Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2019.1596299
Felix Gerlsbeck, Lisa Herzog
Abstract Can the alleged conflict between efficiency and justice in the debate about workplace democracy be overcome? We argue that this might be possible by applying arguments from epistemic democratic theory to workplaces. To do so, we first define our notion of workplace democracy, and argue that the relevant decisions in companies concern the search for mutually beneficial solutions for workers, owners and society at large, or the fair management of conflicts between these groups. On this basis, we examine which epistemic advantages of democracy apply to decision-making within companies. We argue that the inherent reflexivity and adaptability of democratic systems can be a great advantage in the uncertain and changeable contexts in which companies operate. We reply to some objections, including the claim that feedback from markets provides sufficient information for companies, and conclude by calling for experiments with democratic practices in workplaces.
{"title":"The epistemic potentials of workplace democracy","authors":"Felix Gerlsbeck, Lisa Herzog","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2019.1596299","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2019.1596299","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Can the alleged conflict between efficiency and justice in the debate about workplace democracy be overcome? We argue that this might be possible by applying arguments from epistemic democratic theory to workplaces. To do so, we first define our notion of workplace democracy, and argue that the relevant decisions in companies concern the search for mutually beneficial solutions for workers, owners and society at large, or the fair management of conflicts between these groups. On this basis, we examine which epistemic advantages of democracy apply to decision-making within companies. We argue that the inherent reflexivity and adaptability of democratic systems can be a great advantage in the uncertain and changeable contexts in which companies operate. We reply to some objections, including the claim that feedback from markets provides sufficient information for companies, and conclude by calling for experiments with democratic practices in workplaces.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"78 1","pages":"307 - 330"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2019.1596299","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48858826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-07-02DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1778776
Roberto Frega, Lisa Herzog
In recent years, there has been a revival of discussions about democracy in the enterprise, not only out of a frustration about the powerlessness of the exter-nal political control of firms, but also based on hopes connected to new technologies, for example instant messaging systems, that could lower the costs of participatory decision making.
{"title":"Preface to the Special Issue on Workplace Democracy","authors":"Roberto Frega, Lisa Herzog","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1778776","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1778776","url":null,"abstract":"In recent years, there has been a revival of discussions about democracy in the enterprise, not only out of a frustration about the powerlessness of the exter-nal political control of firms, but also based on hopes connected to new technologies, for example instant messaging systems, that could lower the costs of participatory decision making.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"78 1","pages":"281 - 285"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1778776","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45572641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-26DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1769166
A. Fambeu, G. D. Mbondo
Standard economic theory assumes that individuals’ preferences are independent of their social environment. However, this basic assumption seems partly unrealistic because individual utility can be affected by a variety of social interactions. This paper assesses the role of peer effects on the informality of Micro and Small firms. We use the instrumental variable approach with fixed effects on survey data in the informal sector in Cameroon. Our results show a positive impact of informal behavior of peers of the firm on its level of informality. Thus, we find a social multiplier of 9.43 and 4.65 according to the nature of the reference group. These results show that, in reality, a policy leading one firm to formalize will lead at least nine (or four depending on the reference group) others to do so due to peer effects.
{"title":"Endogenous peer effects and level of informality: some evidence from micro and small firms in Cameroon","authors":"A. Fambeu, G. D. Mbondo","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1769166","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1769166","url":null,"abstract":"Standard economic theory assumes that individuals’ preferences are independent of their social environment. However, this basic assumption seems partly unrealistic because individual utility can be affected by a variety of social interactions. This paper assesses the role of peer effects on the informality of Micro and Small firms. We use the instrumental variable approach with fixed effects on survey data in the informal sector in Cameroon. Our results show a positive impact of informal behavior of peers of the firm on its level of informality. Thus, we find a social multiplier of 9.43 and 4.65 according to the nature of the reference group. These results show that, in reality, a policy leading one firm to formalize will lead at least nine (or four depending on the reference group) others to do so due to peer effects.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"80 1","pages":"387 - 421"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1769166","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46669818","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-25DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1781923
H. McCabe
ABSTRACT Compared to other elements of his political and economic thought, John Stuart Mill’s claim to be ‘under the general designation of Socialist’ has largely been ignored. Where it has been acknowledged, it has generally been denied. One exception to this rule has been to link Mill with ‘market socialism’, primarily because of his commitments to worker-cooperatives and competition. These are both elements of Mill's socialism, but when we examine his position on production, distribution and exchange more carefully, it becomes much less clear that Mill endorses anything like a ‘market’ in his socialism. This paper offers a critical assessment of Mill’s status as ‘market socialist’, considering, in particular, the ‘ethos’ he proposed for socialist organization of production and exchange, which is at odds with a profit-seeking motivation.
{"title":"John Stuart Mill: market socialist?","authors":"H. McCabe","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1781923","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1781923","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Compared to other elements of his political and economic thought, John Stuart Mill’s claim to be ‘under the general designation of Socialist’ has largely been ignored. Where it has been acknowledged, it has generally been denied. One exception to this rule has been to link Mill with ‘market socialism’, primarily because of his commitments to worker-cooperatives and competition. These are both elements of Mill's socialism, but when we examine his position on production, distribution and exchange more carefully, it becomes much less clear that Mill endorses anything like a ‘market’ in his socialism. This paper offers a critical assessment of Mill’s status as ‘market socialist’, considering, in particular, the ‘ethos’ he proposed for socialist organization of production and exchange, which is at odds with a profit-seeking motivation.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"79 1","pages":"506 - 527"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1781923","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45281636","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-12DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1775875
Maxime Quijoux
ABSTRACT What happens when a trade-union becomes the main actor of the workplace democracy? Underlining the strong bureaucratization of the trade union field, studies on trade unionism seem to predict low potentials. The case of a cooperative takeover of a French company by the CGT union in the early 2010s gives us the opportunity to verify it empirically. firstly, we will see that while trade union bureaucratization allows the takeover of the company – thanks to professionalized organizers – it also constitutes an obstacle when setting up the main cooperative schemes, as shown by the lack of participation in general meetings. In a second phase, however, by placing members from each sector on the board of directors – from the reception to the printing presses and the sales department – the union sets up a ‘sociological democratization’ and thus creates a continuum of interactions between grassroots and executive board which constitute ‘worker control’ over the new management.
{"title":"The power of (the) union: trade-unionism and workplace democracy in a French recovered factory","authors":"Maxime Quijoux","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1775875","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1775875","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT What happens when a trade-union becomes the main actor of the workplace democracy? Underlining the strong bureaucratization of the trade union field, studies on trade unionism seem to predict low potentials. The case of a cooperative takeover of a French company by the CGT union in the early 2010s gives us the opportunity to verify it empirically. firstly, we will see that while trade union bureaucratization allows the takeover of the company – thanks to professionalized organizers – it also constitutes an obstacle when setting up the main cooperative schemes, as shown by the lack of participation in general meetings. In a second phase, however, by placing members from each sector on the board of directors – from the reception to the printing presses and the sales department – the union sets up a ‘sociological democratization’ and thus creates a continuum of interactions between grassroots and executive board which constitute ‘worker control’ over the new management.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"78 1","pages":"431 - 449"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1775875","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44717595","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-06-05DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1774636
Ortrud Lessmann
ABSTRACT Sen's capability approach is often criticized for its alleged individualism; various approaches have been suggested to overcome this problem. The notion of ‘collective capabilities’ is best known while other suggestions haven't received as much attention or approval. This article surveys the manifold suggestions for how Sen's capability approach can accommodate collectives and introduces the literature. Five strands of literature are identified with a framework that classifies these suggestions according to (a) whether the groups are externally or internally defined and (b) whether the main aim of these groups is to improve the well-being or agency of their members. After discussing the main threads of the literature the article tags Sen's capability approach as an example of structural individualism, proposes the concept of collective functionings, and calls for models of interaction between individuals and collective agency that integrate collective intentions and explore the effects of Giddensian social structure.
{"title":"Collectivity and the capability approach: survey and discussion","authors":"Ortrud Lessmann","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1774636","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1774636","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Sen's capability approach is often criticized for its alleged individualism; various approaches have been suggested to overcome this problem. The notion of ‘collective capabilities’ is best known while other suggestions haven't received as much attention or approval. This article surveys the manifold suggestions for how Sen's capability approach can accommodate collectives and introduces the literature. Five strands of literature are identified with a framework that classifies these suggestions according to (a) whether the groups are externally or internally defined and (b) whether the main aim of these groups is to improve the well-being or agency of their members. After discussing the main threads of the literature the article tags Sen's capability approach as an example of structural individualism, proposes the concept of collective functionings, and calls for models of interaction between individuals and collective agency that integrate collective intentions and explore the effects of Giddensian social structure.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"80 1","pages":"461 - 490"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-06-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1774636","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43021075","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-05-14DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1760339
N. Mitra, Debarshi Das
Existing studies on the rural non-agricultural sector in India have not examined profit rates to understand the growth of the sector. Most studies have examined the rapid increase in this sector’s workforce size, and some have probed the share of this sector in the rural National Domestic Product (NDP). This paper addresses this gap. It examines the profit rate and growth in output (net value added) of the rural organised manufacturing industries segment, in the period 1998–1999 to 2007–2008. For comparison, the same parameters have been examined for urban industries. It is found that the profit rate of rural industries grew faster than urban industries. Given the significance of the profit rate, the factors driving change in the profit rate have been identified in this paper. It is found that worsening wage share and improving output-capital ratio underpinned by the rising labour productivity were responsible for rising profit rates of rural industries.
{"title":"Determinants of rising profit rates in India’s rural industries","authors":"N. Mitra, Debarshi Das","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1760339","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1760339","url":null,"abstract":"Existing studies on the rural non-agricultural sector in India have not examined profit rates to understand the growth of the sector. Most studies have examined the rapid increase in this sector’s workforce size, and some have probed the share of this sector in the rural National Domestic Product (NDP). This paper addresses this gap. It examines the profit rate and growth in output (net value added) of the rural organised manufacturing industries segment, in the period 1998–1999 to 2007–2008. For comparison, the same parameters have been examined for urban industries. It is found that the profit rate of rural industries grew faster than urban industries. Given the significance of the profit rate, the factors driving change in the profit rate have been identified in this paper. It is found that worsening wage share and improving output-capital ratio underpinned by the rising labour productivity were responsible for rising profit rates of rural industries.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"80 1","pages":"314 - 335"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1760339","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44901043","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-05-14DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1761992
Catherine Deri Armstrong, R. Devlin, F. Seifi
Volunteers are reputedly healthier and happier than their non-volunteering counterparts. But is this a causal link or are healthier, happy individuals simply more likely to volunteer? Some papers have attempted to identify the causal relationship using an instrumental variable methodology, mostly relying on measures of religiosity as instruments for volunteering – however, religiosity may also affect health thus calling into question the validity of this approach. We rely on a novel instrument, a measure physical proximity to volunteer opportunities, to help identify the causal link from volunteering to health and happiness using econometric regression techniques. We find that volunteering is a robustly significant predictor of health, and positively affects life satisfaction for all but those aged under 35.
{"title":"Doing good, feeling good: causal evidence from volunteers","authors":"Catherine Deri Armstrong, R. Devlin, F. Seifi","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1761992","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1761992","url":null,"abstract":"Volunteers are reputedly healthier and happier than their non-volunteering counterparts. But is this a causal link or are healthier, happy individuals simply more likely to volunteer? Some papers have attempted to identify the causal relationship using an instrumental variable methodology, mostly relying on measures of religiosity as instruments for volunteering – however, religiosity may also affect health thus calling into question the validity of this approach. We rely on a novel instrument, a measure physical proximity to volunteer opportunities, to help identify the causal link from volunteering to health and happiness using econometric regression techniques. We find that volunteering is a robustly significant predictor of health, and positively affects life satisfaction for all but those aged under 35.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"80 1","pages":"336 - 358"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-05-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1761992","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41676962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-23DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2020.1762914
Luke Petach
Between 1980 and 2016 the share of households in the bottom quintile of the income distribution that owned their own home declined by 10 percentage points. For the same households, the share of monthly income spent on rent increased from 28% in 1960 to over 42% in 2016. To asses the extent to which income stagnation is responsible for the decline in affordability, I use Census microdata to construct counterfactual simulations that capture the evolution of housing market trends under alternative assumptions about the distribution of income. Income stagnation explains nearly the entire decline in affordability for the bottom quintile. Housing market frictions that cause the price of housing to deviate from marginal cost matter more to households further up the income distribution. Using Atkinson-type welfare-based inequality measures, I find that the counterfactual distribution of income – with inequality held constant – results in greater welfare for nearly all possible levels of inequality aversion.
{"title":"Income stagnation and housing affordability in the United States","authors":"Luke Petach","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2020.1762914","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2020.1762914","url":null,"abstract":"Between 1980 and 2016 the share of households in the bottom quintile of the income distribution that owned their own home declined by 10 percentage points. For the same households, the share of monthly income spent on rent increased from 28% in 1960 to over 42% in 2016. To asses the extent to which income stagnation is responsible for the decline in affordability, I use Census microdata to construct counterfactual simulations that capture the evolution of housing market trends under alternative assumptions about the distribution of income. Income stagnation explains nearly the entire decline in affordability for the bottom quintile. Housing market frictions that cause the price of housing to deviate from marginal cost matter more to households further up the income distribution. Using Atkinson-type welfare-based inequality measures, I find that the counterfactual distribution of income – with inequality held constant – results in greater welfare for nearly all possible levels of inequality aversion.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"80 1","pages":"359 - 386"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2020.1762914","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45968245","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2020-04-02DOI: 10.1080/00346764.2019.1602283
Larry Liu
Abstract While sovereign debt has become a major constraint in the policymaking of most developed countries, this article asks why the choices in fiscal and monetary policy were not uniform among the highest sovereign debt countries: Italy and Japan. While Japan has been fairly unconstrained in economic policymaking over the last 25 years since the onset of the ‘Lost Decades,’ Italy has been very strongly constrained even as debt levels are higher in the former than in the latter case. It is argued that Italy faced two important constraints to policymaking, which Japan does not face: (1) the higher exposure to foreign debt holding, which has made Italy more vulnerable to fluctuations in the interest rate, thus making the government more cautious about taking certain fiscal decisions; (2) the common currency and fiscal treaties to limit deficit and debt accumulation, which form a legal barrier to fiscal and monetary expansionism.
{"title":"Constraints on policymaking in high sovereign debt countries: case studies of Italy and Japan","authors":"Larry Liu","doi":"10.1080/00346764.2019.1602283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2019.1602283","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract While sovereign debt has become a major constraint in the policymaking of most developed countries, this article asks why the choices in fiscal and monetary policy were not uniform among the highest sovereign debt countries: Italy and Japan. While Japan has been fairly unconstrained in economic policymaking over the last 25 years since the onset of the ‘Lost Decades,’ Italy has been very strongly constrained even as debt levels are higher in the former than in the latter case. It is argued that Italy faced two important constraints to policymaking, which Japan does not face: (1) the higher exposure to foreign debt holding, which has made Italy more vulnerable to fluctuations in the interest rate, thus making the government more cautious about taking certain fiscal decisions; (2) the common currency and fiscal treaties to limit deficit and debt accumulation, which form a legal barrier to fiscal and monetary expansionism.","PeriodicalId":46636,"journal":{"name":"REVIEW OF SOCIAL ECONOMY","volume":"78 1","pages":"256 - 279"},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2020-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/00346764.2019.1602283","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43239893","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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