This dissertation develops a Hobbesian reading of the texts of Adam Smith and Karl Marx on economic development. The individualist tradition in social theory starts with the assumption that the social behavior of individuals is driven by self-interest. Thomas Hobbes deduced from this that granting freedom to individuals would inevitably lead to social chaos and generalized misery. Smith argued that granting freedom to individuals is a necessary condition of further economic development. He admitted that freedom leads to struggles over who is to control a society's resources and surplus product. This wastes resources and inhibits economic development. But attempts to prevent such struggles cannot succeed. The solution is to create social structures where how well individuals do in such struggles accurately reflects the extent to which they use resources productively and innovate better methods of production. This can be done by making everyone dependent on markets and forcing everyone (entrepreneurs, workers and consumers) to compete against everyone else in markets. Marx struggled with and transformed the concepts and arguments of Smith, especially those concerning struggles relating to the production, distribution and uses of the surplus product. He argued that the Smithian process of economic development is also a Hobbesian process of exploitation of the workers who produce the wealth. He struggled to analyze the various ways in which the processes of economic development and exploitation mold and shape each other, treating each as a contributing condition of existence of the other, and neither as the determining cause. There is an ongoing debate and tension within the individualist tradition between a neo-Smithian approach (the structure and distribution of property rights are the essential keys to understanding any historical situation) and a neo-Hobbesian approach (the types and distribution of power are the essential keys). Despite Marx's attempt to go beyond this dichotomy and construct an antiessentialist analysis of how the various aspects of historical situations mutually overdetermine each other, a similar dichotomy has dominated the Marxian tradition after Marx.

The history of British street tramways is surveyed and contrasted with other urban transport modes from 1860 to date and the generally accepted reasons for the industry's decline summarised. These theories are then tested, illlustrated and amplified by three case studies of tramways in South Yorkshire, namely the small Dearne District, the medium-sized Doncaster and the major Sheffield undertakings. The history of each system is detailed with particular attention being given to later developments. In each case contrasts and parallels are drawn with competing modes--either motor buses or trolleybuses in this area--and with tramways in other parts of the country. The Dearne District tramway was loss-making throughout, and the reasons for inadequate receipts and/or excessive working and capital costs are examined, particularly by contrast with the competing and profitable Yorkshire Traction bus company, which ultimately bought out the tramway in 1933. The Doncaster tramways were more successful, alternating between profit and loss, but after World War I were subject to severe external restraints--such as stagnation in the local economic base and private motor bus competition--and also suffered from rapid deterioration of capital assets. Each of these difficulties is analysed and the eventual successful replacement of trams by 1935 by (mostly) trolleybuses described and discussed. Sheffield's tramways were financially viable up to and including World War II, the reasons for this including the virtual elimination of private motor bus competition, Sheffield's topography and the heavy traffic typical of a city tramway; a particular contrast is drawn with Manchester, where tramway abandonment became policy much earlier. The financial and in particular the planning reasons why Sheffield's policy changed after 1945 are then examined. Tramway replacement was completed by 1960. The analysis is supported throughout by detailed financial and operating data derived from archive sources; a detailed bibliography concludes the thesis.

<p> My dissertation, "Spatial Relationships in High-Dimensional, International, and Historical Data" examines the effects of distance not only in a geographical sense, but also in a higher dimensional sense where statistical distance metrics are widely used. The first two chapters of my Ph.D. thesis are closely related, and together they represent an attempt to develop a new method for computing index numbers, which are applications of statistical distance metrics. I consider distance metrics on categorical shares data, for example the proportions of a consumer's income spent on food, clothing, entertainment, and housing. Distance metrics are frequently used on such data, although all suffer from an essential flaw, which is that they treat each category as a separate, orthogonal dimension. That is, each metric assumes that every category is equally different from every other one. That assumption would be like saying Fuji apples are equally as different from Gala apples as either are to oranges, and then the distance metric is like adding apples to apples as well as apples to oranges. Because of this, the policy conclusions reached through distance measures could be greatly distorted. </p><p> The third chapter of my dissertation looks at the effect of railroads on retail prices in the United States from 1851&ndash;1892. Consistent with the theory of comparative advantage, railroads in more remote areas caused the price of agricultural goods to increase and the price of manufactured and imported goods to decline.</p>

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Minnesota, 2007. / (UMI)AAI3260531. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-04, Section: A, page: 1628. Adviser: Steven Ruggles.

Essa tese aborda o empresário industrial ascendente no contexto da urbanização e industrialização do Brasil sob a perspectiva da prática do mecenato. Tal ação, catalisada pelo desejo, nesse segmento social, de distinção, respondeu a instituições presentes no ambiente de transformação socioeconômica brasileira na primeira metade do século XX. Trata, portanto, de Economia da Cultura, História Econômica e Economia Institucional, propondo a justaposição instrumental de arcabouços teóricos construídos nesses três campos da ciência econômica. O núcleo duro dos pressupostos aqui assumidos é o de que a instalação do setor urbano-industrial brasileiro no período em estudo foi liderada, em sua maior parte, por imigrantes convertidos em empresários industriais, que capitanearam a prática do mecenato para afirmar sua condição de protagonismo social como uma nova elite. A hipótese do trabalho é a de que o mecenato brasileiro no período posterior à Segunda Guerra Mundial (1947-1960) teve como protagonistas membros desse segmento social. Essa nova elite, ligada à indústria e negócios urbanos, teve papel ativo e preponderante no financiamento à cultura em relação à oligarquia agrária, de riqueza mais antiga e enfrentando decadência econômica. Para esse fim, garantindo foco ao estudo, serviram como referencial de análise o contexto da cidade de São Paulo e a identificação empírica dos doadores que formaram o acervo do Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), efetivada dentro do período em estudo. Para fundamentação e comprovação dessa hipótese foram acionados como estratégia heurística: a) na esfera teórica, os conceitos da Sociologia da Cultura de Pierre Bourdieu e da Economia Institucional de Thorstein Veblen, balizados por uma revisão teórica das origens étnicas, sociais e atuação econômica do empresário industrial brasileiro; b) na esfera empírica, uma pesquisa de campo no acervo do MASP, identificando todas obras doadas ao museu dentro do período estudado e enquadrando em tipologias de segmentos sociais os respectivos doadores. Os resultados obtidos nesse trabalho forneceram elementos para corroborar a hipótese da tese, emergindo como corolário que a busca por afirmação social de novas elites de renda, através da distinção simbólica e consumo conspícuo, como resposta a instituições de uma sociedade urbana e industrial é componente relevante para compreendermos o mecenato no Brasil no período estudado. / This thesis discusses the ascending industrial entrepreneur in the context of Brazilian urbanization and industrialization under the perspective of patronage practices. Such action, catalyzed by the wish, in this specific social segment, of distinction, responded to institutions established in the ambience of Brazilian socio-economic transformation in the XX century’s first half. It discusses, therefore, Cultural Economics, History Economics and Institutional Economics, and proposes the instrumental juxtaposition of theoretical framework constructed in these three fields of Economy Science. The hard core of here assumed presuppositions is that the installation of Brazilian urban-industrial sector in the studied period was, in its most part, leaded by immigrants converted to industrial entrepreneurs, who commanded the practice of patronage to affirm their social protagonist condition as a new elite. This work’s hypothesis is that Brazilian patronage in the period immediately after the Second World War (1947-1960) had members of this social segment as protagonists. This new elite, connected to industry and urban affairs, played an active and preponderant role in the financing of culture, in relation to the agrarian oligarchy, of ancient richness and facing economical decadence. For this purpose, the context of the city of São Paulo and the empirical identification of donators who have constituted the collection of the Museum of Art of São Paulo (MASP) from 1947 to 1960 served as reference for analysis. In order to ground and validate this hypothesis, the following strategies have been assumed : a) in the theoretical sphere, the concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology of Culture and Thorstein Veblen’s Institutional Economy, delimited by a theoretical review of ethnic and social origins as well as economic praxis of Brazilian industrial entrepreneur; b) in the empirical sphere, a field research in the MASP collection, identifying all works donated to the museum in the studied period and framing their respective donators in typologies of social segments. The results achieved in this work have provided elements to corroborate the hypothesis of the thesis, emerging as corollary that the pursuit of social affirmation by new income elites, through symbolic distinction and conspicuous consumption, as an answer to institutions of an urban and industrial society is a relevant component to comprehend Brazilian patronage in the studied period.

Essa tese aborda o empresário industrial ascendente no contexto da urbanização e industrialização do Brasil sob a perspectiva da prática do mecenato. Tal ação, catalisada pelo desejo, nesse segmento social, de distinção, respondeu a instituições presentes no ambiente de transformação socioeconômica brasileira na primeira metade do século XX. Trata, portanto, de Economia da Cultura, História Econômica e Economia Institucional, propondo a justaposição instrumental de arcabouços teóricos construídos nesses três campos da ciência econômica. O núcleo duro dos pressupostos aqui assumidos é o de que a instalação do setor urbano-industrial brasileiro no período em estudo foi liderada, em sua maior parte, por imigrantes convertidos em empresários industriais, que capitanearam a prática do mecenato para afirmar sua condição de protagonismo social como uma nova elite. A hipótese do trabalho é a de que o mecenato brasileiro no período posterior à Segunda Guerra Mundial (1947-1960) teve como protagonistas membros desse segmento social. Essa nova elite, ligada à indústria e negócios urbanos, teve papel ativo e preponderante no financiamento à cultura em relação à oligarquia agrária, de riqueza mais antiga e enfrentando decadência econômica. Para esse fim, garantindo foco ao estudo, serviram como referencial de análise o contexto da cidade de São Paulo e a identificação empírica dos doadores que formaram o acervo do Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), efetivada dentro do período em estudo. Para fundamentação e comprovação dessa hipótese foram acionados como estratégia heurística: a) na esfera teórica, os conceitos da Sociologia da Cultura de Pierre Bourdieu e da Economia Institucional de Thorstein Veblen, balizados por uma revisão teórica das origens étnicas, sociais e atuação econômica do empresário industrial brasileiro; b) na esfera empírica, uma pesquisa de campo no acervo do MASP, identificando todas obras doadas ao museu dentro do período estudado e enquadrando em tipologias de segmentos sociais os respectivos doadores. Os resultados obtidos nesse trabalho forneceram elementos para corroborar a hipótese da tese, emergindo como corolário que a busca por afirmação social de novas elites de renda, através da distinção simbólica e consumo conspícuo, como resposta a instituições de uma sociedade urbana e industrial é componente relevante para compreendermos o mecenato no Brasil no período estudado. / This thesis discusses the ascending industrial entrepreneur in the context of Brazilian urbanization and industrialization under the perspective of patronage practices. Such action, catalyzed by the wish, in this specific social segment, of distinction, responded to institutions established in the ambience of Brazilian socio-economic transformation in the XX century’s first half. It discusses, therefore, Cultural Economics, History Economics and Institutional Economics, and proposes the instrumental juxtaposition of theoretical framework constructed in these three fields of Economy Science. The hard core of here assumed presuppositions is that the installation of Brazilian urban-industrial sector in the studied period was, in its most part, leaded by immigrants converted to industrial entrepreneurs, who commanded the practice of patronage to affirm their social protagonist condition as a new elite. This work’s hypothesis is that Brazilian patronage in the period immediately after the Second World War (1947-1960) had members of this social segment as protagonists. This new elite, connected to industry and urban affairs, played an active and preponderant role in the financing of culture, in relation to the agrarian oligarchy, of ancient richness and facing economical decadence. For this purpose, the context of the city of São Paulo and the empirical identification of donators who have constituted the collection of the Museum of Art of São Paulo (MASP) from 1947 to 1960 served as reference for analysis. In order to ground and validate this hypothesis, the following strategies have been assumed : a) in the theoretical sphere, the concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology of Culture and Thorstein Veblen’s Institutional Economy, delimited by a theoretical review of ethnic and social origins as well as economic praxis of Brazilian industrial entrepreneur; b) in the empirical sphere, a field research in the MASP collection, identifying all works donated to the museum in the studied period and framing their respective donators in typologies of social segments. The results achieved in this work have provided elements to corroborate the hypothesis of the thesis, emerging as corollary that the pursuit of social affirmation by new income elites, through symbolic distinction and conspicuous consumption, as an answer to institutions of an urban and industrial society is a relevant component to comprehend Brazilian patronage in the studied period.

Essa tese aborda o empresário industrial ascendente no contexto da urbanização e industrialização do Brasil sob a perspectiva da prática do mecenato. Tal ação, catalisada pelo desejo, nesse segmento social, de distinção, respondeu a instituições presentes no ambiente de transformação socioeconômica brasileira na primeira metade do século XX. Trata, portanto, de Economia da Cultura, História Econômica e Economia Institucional, propondo a justaposição instrumental de arcabouços teóricos construídos nesses três campos da ciência econômica. O núcleo duro dos pressupostos aqui assumidos é o de que a instalação do setor urbano-industrial brasileiro no período em estudo foi liderada, em sua maior parte, por imigrantes convertidos em empresários industriais, que capitanearam a prática do mecenato para afirmar sua condição de protagonismo social como uma nova elite. A hipótese do trabalho é a de que o mecenato brasileiro no período posterior à Segunda Guerra Mundial (1947-1960) teve como protagonistas membros desse segmento social. Essa nova elite, ligada à indústria e negócios urbanos, teve papel ativo e preponderante no financiamento à cultura em relação à oligarquia agrária, de riqueza mais antiga e enfrentando decadência econômica. Para esse fim, garantindo foco ao estudo, serviram como referencial de análise o contexto da cidade de São Paulo e a identificação empírica dos doadores que formaram o acervo do Museu de Arte de São Paulo (MASP), efetivada dentro do período em estudo. Para fundamentação e comprovação dessa hipótese foram acionados como estratégia heurística: a) na esfera teórica, os conceitos da Sociologia da Cultura de Pierre Bourdieu e da Economia Institucional de Thorstein Veblen, balizados por uma revisão teórica das origens étnicas, sociais e atuação econômica do empresário industrial brasileiro; b) na esfera empírica, uma pesquisa de campo no acervo do MASP, identificando todas obras doadas ao museu dentro do período estudado e enquadrando em tipologias de segmentos sociais os respectivos doadores. Os resultados obtidos nesse trabalho forneceram elementos para corroborar a hipótese da tese, emergindo como corolário que a busca por afirmação social de novas elites de renda, através da distinção simbólica e consumo conspícuo, como resposta a instituições de uma sociedade urbana e industrial é componente relevante para compreendermos o mecenato no Brasil no período estudado. / This thesis discusses the ascending industrial entrepreneur in the context of Brazilian urbanization and industrialization under the perspective of patronage practices. Such action, catalyzed by the wish, in this specific social segment, of distinction, responded to institutions established in the ambience of Brazilian socio-economic transformation in the XX century’s first half. It discusses, therefore, Cultural Economics, History Economics and Institutional Economics, and proposes the instrumental juxtaposition of theoretical framework constructed in these three fields of Economy Science. The hard core of here assumed presuppositions is that the installation of Brazilian urban-industrial sector in the studied period was, in its most part, leaded by immigrants converted to industrial entrepreneurs, who commanded the practice of patronage to affirm their social protagonist condition as a new elite. This work’s hypothesis is that Brazilian patronage in the period immediately after the Second World War (1947-1960) had members of this social segment as protagonists. This new elite, connected to industry and urban affairs, played an active and preponderant role in the financing of culture, in relation to the agrarian oligarchy, of ancient richness and facing economical decadence. For this purpose, the context of the city of São Paulo and the empirical identification of donators who have constituted the collection of the Museum of Art of São Paulo (MASP) from 1947 to 1960 served as reference for analysis. In order to ground and validate this hypothesis, the following strategies have been assumed : a) in the theoretical sphere, the concepts of Pierre Bourdieu’s Sociology of Culture and Thorstein Veblen’s Institutional Economy, delimited by a theoretical review of ethnic and social origins as well as economic praxis of Brazilian industrial entrepreneur; b) in the empirical sphere, a field research in the MASP collection, identifying all works donated to the museum in the studied period and framing their respective donators in typologies of social segments. The results achieved in this work have provided elements to corroborate the hypothesis of the thesis, emerging as corollary that the pursuit of social affirmation by new income elites, through symbolic distinction and conspicuous consumption, as an answer to institutions of an urban and industrial society is a relevant component to comprehend Brazilian patronage in the studied period.

This thesis is an historical study of the formation of Thatcherite economic thinking and policymaking with a particular focus upon investigating the part played by economic ideas and economists in Thatcherism. While some economists and economic ideas are closely associated with Thatcherism, Thatcherites were hostile to the bulk of Britain’s economists residing in universities and in the Government Economic Service and skeptical of the usefulness of economic theory in policymaking. Thatcherites thought that British academic and government economists supported a ‘Keynesian consensus’ which was purported to have been in operation since the Second World War and had allegedly retarded Britain’s growth from a quasi-mythical free-enterprise Victorian high-point. However, Thatcherites were keen to win the ‘battle of ideas’ and became eager ‘buyers’ of economic ideas – Keith Joseph particularly – in a ‘marketplace in economic ideas’ which developed over the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. Yet, Thatcherites were not suddenly converted to neoliberal economic thinking by the marketplace in economic ideas. Instead, Thatcherites pragmatically sought out ideas which could be adopted and adapted in combination with long-standing ideological beliefs which were hostile to the size and role of the state and in favour of ‘sound money.’ Thatcherite economic thinking developed to include sometimes contradictory strands of supply-side economics, Austrian economics, monetarism/rational expectations and public choice economics but also contained, particularly for Margaret Thatcher, elements of ‘businessmen’s economics’ and ‘housewife economics.’ A case study of privatisation policy illustrates the point that pre-existing Thatcherite thinking, such as the desire to ‘roll back the state’, provided the core underlying rationale for economic policies. Yet, Thatcherites were also able to use a jumbled amalgam of economic ideas such as Austrian and neoclassical economics to promote secondary objectives such as introducing competition when conditions were judged as favourable by Thatcherites.

Réalisé en association avec le Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie (CIRST). / Inspirée par les débats portant sur la typologie de la recherche proposée par Michael Burawoy (2005b) et fondée sur une analyse qualitative de vingt-cinq entrevues auprès de professeurs en histoire, en économie et en sociologie, notre investigation a comme but d’identifier et de décrire l’organisation sociale du sens de la recherche en fonction de ses auditoires et ses visées cognitives. À partir d’une analyse sémantique du langage et des repères construits par les acteurs dans leurs expériences de production et de diffusion de connaissances, nous étudions premièrement l’organisation des pratiques de recherche dans l’espace académique, puis l’extension de ces pratiques vers d’autres champs d’activités sociales. Cette analyse nous permet de revenir sur la typologie de Burawoy et d’apporter quelques corrections quant aux distinctions entre les connaissances professionnelle, critique, appliquée et publique. À cet égard, nous proposons que ces « types » de recherche doivent être décomposés en de multiples postures qui s’inscrivent d’une part dans une différenciation des espaces discursifs académiques et d’autre part à l’interface de différents modes d’intervention extra-académique. / Our study of the orientation of research in the social sciences and humanities is a response to Micheal Burawoy’s typology of knowledge production. The objective of this investigation is to identify and describe the social organisation of the meaning of research as scholars attempt to reach different audiences and as their investigations are routed towards particular cognitive aims. Having conducted twenty-five in-depth interviews with historians, sociologists and economists, we analysed their interpretations of research practices in relation to the social space of academia and in regards to the extension of academic activities towards other social spaces. This analysis is then mobilised to comment on Michael Burawoy’s typology of research as we attempt to correct some of the distinctions he makes between professional, critical, policy and public knowledge. Notably, we suggest that these “types” should be broken down into multiple postures understood in relation to a segmentation of academic discursive fields and a differentiation of extra-academic modes of intervention.