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The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast three‐factor models of boom and bust from Henry George, Knut Wicksell and Mason Gaffney.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast three‐factor models of boom and bust from Henry George, Knut Wicksell and Mason Gaffney.
Design/methodology/approach
The approach takes the form of an analysis and discussion and mathematical appendix.
Findings
It was found that gaffney modifies and incorporates features of both George and Wicksell into his own model.
Practical implications
The works of George, Wicksell and Gaffney are highly relevant, especially given the current economic crisis.
Originality/value
The paper should be useful both to historians of economic thought and contemporary economists. It brings together ideas that have been neglected in recent years, and contributes to the understanding of economic crises.
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A tax based on land value is in many ways ideal, but many economists dismiss it by assuming it could not raise enough revenue. Standard sources of data omit much of the potential…
Abstract
Purpose
A tax based on land value is in many ways ideal, but many economists dismiss it by assuming it could not raise enough revenue. Standard sources of data omit much of the potential tax base, and undervalue what they do measure. The purpose of this paper is to present more comprehensive and accurate measures of land rents and values, and several modes of raising revenues from them besides the conventional property tax.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper identifies 16 elements of land's taxable capacity that received authorities either trivialize or omit. These 16 elements come in four groups.
Findings
In Group A, Elements 1‐4 correct for the downward bias in standard sources. In Group B, Elements 5‐10 broaden the concepts of land and rent beyond the conventional narrow perception, while Elements 11‐12 estimate rents to be gained by abating other kinds of taxes. In Group C, Elements 13‐14 explain how using the land tax, since it has no excess burden, uncaps feasible tax rates. In Group D, Elements 15‐16 define some moot possibilities that may warrant further exploration.
Originality/value
This paper shows how previous estimates of rent and land values have been narrowly limited to a fraction of the whole, thus giving a false impression that the tax capacity is low. The paper adds 14 elements to the traditional narrow “single tax” base, plus two moot elements advanced for future consideration. Any one of these 16 elements indicates a much higher land tax base than economists commonly recognize today. Taken together they are overwhelming, and cast an entirely new light on this subject.
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Abstract
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The purpose of this paper is to develop the hypothesis that corporations are a particularly suitable instrument for rent seeking. Benefits are reaped by powerful companies…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop the hypothesis that corporations are a particularly suitable instrument for rent seeking. Benefits are reaped by powerful companies, whereas a great deal of the costs is passed on to weakly organized groups.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops and substantiates the hypothesis theoretically and gives some indications. Moreover, a case study is added which refers to the German electricity market.
Findings
Equity seems to be indispensable to get access to land and other assets with similar characteristics as land. At the same time, profits appear to reflect the rent-earning capacity of the company's assets. High land rents stimulate investment intensity, and corporations can collect the necessary funds. The flip-side of rents is often the externalization of costs. Also, due to their limited liability, corporations externalize risks.
Originality/value
The paper provides a rationale for the common criticism of corporations, which is based on the reflection of equity as the key to land (in a broad sense) and (land) rents as the core of profits. If the findings hold true, corporations should be subject to particular regulatory observation. In particular, the corporate constitution of corporations and the taxation framework should try to get a better coupling of benefits and costs.
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The purpose of this paper is to establish a historical context for the often maligned capital theory of Henry George within a North American frontier tradition that includes John…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish a historical context for the often maligned capital theory of Henry George within a North American frontier tradition that includes John Rae.
Design/methodology/approach
Modern discussions of rapid technological and institutional change provide a framework for detailed re‐examination of the capital theories of Rae and George, whose critics were largely constrained by a rigid neoclassical perspective.
Findings
Both Rae and George presented capital theories, defined as explanations of the supply of and demand for capital resulting in a determinate capital stock. Both writers stress elements that were not emphasized in neoclassical capital theory, most notably that the capital stock can increase rapidly under certain conditions; increases in knowledge, inventions, technical and technological changes, and scale are more important than mere accumulation of capital; high rates of return combined with rapid technical obsolescence and physical deterioration provide the opportunity for rapid changes in the form of the capital stock, and; the ephemeral nature, and hence potential mobility, of capital implies that security of property is essential for economic growth.
Research limitations/implications
The focus on two writers leads to the question of how widespread their ideas were in nineteenth century North America.
Practical implications
The rapidly changing technology and institutions that Rae and George observed place their theories closer to some modern trends in the study of economic development than to the literature of neoclassical capital theory.
Originality/value
George's grasp of economic theory deserves greater respect than it has often received in the economics literature when his work is considered in its historical context.
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Henry George's fame in the fields of economics, politics and literature rests largely on his powerful book, Progress and Poverty, first published in 1879. The centenary of this…
Abstract
Henry George's fame in the fields of economics, politics and literature rests largely on his powerful book, Progress and Poverty, first published in 1879. The centenary of this event sparked a modest revival of interest in George's work among academic economists, including a special session devoted to him at the December 1979 American Economics Association meetings in Atlanta. Generally, however, his work has been neglected by twentieth‐century economists and, as Robert Heilbroner (1969) remarked, he is cast as a member of the economics “underworld”. If any economics undergraduate has heard his name it is usually through a passing reference in a first‐year textbook to the Single Tax Movement. The impression is then given by the text that George was a single‐issue fanatic. The student is told that a tax on land rents is theoretically interesting and that it would have no disincentive effects but that it is either impractical to separate land from improvements or that rents are not sufficiently important to warrant much attention to them as a major source of government finance.
Lourdes Fernandez, Elizabeth Kate Gandy, Heidi Y. Lawrence, Preet Bassi, Ernst Piercy, Debbie Sobotka, Marc Austin and Debra Lattanzi Shutika
The purpose of this paper is to offer guidelines and recommendations for launching and running sustainable programs involving partnerships between industries and universities…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to offer guidelines and recommendations for launching and running sustainable programs involving partnerships between industries and universities. Teaching technical writing and communication to fire and emergency services personnel is a task that requires forethought and intricate planning. The Advanced Technical Writing Certificate provided jointly by the Center for Public Safety Excellence and George Mason University balances the unique workplace needs of fire service professionals while working to ensure a high level of transfer and information retention.
Design/methodology/approach
This study will describe how the authors have developed and run a successful course series. The methods used to structure the courses are explained in detail, alongside the pedagogical theories that shaped information delivery. This paper offers a detailed guide to program development and implementation.
Findings
Providing a uniquely collaborative online environment and designing each module with the purpose of knowledge transfer have created an effective method by which advanced principles can be taught to working professionals in a relatively short period of time. By collaborating with subject matter experts and focusing on the utility of the material, the authors were able to create a highly effective course that served the needs of first responders.
Practical implications
Using the steps detailed in the article, programs like this could be replicated, allowing greater access to workplace learners of all kinds and a pathway to sustainable programs like these in universities. The research also details the importance of an adaptive course that continues to grow and improve.
Originality/value
By modeling the course and making use of experts, students are capable of learning complex topics with ease in a short amount of time.
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Carl J. Pacini, Raymond Placid and Christine Wright‐Isak
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of trade secrets, reasonable steps to preserve secrecy, trade secret value, misappropriation methods used to acquire trade…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of trade secrets, reasonable steps to preserve secrecy, trade secret value, misappropriation methods used to acquire trade secrets, various legal remedies, and internal controls to protect trade secrets.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of types of civil trade secret cases is highlighted. The paper includes a statutory and legal case study analysis of the elements in a civil trade secrets lawsuit. Analysis of actual trade secret court cases illustrates the importance of private civil lawsuits in combating intellectual property fraud.
Findings
This paper shows the serious impact of trade secret espionage on the success and survival of businesses and the necessity of proving each element of a civil claim under state trade secret law. Also, practical steps necessary to protect an entity's trade secrets are discussed.
Practical implications
This paper raises the awareness of executives, managers, internal and external auditors, forensic accountants and other interested parties about the severity of trade secret espionage. Also, this paper highlights numerous steps to protect trade secrets.
Originality/value
This paper fills an identified need to inform those involved in the fight against economic crime about the importance of state trade secret laws and internal controls in the fight against intellectual property fraud.
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