South Africa Limits to Change: The Political Economy of Transition (South Africa)
Содержание:
History and Politics, The Treatment of Capitalism by Historians, The Anticapitalist Bias of American Historians, The Treatment of Capitalism by Continental Intellectuals, The Standard of Life of the Workers in England, 1790-1830, The Factory System of the Early Nineteenth Century
Описание:
Integrating theory and evidence from a range of social sciences, the authors argue that the satisfaction derived from material goods depends upon their symbolic meaning, as people use goods to reinforce a positive social identity. They further contend that this calls for the incorporation of status preferences in economic models. The book finds that concerns over social status may lead decision makers to significantly overvalue consumption and undervalue the natural environment. In addition, income and consumption taxes that are normally regarded as ?distortionary? may be necessary to address the social costs of status signaling. Based on the available evidence, the authors argue that failing to account for status preferences can lead to flawedpolicy prescriptions in debates over optimal taxation, the economics of climate change and Environmental Kuznets Curves. To address this bias, the book offers a tractable, operational, and theoretically grounded approach to the...Похожие книги
