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1 – 10 of over 21000Eoin Reeves and Eoin O’Sullivan
The distribution of personal wealth in the Republic of Ireland has not been estimated since the 1970s. While the publication of those estimates did lead to governmental attempts…
Abstract
The distribution of personal wealth in the Republic of Ireland has not been estimated since the 1970s. While the publication of those estimates did lead to governmental attempts to redistribute wealth, the attempts were stifled by the opposition of powerful interest groups. Highlights the dearth of information on the distribution of wealth in Ireland since then and draws attention to the underlying social, political and economic reasons. Postulates that the reasons for this paucity of information are: the perceived irrelevance of the wealth distribution as an indicator of welfare; the problems normally associated with the available estimation techniques; consequent search costs; and inevitably strong opposition to the governmental attempts to redistribute should evidence of high inequality be produced. In the tradition of Tawney and Titmuss, argues that it is in the interest of a healthy society that the facts regarding such an issue be known.
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This study aims to examine whether accounting knowledge is associated with a decision maker's tendency to ignore value added information in wealth measurement and distribution…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether accounting knowledge is associated with a decision maker's tendency to ignore value added information in wealth measurement and distribution decisions.
Design/methodology/approach
A between‐subjects laboratory experiment was employed. Subjects prepared accounting reports that measured and distributed an entity's wealth based upon given accounting data. Accounting knowledge was measured as: a discrete variable by classifying subjects into high‐, low‐ and no‐accounting knowledge groups, and a continuous variable by classifying subjects on the number of accounting courses completed.
Findings
Findings provide empirical evidence that high levels of accounting knowledge interferes with a decision maker's ability to incorporate value added information (versus accounting profit) in wealth measurement and distribution decisions.
Research limitations/implications
This experiment used subjects from the USA where the production and disclosure of a value added report is not mandated. The results should be tested in a country where the statement of value added is routinely produced, disclosed and audited.
Practical implications
This study shows the dysfunctional effect of accounting knowledge which appears to hinder performance in wealth measurement and distribution decisions.
Originality/value
This is the first attempt to explain why decision makers may ignore value added information in wealth measurement tasks and distribution decisions by focusing on the role of knowledge structures.
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Juan Ignacio Martín-Legendre, Pablo Castellanos-García and José Manuel Sánchez-Santos
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes in wealth and consumption inequality in Spain and estimate the consumption effects of housing and financial wealth.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the changes in wealth and consumption inequality in Spain and estimate the consumption effects of housing and financial wealth.
Design/methodology/approach
The estimations are made using micro-data from the Spanish Survey of Household Finances (2002–2014) applying cross-section, panel and interquartile techniques.
Findings
The findings of this paper suggest that there was an increase in wealth inequality during the period under analysis and a reduction in consumption inequality. Also, the authors find a significant positive effect of wealth on consumer expenditure. Disaggregating by asset type, the value of the main residence is the category with the highest estimated effect on consumption, whereas the remaining types of assets, although still positive and generally significant, have more modest effects on consumption. However, the estimated coefficients and their significance can change substantially depending on the phase of the economic cycle and the position of the household in the income distribution.
Originality/value
These results provide new empirical evidence on the effects of household wealth changes on their consumption behavior, the differences depending on the household's position in the distribution and the fluctuations of these estimated coefficients throughout a period of profound economic upheavals.
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The socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics reflects the characteristics of ushering into a new era, and the research object thereof shifts to productive forces…
Abstract
Purpose
The socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics reflects the characteristics of ushering into a new era, and the research object thereof shifts to productive forces. Emancipating and developing productive forces and achieving common prosperity become the main theme. Wealth supersedes value as the fundamental category of economic analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
The theoretical system of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics cannot proceed from transcendental theories but is problem-oriented. Leading problems involve development stages and research-level problems.
Findings
The economic operation analysis is subject to the goal of optimal allocation of resources with micro-level analysis focused on efficiency and macro-level analysis focused on economic growth and macroeconomic stability also known as economic security. The economic development analysis explores the laws of development and related development concepts in compliance with laws of productive forces. The new development concepts i.e. the innovative coordinated green open and shared development drive the innovation of development theory in political economy.
Originality/value
Accordingly, the political economy cannot study the system only, but also needs to study the problems of economic operation and economic development. Therefore, the theoretical system of the political economy tends to encompass three major parts, namely economic system, economic operation and economic development (including foreign economy). The basic economic system analysis needs to understand the relationship between public ownership and non-public ownership, between distribution according to work and factor payments, and between socialism and market economy from the perspective of coexistence theory, thus transforming institutional advantage into governance advantage.
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Sedefka V. Beck and Donka Mirtcheva Brodersen
The purpose of this paper is to examine wealth dynamics through the Great Recession along a dimension previously not studied, religious affiliation. Specifically, this paper…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine wealth dynamics through the Great Recession along a dimension previously not studied, religious affiliation. Specifically, this paper analyzes wealth differentials and relative wealth losses among religious groups at the mean and along the wealth distribution before and after the Great Recession.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and including a wide array of control variables, the paper analyzes the impact of religious affiliation groups on wealth pre- and post-Recession, using OLS, generalized least squares and quantile regression models.
Findings
The findings show that wealth differentials among religious groups exist both before and after the Recession and that wealth disparities are greater for people at the low end of the wealth distribution, who lost disproportionately more wealth across religious groups.
Social implications
The results suggest that the Great Recession further increased wealth inequality yet along another dimension, religious affiliation. These findings imply that in order to decrease wealth inequality and minimize other harmful effects of adverse macroeconomic events, religious institutions may provide education on financial management strategies, especially to those at the low end of the wealth distribution.
Originality/value
This paper is the first of its kind to build upon two bodies of literature: the research on religion and wealth and the research on wealth losses and the Great Recession. It is also the first paper to explore the religion–wealth relationship after the Great Recession and along the wealth distribution.
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Allyn Young′s lectures, as recorded by the young Nicholas Kaldor,survey the historical roots of the subject from Aristotle through to themodern neo‐classical writers. The focus…
Abstract
Allyn Young′s lectures, as recorded by the young Nicholas Kaldor, survey the historical roots of the subject from Aristotle through to the modern neo‐classical writers. The focus throughout is on the conditions making for economic progress, with stress on the institutional developments that extend and are extended by the size of the market. Organisational changes that promote the division of labour and specialisation within and between firms and industries, and which promote competition and mobility, are seen as the vital factors in growth. In the absence of new markets, inventions as such play only a minor role. The economic system is an inter‐related whole, or a living “organon”. It is from this perspective that micro‐economic relations are analysed, and this helps expose certain fallacies of composition associated with the marginal productivity theory of production and distribution. Factors are paid not because they are productive but because they are scarce. Likewise he shows why Marshallian supply and demand schedules, based on the “one thing at a time” approach, cannot adequately describe the dynamic growth properties of the system. Supply and demand cannot be simply integrated to arrive at a picture of the whole economy. These notes are complemented by eleven articles in the Encyclopaedia Britannica which were published shortly after Young′s sudden death in 1929.
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Issam Tlemsani, Robin Matthews and Mohamed Ashmel Mohamed Hashim
This paper aims to extend the Shapley value (SV) into a discussion of Zakat, a Pillar of Islam. Lloyd Shapley was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2012. This study shows…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to extend the Shapley value (SV) into a discussion of Zakat, a Pillar of Islam. Lloyd Shapley was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2012. This study shows that their relationship is significant for all nations, that of levelling up. An important but neglected paper by Datta (1939) showed insights provided by the Power Law, or as it is sometimes called, the Pareto distribution, into the role of Zakat in raising the income of all above the subsistence level. The Pareto distribution describes the prevailing tendency. The SV illustrates the interdependence perspective of Zakat with the Pareto distribution, wealth, income and poverty. Payoffs apply equally to both givers and receivers. For this study’s purposes, payoffs are considered as transferable utilities. They are formed by individuals who willingly cooperate in society rather than atomistic individuals who act independently. Zakat represents the recognition that society needs to be cooperative rather than individualistic; people cooperate in groups or societies to create value. SV implications and axioms are evaluated with an illustration.
Design/methodology/approach
This study extends Datta’s approach by introducing distribution weights into the SV. The authors set out the concept of weighted Shapley values that retain the elements of randomness and marginal contribution to a coalition contained in pure/true SVs and weights that follow a ley-Pareto distribution. This paper is a viewpoint work that relies primarily on the author’s qualitative interpretation.
Findings
The findings indicate that individual members of a coalition make multiple contributions that are often unrewarded. The contribution of one member of a coalition is dependent upon the contribution of others. The measure of contributions is payoffs, which have both monetary and non-monetary aspects; transferable payoffs or utilities are usually assumed. Furthermore, the significant agents in society or an organisation are stakeholders rather than the usual categories: managers, staff, shareholders, etc.
Practical implications
Contextualising these concepts within the Islamic values and principles that guide Zakat administration is crucial to ensure that the distribution of Zakat funds is fair, equitable and meets the needs of all eligible recipients. By applying these concepts appropriately, Zakat administrators can ensure that the Zakat system functions effectively and fulfils its religious obligation.
Originality/value
The novelty of this paper is that it blends the SV and the idea behind Zakat by introducing the idea of alternatives of Shapley weights. The link between the institution of Zakat and SV in terms of equality, poverty elimination and wealth distribution should be at the top of the research agenda.
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Kaicheng Gai and Yongsheng Zhou
As an essential part of mainstream Western development economics, the trickle-down theory originates from the behavioral choices and iterations of thought on conflicts of interest…
Abstract
Purpose
As an essential part of mainstream Western development economics, the trickle-down theory originates from the behavioral choices and iterations of thought on conflicts of interest in the evolution of remuneration structure in Western countries. The fundamental flaw of the logic of this theory is that it conceals the inherent implication of social systems and the essential characteristics of social structures.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the relationships among economic growth, income distribution and poverty from the perspective of social relations of production – the nature of production relations determines the nature of distribution relations and further determines the essence of trickle-down development, and ownership is the core mechanism for realizing the trickle-down effect.
Findings
The stagnation or smoothness of the trickle-down effect in different economies is essentially subject to the logic of “development for whom”, which is determined by ownership relationship.
Originality/value
To be more specific, “development for capitalists” and “development for the people” indicate two distinctly different economic growth paths. The former starts with private ownership and follows a bottom-up negative trickle-down path that inevitably leads to polarization, while the latter starts with public ownership and follows a top-down positive trickle-down path that will lead to common prosperity in the end.
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Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely…
Abstract
Nobody concerned with political economy can neglect the history of economic doctrines. Structural changes in the economy and society influence economic thinking and, conversely, innovative thought structures and attitudes have almost always forced economic institutions and modes of behaviour to adjust. We learn from the history of economic doctrines how a particular theory emerged and whether, and in which environment, it could take root. We can see how a school evolves out of a common methodological perception and similar techniques of analysis, and how it has to establish itself. The interaction between unresolved problems on the one hand, and the search for better solutions or explanations on the other, leads to a change in paradigma and to the formation of new lines of reasoning. As long as the real world is subject to progress and change scientific search for explanation must out of necessity continue.