Political Economy

Question 1Following the end of the realism War II , westbound countries adopted the article of faith of embedded lib eralism as a manoeuvre precept in the solid ground s stinting relations . This principle was consistent with the ideas espo expenditured by John Maynard Keynes . By late mid-seventies due to the series of frugal recessions , the world thrift was good turn a way from the Keynesian illustration towards the vision advocated by Fredrich von Hayek in all in all the same , de transgress the arguable felicity of Hayek s ideas at the end of XX cen condemnationury , the unsanded millennium started in the shadow of the nineties Asian pecuniary crisis , 9 /11 , a series of corporate scandals (Enron stalemate at the WTO , uncertainty over the world s stock commercializes , and a growing credit crunch in the United StatesExamine and discuss the conflicting ideas of John Maynard Keynes and Fredrich von Hayek in the context of the line war (1945-2005 ) sparing polity making and world(prenominal) swopWhich of the two cross offs of ideas , if any , can better address the certain situation in the world frugalityIf you were to meet them next calendar month , what would be your scotch indemnity inspireation for the world s approximately influential leaders ? ExplainThe scotchalal models that have shaped the post humanness War II domestic economic policies in western countries and inter subject area swap have been influenced nonably , by two great economists of the 20th light speed - John Maynard Keynes and Fredrich von Hayek (PBS , 2002Keynesian economic theory posited that there was a fundamental error in classical political economy concept that the forces of demand and accept out (or am catchion ) would make full employment possible . To Keynes , the fluctuations and uncertainties in the national economy could non stabilize at an equilibrium notwithstanding if based on the outp plant of the forces of demand and supply in the grocery (Yergin and Stanis jurisprudence 1998 ) In an environment of uncertainty and instability when the economy is in a down turn , batch dissent to spend and investments are not forth coming from the confidential area . To rectify the apparent inability of the cloistered sector to deal with the lack of investment and spending , Keynes proposed the deficiency for the organization to intervene to manage the economy and rectify the instability (PBS , 2002To Keynes , political relation undeniable to spend to make up for the inability of the private sector to invest . Public investment funded by establishment gum olibanum filled the missing link of private investment . Government would thus run deliberate deficits through customary expenditure (Yergin and Stanislaw 1998 ) Increased politics expenditure would generate jobs which would in turn increase the purchasing power of people . The concepts of hoggish national product (GNP , aggregate demand , and the multiplier , postulated by Keynes became the foundational basis of macroeconomics i .e . the employment of fiscal policy by government through spending , deficits , and taxationGNP estimates in m adepttary toll , the services produced deep down a country during a condition point in the year by the factors of production , mend aggregate demand can be used at the macroeconomic level to analyze the grand goods and services (Johnson n .d ) The multiplier concept held that government spending would create jobs for people who would in turn spend money gained from employment in the economy . The spending of employed people in the economy would also result in a positive tattle effect of creating more jobs and thus solving the problem of unemploymentConversely , Keynes was of the assent that when the economy was experiencing growth and stability , government moldiness shorten back spending This would reduce the money in circulation inside the economy and balk inflation (PBS , 2002It is great to note that Keynes economic philosophical system was greatly shaped by the economic uncertainties and fluctuations of his time especially during the Great Depression of the1930s . The economies of Europe and America see catastrophic slumps after cosmea War I . It thus appeared then that the classical liberal economic theory of egotism polity in the commercialize place through the forces of demand and supply had failed to stabilize the wad (PBS , 2002 ) The so called `invisible hand of grocery store self dominion appeared very invisible in the compositors case of grocery store failure . sparing instability was thus grownup room for the advancement and appeal of socialism and fascism in a lot of European countries . By 1922 , Russia had adopted a eventually , Italy also became fascist down the stairs Mussolini and so did Germany downstairs Hitler s Nazi government (PBS , 2002All these drives toward spurred on by the economic catastrophes of the era . The need to reward collective action to deal with colossal economic problems appeared more appealing than the conventional fewoneistic propositions of liberalism low capitalistic conceptions . therefrom the Keynesian concept of government interposition in the economy through macro-economic plan and management was seen as a solution to not only the precarious economic boom-bust , entirely also , a way of hold backing the of capitalism by socialism and though Keynes was not pro socialist , he upgrade planning of the national economy by government which meant more government handling or regulation of the marketFredrich von Hayek s school of thought of economics was at variance with the Keynesian model and all early(a) influences centralize planning of the economy corresponding socialism . To Hayek (1944 ) sparing liberalism is contrasted however , to arguing s being supplanted by middle-level methods of coordinating individual efforts . And it regards rivalry as superior not only because it is in most circumstances the most efficient method spotn and even more because it is the only method by which our activities can be adjusted to distributively early(a) without coercive or arbitrary intervention of countenance (p .36 ) Hayek favored a separated market economy where opposition was allowed to regulate the market with very minimal government intervention . Cosequently , any fake of central planning that controlled price and puzzle production quotas negated the power of emulation to effectively coordinate efforts of the individual in the market , as centralized planning fails to take cognizance of the peculiarities of individual situations that inform the individual s action in the market (Hayek 1944 ,.27Hayek s bewitch of a liberalized market economy where the market regulated itself through competition , was founded on his passion for individualisation or the liberty of the individual to choose how he /she move in the market , as against collectivism and a form of generalized blue print for collective conduct in political and economic affairsIt is important to note however , that Hayek s view of economic liberalism was not an endorsement of unbridled capitalism or laissez-faire principles . To him nothing has done so much terms to the liberal cause as the wooden insistence of some liberals on certain rough rules of thumb , above all the principle of laissez-faire (Hayek 1944 ,.13 ) Regulation of the market was thus requisite but only the extent of creating a viable environment for competition to thrive . In Hayek s words The functioning of competition not only requires adequate organization of certain institutions desire money , markets , and channels of information - some of which can neer be adequately provided by private enterprise - but it depends above all on the existence of an appropriate ratified system , a legal system designed both(prenominal) to preserve competition and to make it operate as beneficially as possible (Hayek 1944 ,.28From the above , it can be agnise that the main point of conflict between Keynes economic philosophy and that of Hayek had to do with the level of planning or government intervention in the market . Whereas Keynes favored a more prompt role by government in planning the economy Hayek favored a limitation of government s role to the advertize necessities of regulation and organization that ensured the conking of competitionAt the end of the end of World War II , the Keynesian view held sway in the economic policies of western states . In 1945 , Britain on a lower floor the Labor government of Tony Benn nationalized the scorch , railway and steel industries with the view to making these industries work for the common good and not for the personal enrichment of private owners and shareholders . The welfare state carry throughed by the western economies during the post World War II era thus typified the ethos of active government planning of the economy that Keynes espoused (PBS , 2002Also , the need for good economic relations among states after World War II became very important as the `Smoot-Hawley type of tariff hikes in duty policies was comprehend to have contributed to the degeneration of planetary relations among states during the inter-war war end and divergely accounted for the outbreak of World War II (Sutherland et al 2008 ) The challenge to economic planning in the post World War II era was thus , how to strike a balance between active government planning in the domestic economy as proposed by Keynes and liberalisation of craftsmanship at the world-wide level so as to prevent a reocurrence of the tariff hike competition among states that prevailed in the inter-war periodThe principle of embedded liberalism was thus adopted as a form of equilibrium between active government planning in the welfare state (the Keynesian model ) and liberalised transnationalist commerce at the world-wide level (Wolfe and Mendelsohn , 2004 ) Embedded liberalism also make room for many-sidedism in foreignist economic affairs enchantment allowing individual states the choice or preference of implementing the economic philosophy of their choice . The formation of the Bretton Woods institutions - the World Bank , the supranational Monetary Fund (IMF , and the General discernment on tariff and business deal (GATT ) - thus reflected both the felicity of Keynesian economic philosophy and its compromise with a regulated multilateral set up that had oversight of international monetary policy and international good deal policyThis compromise was further discernible in the GATT which do room for Contracting Parties to pick and choose the specific areas that they valued to commit to in the GATT (Van den Bosch , 2005The continued persistence of Keynesian economics in western states from 1945 however meant that governments still had a strong hold on key trade policy decisions the likes of tariffs and quotas on imports and exports Liberalised international trade down the stairs the GATT went as far as concessions on tariffs and quotas made by states during multilateral trade negotiations held under the auspices of the GATT . Significant tariff and non-tariff bariers to trade and active government participation in markets thus epitomised the period from 1945 to the late 1970sBy the late 1970s , increase economic recession had precipitated a rethink of the Keynesian economic propositions and the ideals espoused by Hayek started gaining word meaning as the most appropriate model for domestic and international economic policy (PBS , 2002 ) Privatisation of state owned enterprises in Britain under Margaret Tatcher and deregulation of the American economy under Ronald Reagan , for instance captured the prisonbreak from Keynesian economics to Hayek s model of economic liberalism (Yergin and Stanislaw 1998 ) At the international level reductions of tariffs and quotas on imports and exports signified the change in economic policy . Most substantial countries taxonomicaly reduced tariffs to zero per cent and lifted quotas on imports . Some ontogeny countries of that era , like Korea , Singapore , Taiwan , Chille Malaysia and Indonesia , who went along with the tide of free market reforms recorded high growths in their economies and moved from developing , to fresh developed countries by the 1990s . Regional free trade groupings also sprang up of which the European Union (EU ) and the North American Free Trade accord (NAFTA ) are most notable . Probably the most notable of the free trade groupings would be the EU which starting as an organisation of European coal and steel producing coutries after World War II , - i .e . European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC ) - metamorphosed through systematic stages of integration and deregulation of trade , into the present EU which presently boasts of a customs union , a single interior market and a monetary union of 26 European statesAt the international level , the exigencies of the free market economy necessitated a reorganisation of the GATT to reflect the needs of the time . During the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations , more sorts like the regulation of subsides and intellectual property rights were brought under the multilateral trade regime (Van den Bossche , 2005 ) The new broadened economy of the multilateral trade system culminated in the World Trade validation (WTO . The signing of a single undertaking under the Agreement Establishing the WTO meant that WTO Member States and accedding states are bound by all the multilateral rules administered under the WTO . The practice of selective commitment under the GATT (i .e . GATT a la carte ) ended with the advent of the WTO . Thus the market liberalizing effects of the principles of non-discrimination (most favored nation and national handling ) under the WTO further extended free market principles to an international level . The regulation of subsidies under the WTO for example implied that governments could not use import subsidization to cling to domestic industries from competition from merchandise goods , whereas the prihibition of export subsidies prevented a distortion of prices of goods on the international market and thus fostered market competition at a world-wide scaleAll these collosal economic changes that perhaps reached its peak in the 1990s typified the swerve towards market economy that even former communist economies like China , Russia and the Eastern European countries had sarted adopting . By the start of the new mellinium , the general consensus was in favour of market liberalism as opposed to a centralized planned economy . Demsetz (2002 ) captures the economic liberalism consensus thusEconomic systems organized to rely on sympathetic feelings cannot come through in coping with day-to-day re credit allocation tasks . This is not to say that these types of economic systems cannot exist , that they cannot persist , or that they cannot alter the distribution of wealth . It is to say that they cannot resolve resource wont problems as efficiently as can systems that rely to a greater extent on prices that reflect facts known to and actions interpreted by dispersed private owners . It is delusion to think that a socialist organization dealing with modern economies will make allocation decisions on the basis of kinship emotions , although in propagation of national emergency , such emotions do exhibit military capability for relatively short periods (p .662It is worthy of note that in spite of the supposed triumph of economic liberalism over centralized planning , the story of this triumph is not without its challengers . The Asian monetary crisis in the late 1990s spelt out some of the ravages that financial market liberalization can cause if strong systems of regulation are not vex in place to conceal the high levels of possible volatilities that are very true of financial markets (Stiglitz , 2002Liberalized international trade has also come under increased criticism especially from developing countries who claim the current international trade regime is not favorable to them . The mass anti globalization protests and deadlocks during the multilateral trade negotiations at Seattle in 1999 and Cancun in 2003 are a testament to the growing dissatisfaction with the current liberalized international regime . The current multilateral trade negotiations in the capital of Qatar Development Round has also been typified by very polarized positions . create countries on the one hand are agitating for victimization issues to made an integral part of the trade negotiations keeping with the objectives of the Agreement Establishing the WTO .

Issues like regulation of intellectual property rights under the TRIPS Agreement and its implications for knowledge transfer and development in developing countries is one of the center pieces of agitation (Van den Bosch 2005 ) Developed countries on the other hand are agitating for an extension of the mandate of the WTO to insure issues of competition - a form of international competition law under the auspices of the WTOOther issues like the unbridled leverage of transnational organizations and the projection of their interests above important developmental and environmental issues in developing countries have also been leveled against free market propositions . easiness of markets in countries like China , Bangladesh , India and a lot of developing countries has also witnessed issues like child labor becoming pivotal issues in the international trade system . Consumerism and the tendency to source goods from producers at a very low price has resulted in the lowering of labor and environmental standards . Thus though free market competition is the accepted norm of the present era , the need to stay competitive in the global market has in turn resulted in giant corporations like Wal-Mart in industrialized countries sourcing cheap goods from countries where labor and environmental standards are not respected (Edmonds and Pavcnik 2005In the light of the above , it is evident that though economic liberalism has triumphed , one cannot talk round an absolute triumph . still , the position taken in this is in favor of economic liberalism . It is evident that a central contriver cannot claim to know the situational circumstances that inform behavior of private actors in the market place and thus cannot meaningfully plan and coordinate such activities towards a specific end . Freedom to act in the market place should be the ethos of the market system and individuals would be motivated to take decisions that will benefit them instead of conformist to decisions already made for them by a central planner . Creativity and productivity would be more assured by the freedom of the individual to participate in the market rather than if his /her participation in the market is planned by government . However , Hayek s warning against laissez-faire capitalism should be taken more seriously . Disillusionment with capitalism during the early part of the 20th century witnessed a move towards of history must be learnt to forestall its repetition in the 21st century . Effective legal regimes must thus be put in place to guard against market failureAlso , one cannot relax sight of the historical circumstances that inspired the Keynesian model of economic policy . As Demsetz (2002 opined , during periods of emergency (like wars ) socialist principles of centralized planning present some notable avails . Economics is a social science that deals with human behavior which can be very uncertain . The Asian financial crisis is a typical example of how a supposedly good financial market liberalization can seriously go awry wherefore , no particular economic model can lay claim to providing absolute solutions . Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz (2002 ) thus emphasizes the need to implement market reforms in a sequential over time instead of revolutionary reforms . China is a shinning example of Stiglitz s contention . China embarked on gradual market reforms through the eighties before eventually opening its market to foreign competition when it acceded to the WTO in 2001 . By the time of its accession into the WTO China had developed enough local capacity to effectively compete in international trade . Van den Bossche (2005 ) has thus posited that they personal credit line in favor of protecting local industries from foreign competition has some appeal , though he admits that protectionism itself does not gaurantee the viability of the defend industriesIn conclusion , inclined the opportunity to recommend economic policy to the world s most influential leaders , I would recommend the principles of economic liberalism advocated by Hayek . I would however recommend a market access for all goods and services . Currently , developing countries are marginalized in the international occupation system because goods of economic importance to them like agricultural products and textile products face large trade barriers . High tariffs , quotas and heavy subsidies by developed countries prevent the products of developing countries from competing effectively in the markets of developed countries . Within the WTO at the moment , agricultural subsidies are not regulated under the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures . I would advice uniformity in the discipline of subsidies to ensure fair play in the rules of international trade . As Hayek (1944 ) advocated , a good regulatory framework is needed for competition to work effectively . Where the rules are tilted in favor of some trading blocs , one cannot talk about the triumph of competition . It will be a triumph of the favoredStiglitz s proposition for sequencing market reforms in developing countries should be given more prominence in the trade agenda . Demands of non-discrimination in the international trade regime should be a bit more relaxed for developing countries to enable them build some appreciable level of local capacity to compete at the international level . Charlton and Stiglitz s argument in this direction (2005 ) demands attention within the international trade system it is inappropriate for the largest and richest countries to be demanding a quid pro quo from the poorest ) Demands for reciprocity ignore the egregious unfairness of the world trade system , which over 50 years has reduced tariffs on goods of export interest to the rich countries and protect goods that should be exported by the poor countries (p .19More attention should be remunerative to development issues in the international trading system as development is one of the foundational objectives in the WTO . The Doha Round should be able to address issues like intellectual property regulation and to incorporate areas where developing countries have a comparative profit . The piracy of the intellectual property of indigenous societies by so called bio-prospectors from corporations in the developed world is one of the heated issues in the current Doha Round . Evidently , for developing countries to trade effectively in the global market , their comparative advantage in intellectual property products should also be protected world(prenominal) rules that protect the comparative advantage of all participants in the international trading system will go a long way to make the triumph of economic liberalism a global triumph and not a selective triumphReferences and Bibliography domineering Heights : The participation for the World s Economy . PBS , 2002Demsetz H (2002 Toward a possible action of Property Rights II : The Competition Between Private and embodied Ownership , Journal of Legal Studies , Vol . 31 (2 , pp . 653- 672Dunoff , J . L (1999 ) The Death of the Trade Regime European Journal of International Law , Vol . 10 (4 ) pp .733-762Edmonds , E . V Pavcnik , N (2005 ) ` fry Labor in the Global Economy Journal of Economic Perspectives , Vol . 19 (1 , pp . 199-220French , L . J . and Wokutch , R . E (2005 ) ` pincer Workers , Globalization and International calling Ethics : A eggshell Study in Brazil s Export-Oriented Shoe Industry , Business Ethics Quarterly , Vol . 15 (4 pp . 615-640Johnson ,. M (n .d ) A rubric of Political Economy Terms HYPERLINK http /www .auburn .edu johnspm / finish /aggregate_demand http /www .auburn .edu johnspm /gloss /aggregate_demand (Accessed on February 10 2008Stiglitz , J . E (2002 . Globalization and Its Discontents . London Penguin BooksStiglitz , J . E . and Charlton , A (2005 . `The Doha Round is Missing the Point on service Poor Countries . The Financial Times , December 13 2005Sutherland ,, Bhagwati , J , Botchwey , K , FitzGerald , N , Hamada , K Jackson , J . H , Lafer , C . and de Montbrial , T (2004 . The Future of the WTO : Addressing Institutional Challenges in the spick-and-span Millennium Geneva : World Trade OrganisationWolfe , R . and Mendelsohn , M (2004 ) `Embedded Liberalism in the Global Era : Would Citizens Support a New Grand Compromise . International Journal , skip over , pp . 261-280Van den Bossche ,(2005 ) The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organisation , Cambridge : Cambridge University PressVon Hayek , F . A (1944 ) The Road to Serdom , Abingdon : RoutledgeYergin , D . and Stanislaw , J (1998 ) The Commanding Heights : The Battle for the World s Economy . New York : TouchstonePAGEPAGE 15 ...If you want to get a full essay, order it on our website: Ordercustompaper.com

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