Oeconomicus, Volume VIII, 2007-2008

Editor’s Note

In the midst of a call for an alternative perspective to study economic and social issues,
this volume presents a diverse range of work from students of both UMKC and other universities
in the United States and around the world. This volume opens with a paper written by Rojhat
Berdan Avsar, who explores the Aristotelian roots of Marx’ theoretical work. In his work, Avsar
argues that Marx’s criticisms of the capitalist system have a strong humanitarian and ethical
substance. Furthermore, he finds an Aristotelian influence on Marx’s ethical posture since his
vision of human good includes many elements of Aristotelian discussions of human nature and
his deep concern with the condition of humankind.
Avsar’s theoretical analysis is followed by Poulomi Dasgupta social analysis of the
institutions of democracy and free market. In her paper, Dasgupta assesses the impact of these
institutions on developing countries. She carries out an institutional analysis by studying the
different aspects of democracy to reach understanding on the current social and economic
struggles within developing countries. Our next piece is presented by Derya Guler Aydin, who
analyzes the theories of competition. Her study explores the differences between the theories that
emphasize competition’s equilibrating forces and those emphasizing disequilibraiting forces.
Guler’s analysis looks into the dynamic theories of competition presented by Marx’s theory on
profit rate differentials and Schumpeter’s notion of creative destruction. In her paper, she argues
that these perspectives should not be ignored when reaching an understanding of capitalism.
Our next piece is presented by Xuan Pham. In her work, Pham attempts to update the
econometric studies of Johnson and Solon (1986) and Macpherson and Hirsch (1995) regarding
the impact of gender composition on female and male wages. Pham inquires if female wages and
male wages are only influenced by the present gender composition of their occupations or by
current and past gender compositions of their occupations or by both. Her findings indicate that it
is not possible to single out the current and historical gender composition effects on female and
males’ wages.
Our following two articles offer a critical analysis of financial issues. The first one is
provided by Chiara Piovani, whose purpose is to assess the effects of financial globalization on
the dynamics of the balance of payments in developing countries. She discusses the current
dynamics in the balance of payments before the growing role of capital markets and how policies
have changed in the era of financial globalization. In the next article, Agustinus Prasetyantoko
presents an alternative explanation to the 1997 Indonesian financial crises. In his analysis, he
states that Minsky’s Financial Instability Hypothesis and Regulation theory provide an

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explanation to the evolution of the capitalist system; which helps to understand the complex
problems behind a financial collapse.
Following these critical studies, Carlos E. Schönerwald da Silva’s work presents the Post
Keynesian’s contributions to the development of the theory of imperfect competition and the key
points of the Post Keynesian criticism to Marshall’s theory of perfect competition. In his piece,
Schönerwald da Silva discusses the works of Piero Straffa (1926); Robinson (1934); Harrod
(1931, 1934); and Kahn (1935). This is followed by a review of The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for
and Age of Commerce by Deirdre N. McCloskey. Thomas Wells review presents a critical
perspective to McCloskey’s recent book regarding the positive inter-twining of capitalism and
ethics, which argues for the recognition and embracement of a bourgeois identity that he
considers instrumentally successful and fundamentally important.
We would like to thank Fadhel Kaboub, Ryan Dobb, and all students, professors,
contributors, and editors for their excellent work on opening up this forum for the dissemination
of an alternative perspective to economic and social issues. We would like to extend our
congratulations to Megan Cornell, Zdravka Torodova, Michael Murray, Xuan Pham, Richard
Dadzie, and Felipe Rezende for their educational and academic achievements and wish them the
best in their academic endeavors.

The Editors