Patrick J. Welch

The Relationships of Religion to Economics

The relationships between religion and economics are both complex and controversial. In this paper is explored one method for organizing those relationships. Four categories are examined which help identify possible options: economics separate from religion economics; in service of religion; religion in service of economics; and religion in union with economics. The paper begins with a definition of what is included under the headings of religion and economics. Next, each of the four categories is described and discussed. Conclusions close the paper.

The Problem of Geographic Market Definition: Geographic Proximity vs. Economic Significance

Summary and ConclusionsThis paper has challenged the views that geographic markets must be made up of contiguous areas and that one should expand continuously from some baseline location when applying a shipments-based market definition procedure. If volume of shipments, rather than immediate proximity, is used as the ranking criterion for adding trading locations to meet the threshold percentages, geographic markets may well be composed of noncontiguous areas.There are a number of possible reasons why noncontiguous geographic markets might exist. Among the possibilities that have been suggested are differential production costs coupled with nonlinear transportation costs, and asymmetric transportation costs. These have been illustrated using a simple theoretical model of spatial competition. The empirical relevance of the concept has also been demonstrated by identifying noncontiguous geographic markets for several products using a shipments-based market definition procedure and the U. S. as the baseline market.

How Can US Schools Desegregate After the End of Busing

The end of busing of primary and secondary school students has been a major setback for integration of public schools in the USA. The purpose of this paper is not to offer an alternative to busing; regrettably, no obvious alternative stands out. Rather, it is to offer some social, legal and economic background to help the reader consider, and perhaps propose, realistic alternatives that would reduce both racial and economic segregation in our schools and society. The paper is divided into three sections. The first offers background information useful for better understanding and evaluating the end of busing and school resegregation. The second section focuses on an important parallel between racial and economic discrimination. The closing section introduces considerations important for anticipating reactions to, and the costs and benefits of, alternatives to busing for reintegrating schools, as well as several recommendations to which those considerations can be applied.

Social Responsibility, Semantics, And why We Can't Agree On What We Agree On

can take us a long way toward coming to grips with why we have difficulty agreeing on the precise meaning of business’ social responsibility. PROPOSITION I: Generally, we should expect serious observers of the business-society relationship, regardless of their philosophical or political position, to agree in principle that business should be socially responsible. PROPOSITION II: Generally, we should not be surprised to see wide-

Tracing the Origins of Personalist Economics to Aristotle and Aquinas

Personalist Economics has identified a central problem in Neoclassical Economics that originates in its representation of the economic agent as homo economicus and its grounding in individualism. Both flaws are directly addressed by Personalist Economics that has a different perspective on human nature as set forth in Personalism. Our remarks are presented in three sections. In the first section we address why individualism is an unsatisfactory philosophical foundation for modern economic theory. In the second section we trace the origins of Personalist Economics to Aristotle and Aquinas. While others, such as Heinrich Pesch and Joseph Schumpeter, played important roles in the evolution of Personalist Economics, here our efforts are restricted to the contributions of Aristotle and Aquinas. In the third section we explore how, in terms of 18 tenets, Personalist Economics and a Personalist economy differ from Mainstream Economics and the individualistic market economy.

Presidential address, association for social economics, January 2005

Abstract In recent years social economists have been utilizing a broader than conventional perspective for examining the behavior of economic agents. While traditionally the focus has been on the one-dimensional maximizing “individual with this newer approach the focus is on the multidimensional “person.” Thus the name “Personalist Economics.” Long ago the British writer Thomas Carlyle devoted volumes of pages to the sorts of topics and issues that are prominent in the personalist approach. Here are explored some areas of overlap between Carlyles and todays personalist perspective, and some questions that might be raised about the two approaches.

Thomas Carlyle on the use of numbers in economics

Thomas Carlyle’s criticism of economics goes far beyond his epithet, “Dismal Science.” One aspect of economics that attracted his attention was its use of numbers in both theories and empiricisms. Here is explored his attacks on economist’s use of arithmetic in explaining human behavior, and statistics in addressing the condition of the working class.

DISTRIBUTION ‐ The encyclicals and rights to distributions in contract‐ and status‐based economies

The encyclicals of Popes John Paul II, Pius XI and Leo XIII affirm people’s rights to distributions, and the responsibility of those who are able to care for the poor. These positions trace largely to arguments from Scripture, Aristotle, Aguinas and Locke, and focus on the protection of private property rights and status rights. Although built on authority that is both antiquated and most closely associated with theology and philosophy, the positions, by focusing on rights that are the foundation on which modern economics are organized, are expressed in a way that is consistent with the operation of those economies.

Rethinking Shipments Asymmetries

A modification of a well-known shipments test for geographic market definition may be useful in identifying antitrust markets. By recognizing the possible significance of a high LIFO value and a notably lower LOFI value, and searching for possible barriers to product entry that could explain the asymmetry, analysts can reduce the chances of adopting an overly broad geographic market. This is illustrated by comparing the results from applying the shipments test to those from residual demand estimations, and by reviewing the evidence and findings in several recent antitrust proceedings in light of the asymmetric shipments patterns they report.