Rules and Reason. Perspectives on Constitutional Political Economy
In: Politicka misao, Band 38, Heft 4, S. 194-197
In: Politicka misao, Band 38, Heft 4, S. 194-197
U ovom diplomskom radu analizira se provođenje ekonomske politike unutar političkog ciklusa, odnosno pokušava se analizirati način primjene ekonomske teorije u stvarnim društvenim okolnostima na primjeru provođenja politike štednje u zemljama članicama EU koje su to postale od 2004. godine. Ekonomska teorija služi kao smjernica za provođenje određene ekonomske politike, no na njezino provođenje utječu različite okolnosti. Kao najvažnija egzogena odrednica (okolnost) može se navesti izborni ciklus gdje, u demokratskim zemljama, političari, koji su zaduženi za provođenje ekonomske politike, moraju biti ponovno izabrani na svoju dužnost. Stoga izbori predstavljaju svakako najvažniju odrednicu u radu određenog političara. Radi toga izborni ciklus služi kao dobra orijentacija za analizu utjecaja društvenih okolnosti na provođenje ekonomske politike prema danoj teoriji. U tu će svrhu biti pružen povijesni pregled razvoja teorije politike štednje, kao i prikaz njezinog provođenja u ekonomskoj politici. Nakon toga će biti dan pregled teorije javnog izbora i političkih ciklusa koji pružaju teorijski okvir za objašnjenje važnosti samih izbora u životu racionalnih ekonomskih agenata. Na osnovu dane analize moći će se provesti ekonometrijska analiza pomoću koje će se pokušati odrediti značaj političkog ciklusa u provođenju politike štednje, posebno u kontekstu razdoblja Velike recesije. Metodološki, panel analiza čini temelj empirijske analize diplomskog rada i bit će provedena nad uzorkom od 11 novih zemalja članica EU u vremenskom razdoblju 2004.-2019. ; This Master's Thesis analyzes the implementation of economic policy within the political cycle, i.e. attempts to analyze the application of economic theory in the condition of real social circumstances by using the example of the implementation of austerity policy in EU member states that have become so since 2004. Economic theory serves as a guideline for the implementation of a particular economic policy, but its implementation is influenced by different circumstances. ...
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In: Politička misao, Band 57, Heft 1, S. 63-98
World Affairs Online
In: Politicka misao, Band 38, Heft 3, S. 60-81
Of all the freedoms for which the Cold War was fought, free enterprise was deemed sufficient for acquisition of all other freedoms. The task of political science should now be to expose the loose & insecure moorings of economic ideology & to develop an approach more appropriate to the realities of our time. Our new millennium is a corporate millennium that has been interpreted in the hegemonic model to mean private & free (that is, unregulated) markets. However, any theory capable of incorporating the corporation has to be one of political economy. The first section of this article identifies six state-provided assumptions homo economicus has to be able to make prior to making or entering a market, without which homo economicus stays home. The second section puts the issue in a global context by identifying three developmental tracks -- macro, meso, & micro. Their existence denies the possibility of a pure economic theory of globalization. The third section describes the distinctive politics of each of the three tracks, demonstrating still more conclusively that political economy is the only approach competent to deal with the new corporate millennium. In conclusion, the author argues that political economy is & should be the new political science that this new era requires. 30 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Revija za socijalnu politiku: Croatian journal of social policy, Band 14, Heft 1, S. 49-63
ISSN: 1330-2965
In: Politicka misao, Band 39, Heft 1, S. 35-50
The author looks into Buchanan's contribution to the contemporary political economy. His starting point is that Buchanan's concept of economy as exchange links political science & economics, showing that this is feasible, since Buchanan has rejected the theory of allocation, a standard in economics, & promoted the market theory based on exchange. The theory of allocation is dubious for Buchanan since it reduces the subject of economics to a set of problems & not to a characteristic form of human activity. That is why he uses the concept of the symbiotic, meaning the attitude based on the study of links among various actors that are beneficial for all. Buchanan's basic concept evolved & was shaped in the 1980s in the form of the constitutional political economy, which is an attempt to explain the possibilities of different legal-constitutional rules that determine the basic framework for selecting economic & political actors. The author claims that for political science, particularly important is the fact that Buchanan defines this type of political economy as a redux of the political in economics. In this way, on the one hand, it became questionable in economics as a discipline, & on the other, more acceptable for political science. However, the fact that Buchanan's work transcends the rigid boundaries of social disciplines does not mean that he unreservedly paves the way for political science. On the contrary, Buchanan is pursuing such a fundamental revision of the rigid boundaries among disciplines in social sciences that it may challenge the present status of political science. 31 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Međunarodne studije: časopis za međunarodne odnose, vanjsku politiku i diplomaciju, Band 9, Heft 2, S. 59-80
ISSN: 1332-4756
In: Politicka misao, Band 38, Heft 4, S. 177-182
Zdravko Petak's Javna dobra i politicko odlucivanje ([The Public Good and Political Decision Making] Zagreb: Biblioteka Politicka misao, 2001) is discussed. Petak's criticism of the Keynesian thesis that state intervention into free market economy is both necessary & effective to ensure the public well-being of the citizens is examined. Petak applies the theory of public choice to debunk this view & argues that the state is (1) unable to act on economically efficacious precepts & (2) not a higher-rank, external, & objective actor capable of regulating economic processes outside the basic human instincts & behaviors that underlie the functioning of private markets. The origin & evolution of the public choice theory are outlined, & the universal postulates of egoism (self-interest), rationality, & maximization governing human behavior are described. It is concluded that Petak's rebuttal of the arguments advanced by proponents of state intervention into the national economy is convincing, however, he fails to formulate a viable alternative. Also, he does not address several related issues seen to provide subject matter for a future book. Z. Dubiel
In: Politicka misao, Band 44, Heft 4, S. 133-154
This paper gives an overview of the development of comparative political economy from its early & theoretically unarticulated attempts to the higher precision of comparison achieved more recently. Comparative political economy refers mostly to the comparison of developed capitalist countries, especially rich Western democracies. The main contributions to the field are described & critically analyzed in light of different opinions. The final part poses some questions regarding the future advancement of the discipline. References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Politicka misao, Band 47, Heft 4, S. 150-162
The author reflects on Dag Strpic's book Karl Marx and the Political Economy of Modernity, in particular on the part in which Strpic laid out the scientific results of his research into the applicability of Marx's critique of political economy from the viewpoint of commodity production on the theoretical level of "capital in general". Furthermore, she draws attention to Strpic's discussion of the causes of appearance of various forms of globalizing modern totalitarianisms (political and corporate), which can also be recognized in the contemporary neo-liberal order. This is so in spite of the fact that the latter is legitimized theoretically and ideologically as liberal, and that, in principle, it has retained its form of modern development. Adapted from the source document.
In: Politicka misao, Band 38, Heft 1, S. 64-81
The origins, evolution, & present state of political economy as a field of scientific inquiry & academic course of study are discussed. The beginnings of political economy in the 17th century are outlined, & the discipline's development & branching during the next two centuries are noted. At the turn of the 20th century, political economy established itself as an autonomous economic science, but became marginalized in the research & teaching of economics for most of the century when it was appropriated by Stalinist ideology. Today, political economy is viewed as (1) one of the constitutive theories of political science; (2) a complex theory of development & change enabling the design of strategic scenarios of initiating, regulating, & implementing particular trends; (3) an economic analysis of politics & political institutions & processes; (4) a political analysis of economic institutions & processes; (5) a complex analysis of public policy as pertaining to economic activities; (6) an analysis of the relationships between the state & the economic sector; (7) an analysis of political-economic history; (8) a political-economic analysis of society; & (9) a political-economic analysis of the world economy (the political economy of globalization). The curriculum of a study course in political economy offered at the U of Ottawa & U of Zagreb is outlined. 124 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Politicka misao, Band 38, Heft 3, S. 52-59
Theodor Lowi 1969 marked the end of a "Big Government" era in American politics & theory. In 2001, he announced the end of fundamentalist laissez-faire approaches in recent politics & theory, especially in the field of globalization & the world corporate system. He argues that political science with political economy provides a better understanding of these processes & phenomena than economics without political economy. Here, Strpic accepts "Lowi's challenge" & formulates with him an "agenda for a new global politics" & an "agenda for a new global political economy." He refers to a few recent articles & a book of his own, where he already has done it, & also reminds us of his immediate & accurate politico-economic forecasting of the actual change in American politics after the terrorist attack on the US, & the absence of a great economic crisis, which leading American economists realized only a few weeks later. 26 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Politicka misao, Band 36, Heft 3, S. 71-88
The author looks into the methodological features of public choice theory. Drawing on James Buchanan's contribution, he demonstrates the differences between that kind of approach (often dubbed political economy) vs welfare economics & mainstream economics. Unlike welfare economics, which tries to work out the optimal state of allocation & distribution of economic resources by using certain logical rules based on Pareto principles, or mainstream economics, which tries to identify the improvements in observable economic categories (such as national income or investment consumption), political economy encompasses the process of collective decision making, ie, politics. In this, the efficacy criterion is the extent of consent (consensus) in collective decision making. The author concludes that Buchanan & G. Tullock's joint contribution in The Calculus of Consent paved the way for introducing a legitimate categorical mechanism for investigating the costs of political decision making in political science. 3 Figures, 25 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Politicka misao, Band 39, Heft 1, S. 3-34
Using the analytical model & categories of the American radical political economy as the starting point, the author analyzes the dynamics of economic changes in Croatia in the 1990s. Particularly significant for understanding the dynamics is a dimension that the author, in line with classical political economy, calls the "moral economy of transition." The basic institutional & social structure of accumulation in the Croatian economy of the 1990s was marked by state populism, clientelism, & cronyism -- the result of the HDZ's model of "national capitalism," ie, a specific collusion of economic policy & privatization. That model failed to address the major problems of development or to secure a satisfactory rate of economic growth. That is why the political-economic balance of Croatia's first transitional decade is negative. The author concludes that the second decade will require a new political-economic model, one that will overcome the challenges facing the Croatian society: economic development, increased productivity, smaller government, reconciling the imperative of accumulation & democratic legitimacy, & restoration of moral economy & trust. 4 Tables, 83 References. Adapted from the source document.
In: Politicka misao, Band 38, Heft 1, S. 36-41
The publication of a Croatian translation of Friedrich August von Hayek's "Individualism: Genuine and Fake" (1946) occasions this biographic note introducing the Austrian economist to Croatian readers. Hayek is characterized as a liberal politologist & political economist who opposed John Maynard Keynes's doctrine of state intervention in the national economy; Hayek's most representative publications & those in which he carried out his polemics with Keynesian ideas of the government influencing the market, although not eliminating it, are mentioned. Methodologically, Hayek is placed as a continuator of the empiricism & "methodological individualism" of Karl Menger's Austrian School of Economics & an elaborator of L. Mises's statistical-dynamic equilibrium approach. It is pointed out that Hayek opposed all forms of government intervention into the free market: the planned economy of the Soviet era, German national socialism, Italian & Spanish fascism, & the modern welfare state. A selected bibliography of Hayek's works is compiled. 52 References. Z. Dubiel