Political Economy Quarterly
Online ISSN : 2189-7719
Print ISSN : 1882-5184
ISSN-L : 1882-5184
Volume 50, Issue 3
Displaying 1-17 of 17 articles from this issue
  • Article type: Cover
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages Cover1-
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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  • Masaki TAKENOUCHI
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 3-6
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Masaki HANDA
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 7-19
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Since the 1970s, globalization-driven by the fury of market fundamentalism-has been underway at an accelerated pace. As a result, social issues have become more grave, including the decline of the welfare state, transformation of employment structures, widening income disparities, and the poverty problem. In confronting these realities, we sought to relativize market fundamentalism, and we published this discussion in a joint work as Kokyo suru Shakai(IDE E., KIKUCHI T., HANDA M.(eds.)Creating a Harmonious Society: Political Economy of Social Configuration, Nakanishiya Shuppan in 2011). This book focused on the debate on the conclusions obtained by an artificial society model based on multi-agent simulation. In short, society is generally made up of three autonomous sub-systems-communities, markets, and states (governments)-and we clearly indicated that the community principle was key in order for these to keep each other in balance, establishing a harmonious society as a whole. We indicated that the community principle based upon altruism, the essence of which is mutual help and reciprocity, holds the potential to build a sustainable society. In this paper, I have discussed the feasibility of an alternative society with the community principle at its core. In the paper, I have made the following arguments. I revised the economic table created by Professor Sekine, Thomas T. and created anew an economic table of society made up of four divisions(local communities, cities, large enterprises, public bodies). I was able to identify the relationship of absolute domination by local communities-which are the essence of the community principle-through sharing ownership of national land and possessing rights to allocate land use among the other 3 divisions. In addition to this, in regard to the "common" generated in the city, it is essential to explore ways of management by urban communities capable of confronting the erosion of market principles. At the same time, I also found that solidarity and cooperation between urban communities and local communities have major significance in the formation of an alternative society with the community principle at its core.
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  • Yoshikazu SATO
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 20-30
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The difference of the idea in economics stems from the approach to the question: how to answer the mechanism of a market. The financial crisis in 2008 could be interpreted as the end of 'Market fundamentalism', however, the situations has been almost the same before the crisis. The 'market' is still the subject when businessmen talk about the economic problems. We have to tackle with the fundamental question: what is the core for ordinary people who sell labor-power for their subsistence. This paper consists as follows. In section I the argument of 'How market crowd out morals' by Sandel, the critics by Bowels and Gintis, and the reply to them are introduced. Needless to say, the fundamental unit, which organizes a society, should be a human being. The hypothesis on its behavior is indispensable for an economic theory. Neoclassical theory adopts the assumption of so-called homo-economicus. An alternative to this is 'Reciprocans', which is presented by US radicals. The distinction between these two is examined in the section II. When we try to present an alternative to the status quo from the viewpoint of 'a harmonious society', the development of the situation must be confirmed correctly. The recent change of the wage share in the US shows the severe conditions for working people. Assuming the capitalist way of management, the fundamental relations between capital and labor cannot be harmonious but conflict. As a Keynes model teaches us, the real wage rate must be reduced when the capitalist increase the employment. Profit maximization can be satisfied when the real wage rate is equal to the marginal product of labor. According to this condition, the inverse relation between an employment and real wage holds. Regrettably new prospects for an alternative won't be opened unless we could succeed in making some drastic change. If we pursue the harmony among people, the point is the feasibility of an alternative and the potential path to a 'new society'. For the present, we have to take a realist view of 'capitalist' economy. This means that we have to change the capitalist way of management step by step(section III).
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  • Nobuko HARA
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 31-40
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The way in which the welfare state changes associated with the family change and the de-regulation of labour market affect the people's lives indicates that it is need to the balancing paid work and family responsibility. The aim of this article is to examine the caring regimes as an alternative to Esping-Andersen's 'de-commodification' from the gender perspective. First, I suggest that the heuristic category of 'social care'(Daly, Mary and Lewis, Jane 1998), which includes both the child care and care for adults. The existing use of the concept of care is fragmented between unpaid and paid caring, care carried out in the informal sector and formal sector, and child and adults care. I suggest that such dichotomies can be overcome by using the category of social care. After examining the caring regimes and the social care as heuristic category, I investigate the work-life balance policy in Japan in terms of the logic. Policy maker and scholars have promoted work-life balance policy in Japan. However, neoclassical economics does not construct the term of public debate of work-life balance and feminists interpreted in policy issues cannot afford to ignore its power. Feminist Economics has struggled to examine the interface between the family and the labour market. I suggest that the methodological individualism of neoclassical economics bypasses real-world problems which women face.
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  • Midori WAKAMORI
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 41-52
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    In The Great Transformation, of which first-edition was published in the same year as Hayek's The Road to Serfdom (1944), Polanyi's opposition to neoliberal credo comes from his interpretation of the history of industrial society in the nineteenth and early twentieth century, when there occurred great crises and upheaval of market society; the Great Recession, unemployment problems in labor market, instabilities of financial market, crisis of democracy, economic nationalism, fascism, and great wars. This paper deals with controversial points between Polanyi's arguments and neoliberal projects from the view point of 21th century. Neoliberal credo is a term connected with an intellectual movement and new belief or ideology originating in the late 1930s that should be distinguished from the original laissez-faire liberalism. The former was born from the reflections of the dead lock of the latter. Unlike the latter, the former requires a strong state authority that has the capacity to resist "spontaneous" social protection movements in the product, labor, and financial markets. And therefore it can become openly anti-democratic in its defense and implementation of the will of the market. In other words, neoliberal credo orientates various projects of "planning for competitive market system" for creating an environment in which private interests can flourish. Neoliberal credo came to be associated mainly with the ideas of Walter Lippman, and such Austrian economists as Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek. It grew in oppositions not only to socialism but to the spirits of New Deal and political thinking or public opinions of Welfare States, and spread to the Unites States in the early postwar years. Hereafter 1950s it founds fertile ground initially at the University of Chicago, with Milton Freedman and his associates. The obvious consequences of neoliberal policies since 1970s are the increasing market instabilities reminiscent of the 1930s, as well as a growing loss of democratic control. According to Polanyi, completely unfettered markets lacking social control were destructive for the livelihood of common people and eventually generated social reactions that sought to intervene in market system more securely in the societal space. Polanyi'thesis is that neoliberal projects would be eventually never-ending and failed incomplete with social destructions. Also Polanyi paid strong attention to the survival of neoliberal credo in its deadlock. Without a deep understanding and analysis of neoliberal projects, as Polanyi did in his time, we cannot get over the wall.
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  • Nobuo SHIGA
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 53-64
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The attention to a Basic Income (it is only hereafter written as BI) shows the rise. A high unemployment rate, expansion of poverty and a gap, and a malfunction of the social security system, etc. caused the attention. About the malfunction of a social security system, for example, exclusion of some people by the contributory principle in a social insurance system, the lowness of the capture rate of the social assistance system accompanied by a means test, etc. can be mentioned. The process of the policies for resulting to BI system in this paper is examined. The standard of this ranking is expansion of a concept of work. And the possibility of a perfect BI system can be on the extension. This paper is especially focusing on the process of Workfare, Activation, and Participation Income. And it shows perfect BI as one of the policies which can come after Participation Income. Although BI is generally what separates income from work, this paper is discussing it as a result of expansion of a concept of work. If BI is introduced in uncritical only for reasons of the malfunction of the present policies without taking into consideration about the process, such a BI system has a high possibility of misleading to curtailment of social services. This meets the demand of neo-liberal BI. It is called BI from the "right." The logic deployment in this paper has taken the method of starting from examining a social inclusion strategy at present. And in it, Negative Income Tax and Participation Income are discussed as partial BI. About the former, this paper is a negative position for several reasons. Taro Miyamoto (2009) writes Activation more affirmative as social conclusion strategy, and this paper agrees about it. In this paper, reference is further made about the process of Participation Income from Activation. If it is asked whether BI system is possible at present, this paper answers "No". However, as one of the possibilities after Participation Income, it should not be eliminated completely.
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  • Satoshi OHATA
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 65-67
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Yoshikazu SATO
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 68-69
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Masashi SHIMIZU
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 70-72
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Kazuhiro OTA
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 73-75
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Yoshio KOMATSU
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 76-78
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Yoichi KAWANAMI
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 79-81
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Kohei AOKI
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 82-84
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Jun IKEGAMI
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 85-87
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Fumitaka WAKAMORI
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 88-90
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
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  • Hiroshi ONISHI
    Article type: Article
    2013 Volume 50 Issue 3 Pages 91-93
    Published: October 20, 2013
    Released on J-STAGE: April 25, 2017
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
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