Suchergebnisse

Thomas Piketty?s international best selling Capital in the Twenty-First
Century lays out his theory of a long-run rise in income inequality under
capitalism. It is written as a manifesto urging reintegration of social
sciences. A number of reviewers judged it on ideological grounds, labeling it
either as a revolution in economic thinking, or dismissing it offhandedly.
Piketty?s theory of rising inequality is based on the two Fundamental Laws of
Capitalism, developed after the Solow growth model. However, this model is
inconsistent with Piketty?s own characterization of modern capitalism.
Moreover, his sole justification for the constant discrepancy between rate of
return and rate of income growth (r > g) is based on the high elasticity of
substitution between capital and labor. However, that is just one factor that
can have an influence on factor income shares. By failing to offer a
consistent theory of rising inequality, his piece can hardly be considered as
a useful founding stone for a new social science.

The link between privatization & corruption in postcommunist Serbia is explored to argue that the government definition of ownership rights encourages inefficiency & leads to both corruption & the deterioration of efforts to liberalize society. It is argued that the narrow two-tier neoclassical consensus approach to transition in central & eastern Europe advances the government's role in shaping the economic system. Serbia's privatization efforts, recent institutional changes, & culture of corruption are described. An analysis of the causes of corruption notes neither left nor right-leaning Serbian politicians have emphasized the importance of stable property rights for the development of a liberal-democratic society. Common features of the government assignment of property rights are examined in environments with different political, economic, & cultural traits. Other matters addressed include the inconsistent implementation of bankruptcy laws; the impact of cases of grand corruption; & the slow progress of privatization that imitates the Russian model rather than the more efficient employee-ownership model. Future prospects for reducing corruption & strengthening property rights in Serbia are discussed. References. J. Lindroth