/Call For Papers
Call For Papers2018-05-25T11:05:55+00:00

ICOPEC 2018 Call for Papers

10 years after the Great Recession: Orthodox versus Heterodox Economics

The Main Theme and Scope of the Conference

The post-2007-8 global crisis (broadly branded as the Great Recession) is the fourth major global crisis of the capitalist system (after that of the 1870s, 1929 and 1974). The 2007-8 financial crisis and its consequences continue to rock the world economy, and fears of a new crisis continue to linger on.

The Great Recession came as a result of several decades of neoliberal restructuring that enhanced capital’s profits at the expense of labour, increased inequalities and augmented poverty. During the period, the United States, in particular, led the neoclassical economics-driven liberalization, deregulation and marketization, rolling back banking regulations and slighting the slippery fall in mortgage-lending standards. Under the Fed’s loose monetary policies during Alan Greenspan’s tenure, the ICT revolution and the increasing financialization of capitalism seemed to have engendered the so-called New Economy. As what goes up comes down, however, the seemingly business cycle-defying New Economy or “millennium boom” came to an abrupt end, and the subsequent crisis ushered in some retightening of the financial regulatory regime. However, there are now umpteen signs of those rules and regulations getting weakened yet again. Usually, in such circumstances when there is a great crisis that discredits the prevailing economic theory, there occurs a change of scientific paradigm. Such has happened, to a great extent, in previous major global crises. Notwithstanding, this time this has not been the case. Thanks in part to the effective government interventions such as prompt bailing out of the troubled financial institutions, key central banks’ massive quantitative easing, and G20 countries’ international collaboration in managing the crisis and stemming it from getting out of hand, perhaps the lesson has not been learned. After the initial shock and the implementation of hasty policy measures which contained the crisis, the economic Orthodoxy has remained at the helm. Even in the academia it seems even more dogmatic and less tolerant to any dissenting and Heterodox voices.

The focus of the main theme of ICOPEC 2018 is exactly on this riddle. How a very imperfect, limited and problematic theory continues to dominate both the policy and the academic circles. What are the processes in the economy and the society that sustain its predominance? Is the resolution of the Great Recession final, or would it entail more upheavals in the near future? What is the condition of the economic Orthodoxy (particularly under its current form of the New Macroeconomic Consensus, that is the hybrid of mild neoliberalism with conservative New Keynesianism)? What is the condition of contemporary economic Heterodoxy? Is it a unified current, or does it encompass diverse and possibly contradictory perspectives? What is the current state of affairs in Political Economy? Last, but not the least, how all these affect the lives and the well-beings of the great labouring majority of our societies?

Apart from its main theme, the ICOPEC 2018 also invites and welcomes all contributions that enrich the perspectives of Political Economy and expand the ground for better policy analyses and making. Indicatively, proposed papers may touch upon the following issues:

Global Economy, Economic Crises, and Recessions

  • The Crisis of Economics and the Economics of Crisis
  • Financialization of Capitalism
  • Rise of Protectionism and the Future of International Trading System
  • Problems in the Economics Methodology
  • Theory of Stages and Periodization of Capitalism
  • Current Controversies in Macroeconomics
  • Neoliberalism and the New Macroeconomic Consensus
  • Trends and Challenges in Contemporary Economic Policy
  • BRICS, the Newly Emerging Economies and the World Economy
  • Political Economy of European Integration
  • Political Economy Spillovers from Brexit and Other Political Shocks
  • Theories and Analyses of Economic Crisis
  • Political Economy of Money and Finance
  • Political Economy of Capital Flows
  • Political Economy of Foreign Direct Investment
  • Financial Intermediation and Financial Architecture
  • International Organizations and Crises (IMF, WB, WHO, UNHCR, UN etc.)
  • Economic and Financial Vulnerabilities of Developing Countries
  • Volatility and Contagion in Financial Markets
  • Sovereign and Private Debt Crises
  • Banks and Financial Markets in Times of Uncertainty
  • Monetary Policy Governance and Macro-prudential Issues
  • Corporate Governance in Financial Institutions
  • IMF and Structural Adjustment Programmes
  • Heterodox Economic Policies
  • Econometrics for Economic and Administrative Sciences
  • Operational Research Methods and their Applications to Political Economy Issues
  • The Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Future of Global Economy

Poverty, Inequality, and Income Distribution

  • Politics of Inequality and Income Distribution
  • Inequalities across and within Individual Countries in the World Economy, and What Can Be Done?
  • Political Economy of Globalization Discourse: Divergence or Convergence?
  • Poverty Alleviation and Equitable Growth
  • Inequality, the Role of Social Capital and Sustainability of Happy and Inclusive Growth

Economic Development

  • Opportunities and Challenges for Development after Global Economic Crisis
  • Social Conflicts, Social Movements, and Development
  • Rent-Seeking, Corruption, and Development
  • Institutional Quality, Administrative Capacity, and Development
  • Late Development and Developmental State-Building, and Its Critics
  • Trade and Industrial Policy for Development
  • Static vs Dynamic Comparative Advantage
  • Global Value Chains and Transnational Corporations
  • Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies for Development
  • R&D, Technological Capability Building, and Development
  • Diffusion of Technology and Development
  • The Future of Vocational Education and Training in the Era of Fourth Industrial Revolution
  • Shared Economy
  • Sustainable Development
  • Challenges to Achieving Sustainable Development Goals
  • Green Buildings, Innovation, Productivity and Efficiency
  • Renewable Energies
  • The Fourth Industrial Revolution and Development

Public Economics, Public Finance, and Public Management

  • Market Failure and Government Failure
  • Liberalization, Privatization, and De-Regulation
  • Crowding-in and Crowding-out
  • Positive and Negative Externalities
  • Public Goods and Public Bads
  • Market-Society Tension and Social Policy
  • From Minimal to Regulatory State
  • Institutional Change, Governance and New Public Management
  • Fiscal Rules and Constitutional Economics
  • Shadow Economy and Corruption
  • Fiscal Institutions, Taxation and Economic Development
  • International Tax Competition and Its Effects on Development
  • Tax Non-Compliance and Under-Investment in Public Goods
  • The Interplay between Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy
  • Public-Private Partnership and Development
  • Global Public Goods

Business Enterprises in Turbulent Environment

  • Crisis Management and Risk Management
  • Market Liberalisation and Impact on Supply Chain
  • International Business Environment and Entrepreneurship
  • Mergers, Acquisitions, Restructuring
  • Business Policies, Strategies, and Performance
  • Manufacturing: Strategy, Technology, and Organization
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Lean Production and Total Quality Management
  • Customer Satisfaction, Customer Loyalty and Retention Strategies
  • The Emergence and Growth of Non-Bank Payment Systems
  • Inclusive Business Models, and Social Entrepreneurship
  • Sustainable Business, Production and Consumption
  • Consumer Attitudes to Ecological and Ethical Issues
  • Knowledge Management and E-Business
  • Information and Communication Technology and E-business
  • New Entrepreneurship Dimensions (Sharing Economy, Freelancing, Self-Employment)

Labour Economics

  • Productivity, Shocks, and Labour Adjustment
  • Commodification of Labour Relations
  • Labour Movement and Trade Unions
  • Minimum Wage Impacts: Going Beyond Employment Effects
  • Flexible Employment and Unemployment
  • Labour Market and Employment Generation
  • College Admissions, Supply of Skills, and Mismatch
  • Job Types and Wage Growth
  • Policy Alternatives for Improving Female Labour Force Participation and Career Choices
  • Labour Market Discrimination and Gender Wage Gaps
  • Wage Determinants and Dynamics

Demography, Gender, and Migration

  • Demographic Economics
  • Population Dynamics
  • Race, Class, and Gender
  • Conflict, War, and Gender
  • Gender, Aspirations, and Performance
  • Gender Norms and Differences in Behaviour in the post-#MeToo Era
  • Regional Shocks and Migration Flows
  • Immigration, Health and Happiness
  • Refugee, Immigrant, and Minority Issues
  • Cross-Border Migration, National Identity, and Nation-State Interactions