary critic
Arjo Klamer: “Visualizing the Economy”

II. Worldly Philosophy and 21st Century Capitalism
Lester C. Thurow: “Do Only Economic Illiterates Argue that Trade Can Destroy Jobs and Lower America’s National Income?”
Jan Kregel: “Two Views on the Obstacles to Development”
James Galbraith: “The Worldly Philosophers and the War Economy”
Ravi Baghirathan, Codrina Rada, and Lance Taylor: “Structuralist Economics: Worldly Philosophers, Models, and Methodology”

III. Rethinking Markets, Rationality, and Choice
Duncan K. Foley “Rationality and Ideology in Economics”
Nancy Folbre “Sleeping Beauty Awakes: Self Interest, Feminism and Fertility in the Early Twentieth Century”
Warren J. Samuels: “Markets and their Social Construction”
Anwar Shaikh: “The Power of Profit”

IV. Heilbroner in the History of Economic Thought
Robert W. Dimand: “Heilbroner and Polyani: A Shared Vision”
Mathew Forstater: Envisioning Provisioning: Adolph Lowe and Heilbroner’s Worldly Philosophy”
Peter Bernstein: “The Worldly Philosopher Behind The Worldly Philosophers,” on his friendship with Heilbroner since childhood

For William Milberg’s introduction and more information, visit our web site at www.socres.org.

“The Worldly Philosophers At Fifty” is available through the Social Research editorial and business office, 65 Fifth Avenue, Room 344, New York, NY 10003, socres@newschool.edu, (212) 229-5776. For review copies, please fax a request on letterhead to (212) 229-5476.

Cara N. Schlesinger
Social Research Journal
Managing Editor and Project Manager
65 Fifth Avenue, Room 344, New York NY 10003
Tel: (212) 229-5776 / Fax (212) 229-5476
www.newschool.edu/centers/socres

Political Economy Research Institute Bulletin

The PERI Newletter of Research, Policy, and Events
05.1 (January)

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CONTENTS

(1) THE “MISFORTUNE 100” FROM THE PERI CORPORATE TOXICS INFORMATION PROJECT

(2) NEW RESEARCH: OUTSOURCING’S IMPACT ON US EMPLOYMENT

(3) NEW WORKING PAPER: GUARD LABOR

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The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is based at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. For general information about PERI, please visit our website: http://www.umass.edu/peri.


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(1) THE “MISFORTUNE 100” FROM THE PERI CORPORATE TOXICS INFORMATION PROJECT

PERI’s Corporate Toxics Information Project is pleased to announce the release of its “Misfortune 100 Index”. The index is based on the reported air releases of hundreds of toxic chemicals from industrial facilities located across the United States. The rankings take into account not only the quantity of releases, but also the relative toxicity of different chemicals, their dispersion in the environment, and the number of people at risk. The data on chemical releases come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) for the year 2000. The inventory was established by Congress after the chemical disaster 20 years ago in Bhopal, India, at a plant owned by the now-defunct Union Carbide Corporation. The TRI data include both deliberate and accidental releases of toxic chemicals in the United States. Data on toxicity weights and population impacts are from the EPA’s Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators project.

The Misfortune 100 Index follows the October release of “Ohio’s Toxic Twelve” – a list of the 12 corporations that emit the most toxic air pollution in that state. Adding all facilities statewide, Ohio ranks first among the 50 states in toxic air pollution, making it the logical starting point for state-by-state rankings.

The release of the Misfortune 100 Index attracted substantial attention from the media, environmental organizations, and corporations. The Misfortune 100 has been featured on the web blogs Common Dreams (www.commondreams.org) and Truth Out (www.truthout.org). Media coverage has included radio interviews in Rochester, NY, and St. Louis, and newspaper articles have appeared in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle (Rochester is the home of Eastman Kodak, #3 on the list) and the Toledo Blade (home of Dana Corporation, #44). Stories also appeared in Air Daily and Inside EPA, two Washington, D.C.-based publications.

Dana Corporation originally ranked number one on the Misfortune 100 list. However, this ranking proved to be erroneous because Dana Corporation had submitted incorrect release information for one of its facilities to the Environmental Protection Agency. This error has been corrected in the latest version of the index – illustrating how the Corporate Toxics project can help to improve the quality of data available to the public, as well as its accessibility.

Environmental groups and officials at state environmental agencies also responded positively to the release. They particularly expressed interest in getting more detailed information for particular communities and specific facilities.

Corporations reacted in various ways to the Misfortune 100. Many wanted to know how the rankings were created, others expressed surprise at the findings, and still others disputed the accuracy of the EPA’s data (although not the accuracy of the “Misfortune 100” index constructed using this data).

PERI’s Corporate Toxics Information Project builds on the victories of the right-to-know movement. One enduring lesson from the Bhopal disaster is that people have the right to know about toxic hazards to which they are exposed. By making this information accessible to the public in a user-friendly format, the Project seeks to engender public participation in environmental decision-making and help translate the right to know into the right to clean air.

PERI is seeking funding for further activities of the Corporate Toxics Information Project. These include:

* An updated version of the Misfortune 100 index, using new EPA data for the year 2002.
* “Toxic Twelve” rankings for all 50 states.
* Development of a new index to measure the extent to which toxic releases disproportionately impact low-income communities and communities of color.
* Publication of reports on specific regions, industries, and chemical hazards, in collaboration with environmental advocacy groups.
* Development of an interactive on-line database that will allow researchers and the public to access facility-specific and community-specific data on toxic releases.

LINKS:

Read the Misfortune 100 Press Release: http://umass.edu/peri/resources/Misfortune100.htm

Go to the full Misfortune 100 List: http://umass.edu/peri/resources/Misfortune100table.htm

Read the press release for Ohio’s Toxic Twelve: http://umass.edu/peri/resources/Ohiotoxics.htm

Go to the Corporate Toxic Information Project webpage: http://umass.edu/peri/resources/toxicsinformation.htm


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(2) NEW RESEARCH: OUTSOURCING’S IMPACT ON U.S. EMPLOYMENT

“Rising Foreign Outsourcing and Employment Losses in U.S. Manufacturing, 1987-2002” by James Burke, Gerald Epstein, and Minsik Choi


Foreign outsourcing, otherwise known as off-shoring, has become a matter of intense public debate and great concern in the United States presidential contest, especially in light of the large job losses experienced by U.S. workers since George Bush became president. Yet, there is a lack of good data on foreign outsourcing since the early 1990s. This paper presents updated measures of foreign outsourcing for the recent period. Its main findings are that the share of foreign-sourced goods in total manufactured inputs almost doubled – from 12.4% to 22.1%– in U.S. manufacturing between 1987 and 2002. Since the early 1990s, outsourcing has accelerated in key industries and has been associated with a loss of employment. In particular, for the period from 1997 to 2002, there has been a strong association between manufacturing job losses and foreign outsourcing.

Link: http://www.umass.edu/peri/pdfs/WP89.pdf

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(3) NEW WORKING PAPER: GUARD LABOR

“Guard Labor: an Essay in Honor of Pranab Bardhan” by Samuel Bowles and Arjun Jayadev

THE new PERI Working Paper explores the economic importance of the exercise of power and the resources devoted to this end. The paper demonstrates the role of power in a modern capitalist economy, measures the resources dedicated to the exercise of power using the concept of guard labor, and documents substantial differences in the extent of guard labor across countries. The authors go on to show a strong statistical association between the extent of income inequality and the fraction of the labor force that is constituted by guard labor. The paper is written in honor of Pranab Bardhan, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Link: http://www.umass.edu/peri/pdfs/WP89.pdf

 

RETHINKING MARXISM

A journal of economics, culture & society
VOL 17 No 1 JANUARY 2005
IN THIS ISSUE:

SYMPOSIUM on CLASS and ITS OTHERS and RE/PRESENTING CLASS

Focusing and expanding class analysis

For detailed content: Rethinking Marxism

RETHINKING MARXISM
A project of the Association for Economic and Social Analysis (AESA), Rethinking Marxism (RM) has become recognized as one of the premier interdisciplinary journals on the Left. Now in its seventeenth year of publication, RM aims to stimulate interest in and debate over the explanatory power and social consequences of Marxian economic, cultural, and social analysis. For information regarding subscription, article submission, contents of back issues, etc. please click here.

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Heterodox Books and Book Series

A Guide to What’s Wrong with Economics

edited by Edward Fullbrook.
contributors: Emmanuelle Bénicourt, Michael A. Bernstein, Ana Maria Binachi, Ha-Joon, Chang, Robert Costanza, Herman E. Daly, James G. Devine, Peter Earl, Susan Feiner, Edward Fullbrook, Jean Gadrey, Donald Gillies, Bernard Guerrien, Ozgur Gun, Joseph Halevi, Geoffrey Hodgson, Grazia Ietto-Gillies, Steve Keen, Tony Lawson, Anne Mayhew, Paul Ormerod, Renato Di Ruzza, Sashi Sivramkrishna, Peter Söderbaum, Hugh Stretton, Charles L Wilber, Richard Wolff, Stephen T. Ziliak.

London: Anthem Press, November 2004, paperback, 323 pages.

For Detailed Contents

 

Three books published online, By: Jacques Gouverneur

Dear reader,


I take pleasure in letting you know that my latest textbook in Marxist economics (2005) is available, both as an electronic edition and in the form of a printed book. This textbook is the culmination – and also the end point – of long experience in university research and teaching (some 35 years), combined with equally long experience in extra-university training activities.


Access to the text

The book is available on the website <www.i6doc.com> in three languages (French, Spanish and English) and, for each language, in two sizes : on the one hand, an "A4" or "quarto" size (267 pages in English) under the simple title "UNDERSTANDING THE ECONOMY. The hidden face of economic phenomena" ; on the other hand, an "A5" size (389 pages) with the explicit title "THE FOUNDATIONS OF CAPITALIST ECONOMY. An introduction to the Marxist economic analysis of contemporary capitalism". Except for the foreword, some passages of the introduction and the bibliography (included in the "A5" size only), the two texts are practically identical. But I know that some people prefer an inconspicuous presentation (moreover with less pages), and others an explicit one ; in all three languages, every one can have what seems more suitable.

Each of the six versions of the textbook can be downloaded free of charge from the website in question. The useful URLs for the English versions are as follows :

- "UNDERSTANDING THE ECONOMY. The hidden face of economic phenomena" (A4 size, 267 p.) :
http://www.i6doc.com/doc/a4economy

- "THE FOUNDATIONS OF CAPITALIST ECONOMY. An introduction to the Marxist economic analysis of contemporary capitalism" (A5 size, 389 p.) :
http://www.i6doc.com/doc/a5economy

Each of the six versions can be reproduced and published freely, with no royalties to pay (author's royalties or others), but of course without right of exclusivity.

Texts in the A5 size are also available in the form of printed books. These are published by Contradictions for the French version, by Diffusion Universitaire Ciaco for the Spanish and English versions. In all three languages, therefore, those interested have the choice : either order the book (through the same website referred to) or reproduce it on their own.

Contents and interest of the book

As a product of long experience in both university teaching and extra-university training activities, the book provides a step by step, clear and rigorous exposition of Marxist economic theory. It shows its relevance for analysing the deep tendencies of contemporary capitalism in a coherent way : extension of market production, globalization of the economy, concentration of economic power, race for competitiveness, the invasion of advertising, growth of subcontracting, increasing inequalities, attacks on the environment, prolongation of the structural crisis and unemployment, etc.
Each chapter is complemented with a summary, as well as a selection of "theoretical" and "practical" exercises : the former are aimed at checking the assimilation of the material, while the latter enable readers to establish links between theory and present-day realities, whatever the moment and country.


Thanks to its outstanding pedagogical qualities, the book constitutes a first-class textbook for students and teachers, as well as for any interested reader, even without previous knowledge.

At the same time, the book should draw the consideration of specialists. On the one hand, it adopts and develops a definitely classical Marxist perspective on most topics. For instance, it emphasizes the contradictory aspects of reality, which are mentioned or underlined on numerous occasions : this is the case, in particular, of the contradictory aspects of wages and public expenditure and the contradictory effects of neo-liberal policies. Similarly, it underlines the basic influence of both productivity ("development of productive forces") and power relations ("class struggle" or conflicts between "class fractions") : both are simultaneously taken into consideration, especially to account for the relative prices of commodities and the stages in growth and crisis after the Second World War
Yet, within the Marxist paradigm, the book adopts (and justifies in appendices) a number of non-conventional points of view. These particularly concern the concepts of value, commodity and productive labour, as well as the relations between wage and value of labour-power. The non-conventional viewpoints adopted on these topics combine the advantages of precision and simplicity : on the one hand, they make the theoretical approach more rigorous and coherent ; yet, while justified on purely theoretical grounds, they present the additional advantages of making the theory simpler and allowing a much easier quantification of various key-concepts.
While focusing on the sector of capitalist enterprises, the book also examines all the other forms of production (enterprises relying on self-employment, public enterprises, non-market public services, voluntary organizations, households) : it shows their specific characteristics and examines their contradictory relationships with the capitalist sector. In so doing, it does not restrict itself to analysing an abstract system but contemplates the actual diversity of a concrete society.

You will find more details on the contents of the book at either of the two URLs mentioned above. The item "download a free extract" gives access to an eight-page document called "presentation of J.Gouverneur's latest textbook". Pages 2 and 3 of the document in question mention a series of interesting features, both pedagogical and theoretical.


Requesting your co-operation

To conclude, I would like to ask you to personally contribute to circulating my original and multiform offer :
- for one thing, I invite you to forward this trilingual letter to all persons who you think might be interested ;
- furthermore, if you have a personal website, or have access to an institutional website, I suggest you create a link with the URLs mentioned above (and possibly with those mentioned in the letters in French and Spanish).

Many thanks for your co-operation!

Yours very sincerely,

Jacques Gouverneur

For Spanish and French version of the text: SF.doc

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Heterodox Associations

Ideas website: www.networkideas.org

Special website for development economists of a heterodox persuasion;
The website contains pdfs of very interesting papers, some already published but easy to get here, and others pre-publication long versions, v. interesting.
'IDEAS has been established with the purpose of building a pluralist network of heterodox economists engaged in the teaching, research, and application of critical analyses of development.' - from its website.
"IDEAS" is the acronym for International Development Economics Associates.

Heterodox Announcements


Capacity Building and Knowledge Networking on Gender, Macroeconomics and International Economics

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We are writing to announce the third cycle of our program, Capacity Building and Knowledge Networking on Gender, Macroeconomics and International Economics. A central component of the program is the two- week intensive course on Engendering Macroeconomics and International Economics. The course will take place in Salt Lake City, University of Utah in the United States from May 26- June 9, 2005. We are writing to solicit your support in disseminating information to potential applicants.

The program is being organized by the International Working Group on Gender, Macroeconomics and International Economics (GEM- IWG), an international network of economists which was formed in 1994. The program has two objectives: first, to engage with fellow economists in order to enhance capacity building for research, teaching, policy making and advocacy on gender equitable approaches to macroeconomics, international economics and globalization; and second, to increase knowledge networking on these themes by strengthening the intellectual links among practitioners in networks working on similar issues.

The program is intended for economists, including advanced graduate students in economics, as well as more senior academics, researchers and those in government. Up to 30 fellows will be admitted to the
program. The fellows of the program will be required, at a minimum, to have completed two years of study in an economics Ph.D. program and have passed their qualifying exams, or have its equivalent such as a
master's degree in economics. These requirements may be waived only under exceptional circumstances. Funding is available for up to 25 fellows. Priority will be given to applicants from the global South and transition economies.

Attached please find an application form as well as announcement on the details of the program, which consists of a self-study module, the intensive two-week course, and a public conference. We are certain that among the people in your network, some will be good candidates for this program. As the application deadline for the course is March 4, 2005, we ask that you kindly let them know about it and that you forward this announcement to organizations, research institutes and economics departments of universities. If applicable, we also ask that you kindly post this announcement in your organization's website or newsletter. You can find further information on our program at our website
www.genderandmacro.org. including information on the first and second cycles which were implemented during 2003 and 2004 respectively. If you have any questions, please contact us at
genderandmacro@lists.csbs.utah.edu or cagatay@economics.utah.edu .

Thank you very much for your help with this initiative.

Sincerely,

Nilufer Cagatay
Associate Professor of Economics, University of Utah
(on behalf of the coordinating instructors Diane Elson, Rania
Antonopoulos and Maria Floro )
 

For detailed information: advertisement.doc and application form.doc

Isaac & Tamara Deutscher Memorial Prize
Each year, the Deutscher Prize is awarded for a book which exemplifies the best and most innovative new writing in or about the Marxist tradition. Previous winners of the Prize include Martin Nicolaus (1969), Lucio Colletti (1973), Robert Brenner (1985), Ellen Wood (1986) and Eric Hobsbawm (1995). The 2004 Prize was awarded to the second edition of Mike Lebowitz’s Beyond Capital: Marx’s Political Economy of the Working Class (Palgrave). Nominations are invited for the 2005 Prize. For further information about the Prize, and a nomination form, please go to www.deutscherprize.org.uk. ( email: asfilho@aol.com)

Dr Alfredo Saad Filho
Senior Lecturer in Political Economy of Development
Department of Development Studies
SOAS, University of London
Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square
London WC1H 0XG
United Kingdom

Heterodox Queries

The Fondazione Centro Ricerche Studi e Documentazione Piero Sraffa

The Fondazione Centro Ricerche Studi e Documentazione Piero Sraffa, as part of its activities to support research in the field of the revival of the Classical approach to economic theory, offers a Senior Fellowship and a Junior Fellowship for the academic year 2005-06, addressed to scholars (preferably from outside Italy) interested in Classical political economy and the work of Piero Sraffa.

The Senior Fellowship of Euro2,000 for a period of one month (dates to be agreed upon) is intended for an advanced scholar engaged in research on the subjects of interest to the Fondazione. The fellow will have use of the facilities of the Fondazione and will be invited to introduce and discuss his or her work in one or more seminars.

The Junior Fellowship of Euro7000 (plus travel expenses) entails residence in Rome for a period of 5 months from 15 January 2006. It is intended primarily for a scholar enrolled or about to enrol in a Ph.D programme. Applications from scholars who already have a Ph.D or equivalent research experience however will also be considered. In addition, the Fondazione will admit other qualified students who can fund their stay from a different source. Participants in the programme will be expected to conduct readings concerning the Classical economists, Sraffa's contribution and later developments with respect both to the critique of Marginal theories and the revival of the Classical approach. Short essays will be written on assigned themes and discussed with supervisors fortnightly.

Applications must reach the FONDAZIONE CENTRO RICERCHE STUDI E DOCUMENTAZIONE PIERO SRAFFA, VIA OSTIENSE 139, 00154 ROMA, ITALIA, tel. (++39) (06) 57374037; fax. 57374254) by 31 March 2005. Candidates should include; (i) a curriculum vita; (ii) a short description of the applicant's research interests and published or unpublished writings, with abstracts of those which relate to the lines of research supported by the Fondazione; and, for the Junior Fellowship, (iii) a testimonial by a senior scholar well acquainted with the applicant's work. For further details, please write to <sraffa@uniroma3.it>.

 

Participatory Budgeting
Prof. Nick Gomersall request to contact with scholars who have experience on Participatory Budgeting. He is interested in the instances Participatory Budgeting to be found in different countries. You may send e-mail to Prof. Gomersall at gomersni@yahoo.co.uk.

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