This is the paper that explained how the system of internal capital accounts solves the Furubotn-Pejovich horizon problem that occurs in labor-managed firms with “social equity” like in a non-profit company.
Generalized-Ultraproducts
December 7, 2012 by
Published version of my 1971 PhD dissertation in mathematics.
Foundations-of-Self-Management-1975
December 7, 2012 by
This old typescript was probably the first written and published version of the argument for worker self-management (as we called it in those days) based on democratic theory and the labor theory of property seen as the property application of the usual principle of imputing legal responsibility in accordance with de facto responsibility.
3 Hats Paper
December 6, 2012 by
This is the “famous” 3-hats paper that first laid out the ICA model for a worker cooperative and that clarified how different rights would be assigned to different functional roles (“hats”) in a worker cooperative.
The Democratic Corporation
December 6, 2012 by
This is a law-journal treatment, coauthored with Peter Pitegoff, of the theory and practice of worker ownership in the US in the early 1980s.
Intellectual Trespassing as a Way of Life: Essays in Philosophy, Economics, and Mathematics
December 3, 2012 by
Dramatic changes or revolutions in a field of science are often made by outsiders or ‘trespassers,’ who are not limited by the established, ‘expert’ approaches. Each essay in this diverse collection shows the fruits of intellectual trespassing and poaching among fields such as economics, Kantian ethics, Platonic philosophy, category theory, double-entry accounting, arbitrage, algebraic logic, series-parallel duality, and financial arithmetic.
Knowledge-Based Development Assistance
December 2, 2012 by
This paper explores the problems of development assistance that focuses on knowledge instead of capital. The vision of the World Bank as a “Knowledge Bank” is a case in point.
Hirschmanian Themes of Social Learning and Change
December 2, 2012 by
There are a number of themes that converge to suggest “Hirschmanian” alternatives to centralized top-down social engineering models of reform, social change, and development. Hirschman responded to the balanced growth, big push, and development planning models with an alternative framework of “unbalanced growth.” The limited powers of cognition and implementation of central authorities in the face of the complexity of organizational, institutional, and social realities do not give much hope for social engineering approaches. Learning, experimentation, and a one-size-does-not-fit-all pragmatism are basic to any alternative to the planning, command, and control models of development.
Labour Migration: A Developmental Path or a Low-level Trap?
December 2, 2012 by
Migration issues are much discussed today. Our topic is the debate about the developmental impact of migration on the sending countries. Throughout the post-WWII period, temporary labor migration (e.g., South-east Europe to West Europe or Mexico to the United States) has been promoted as a path to development. Remittances have grown to rival or surpass official development assistance and have increased the living standards in the sending countries. However, the evidence over the decades is that the remittances do not lead to development or even to higher incomes sustainable without further migration.
How Do We Grow? Jane Jacobs on Diversification and Specialization
December 2, 2012 by
This recent paper from Challenge (May-June 2005) gives an expanded treatment of Jane Jacobs’ economic thought focusing on her theory of development and growth (or the lack thereof). In particular, it explains her remarkably insightful and unorthodox treatment of the issues of specialization and comparative advantage.