Economics and Ethics

Call for papers: 2012 Association for Social Economics/Eastern Economic Association meetings

Mark D. White

It's that time of year again: it is my pleasure to invite you to submit abstracts and/or session proposals for the Association for Social Economics sessions at the 2012 Eastern Economic Association meetings, to be held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, MA, March 9-11, 2012. 
 
I welcome any proposals dealing with the concerns of social economics, whether theoretical or practical, methodological or policy-oriented, or anything in between. As always, I am particularly interested in papers exploring the intersection of economics and ethics (which fits under the social economics umbrella), as well as economics and philosophy in general. 

You do not have to be a member of ASE to participate in the EEA sessions, though if you are not a member, I do encourage you to visit the website and consider joining. (In fact, even if you choose not to participate in the meetings, it's a good idea to visit the website and consider joining!)
 
Please send me your abstracts or session ideas by Monday, October 17, at profmdwhite@hotmail.com. Also, feel free to ask me about possible topics or themes, or about the meetings in general. The Eastern Economic Association meetings have always been very open to alternative approaches and viewpoints, as well as a wonderful forum for innovative ideas.

Call for papers: Law and literature conference focused on justice and Amartya Sen

Mark D. White

From the Law & Humanities blog (and Mai-Linh Hong's Twitter feed) comes this pre-announcement which should be of interest to our readers (especially the followers of Amartya Sen):

Save the Date/Call For Papers

Third Biennial Literature and Law Conference

TENTATIVE DATE March 30, 2012 (Friday). Please check conference website for confirmation of final conference date—this date will be posted in mid-September.

Conference Location: John Jay College of Criminal Justice (CUNY) (59th Street and 10th Avenue). The conference will take place on the newly expanded John Jay campus, near Lincoln Center in Manhattan. The facilities include a brand new, state of the art conference center.

Conference Organizer and Contact Person: Andrew Majeske, ajmajeske@gmail.com

Theme: The Idea of Justice

This conference aims to bring scholars of literature and law into an interdisciplinary setting to share the fruits of their research and scholarship. Generally this full day conference consists of between 8 and 10 paper panels and roundtables, two talks by prominent speakers, and a post-conference reception. The conference fee will be $75, which will be payable by credit card through a link on the conference website.

Conference Speakers

Amartya Sen, Keynote Speaker: The conference’s keynote speaker is Amartya Sen, winner of the 1998 Nobel Prize in Economics, the Thomas W. Lamont University Professor and Professor of Economics and Philosophy at Harvard University and, until recently, the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge. He has served as President of the Econometric Society, the Indian Economic Association, the American Economic Association and the International Economic Association. He was formerly Honorary President of OXFAM and is now its Honorary Advisor. Of particular interest to this conference is Professor Sen’s celebrated 2009 book, The Idea of Justice. His other books, which have been translated into more than thirty languages, include Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (2006), The Argumentative Indian (2005), Rationality and Freedom (2002), Development as Freedom (1999), Inequality Reexamined (1992), The Standard of Living (1987), On Ethics and Economics (1987), Resources, Values and Development (1984), Choice, Welfare and Measurement (1982), Poverty and Famines (1981), and On Economic Inequality (1973, 1997) . His research has ranged over a number of fields in economics, philosophy, and decision theory, including social choice theory, welfare economics, theory of measurement, development economics, public health, gender studies, moral and political philosophy, and the economics of peace and war. 

George Anastaplo, Feaured Speaker: The conference’s featured speaker is Professor George Anastaplo from Loyola University School of Law in Chicago, whose life and career been devoted to the idea of justice, both in theory and practice. Professor Anastaplo is the author of more than 15 books, and innumerable articles, including The Constitutionalist: Notes on the First Amendment (1971, 2005), But Not Philosophy: Seven Introductions to Non-Western Thought (2002), The Thinker as Artist: From Homer to Plato & Aristotle (1997), The American Moralist: On Law, Ethics and Government (1992), The Constitution of 1787: A Commentary (1989), The Artist As Thinker: From Shakespeare to Joyce (1983) and Human Being and Citizen: Essays on Virtue, Freedom, and the Common Good (1975). Professor Anastaplo, during his Illinois Bar interview in 1950, took a principled stand against McCarthy era questions asking about his political affiliations, and whether he believed in a right of revolution—he cited the Declaration of Independence to support his view that he and all Americans believe or should believe in such a right. The committee interviewing him was not pleased with his responses, and as a consequence, he has never been admitted to the Bar. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, in his dissent in Professor Anastaplo’s case seeking admission to the Illinois Bar (In Re Anastaplo 1961—which Anastaplo lost 5-4), vigorously defended Anastaplo’s position on first amendment grounds and asserted, among other things, that “we must not be afraid to be free”—Justice Black arranged for this quote, and others from his dissent, to be read at his funeral.

Call For Papers and Panels: We invite proposals for papers and panels that address topics that relate the humanities & arts (especially literary texts (broadly conceived)), to this year’s conference theme, the “idea of justice.” Of particular interest are papers and panels that in addition engage aspects of Professor Sen’s book, The Idea of Justice, or that attempt to integrate the theory with the practice of justice, and/or that engage and compare differing notions and perspectives of justice.

CFP Deadline: Please submit abstracts (250 words or less) to Andrew Majeske, ajmajeske@gmail.com, by Friday, January 13, 2012.

Conference Website: More information will be available in September 2011 at http://litandlawjjay.blogspot.com

Call for papers: The Mark Blaug Prize in Philosophy and Economics

Mark D. White

Courtesy of the indispensable Heterodox Economics Newsletter (no. 113):

The Mark Blaug Prize in Philosophy and Economics

The Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics (EJPE) is proud to announce a new prize intended to promote and reward the work of Young Scholars in philosophy and economics.

The prize is named in honour of Professor Mark Blaug, a founder of the field of philosophy and economics who has made a tremendous scholarly contribution to many areas of the history and philosophy of economics. Mark Blaug's generosity and commitment to Young Scholars starting out in this field is recognized by all who know him.

The prize includes a cash sum of 500 Euros.

Entry Requirements

• To qualify for the Mark Blaug Prize the author has to be a Young Scholar, defined as someone fulfilling one of the following conditions as of January 1st 2011:

       -currently enrolled as a graduate student, or
       -received a doctoral degree in the preceding 12 months

Entrants should submit a single-authored article for publication in EJPE before the end of December 2011, and mention that you would like to be considered for the prize. Co-authored papers where all authors are Young Scholars are also eligible. Prize submissions may not include articles previously published or under consideration elsewhere. For information about submissions, see EJPE’s Call for Papers: http://ejpe.org/call-for-papers/

Articles that pass peer-review and are accepted for publication will be considered by a committee of experts and the winner will be announced in April 2012.

For more information, visit http://ejpe.org/mark-blaug-prize/.

Call for papers: Association for Social Economics sessions at Southern Economic Association meetings

Mark D. White

Sorry to be so late posting this. but you still have a week to submit a paper:

The 81^st annual conference of the Southern Economic Association will be held at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. on November 19-21, 2011 (Saturday-Monday).  The Association for Social Economics will organize two sessions at the SEA meetings.  All members are encouraged to present a paper and/or organize a session at the conference.  Papers on current topics in social economics and policy-oriented issues are especially welcome.  Please submit a brief abstract to Aparna Mitra (amitra@ou.edu) by March 15, 2011.  Additionally, feel free to email her if you have any questions about the submissions.

Call for papers (2): History and methodology of economics at 2012 ASSA meetings

Mark D. White

The History of Economics Society (HES) and the International Network for Economic Method (INEM) are both accepting proposals for individual papers or organized sessions for the next ASSA meetings to be held in Chicago, from January 6-8, 2012. HES will sponsor four sessions and INEM will sponsor two.

Both organizations request abstracts of around 200 words, and the deadline for both is May 1, 2011.

To submit for the HES sessions, contact Robert Leonard at leonard.robert@uqam.ca.

To submit for the INEM sessions, contact Jack Vromen at vromen@fwb.eur.nl.

(Remember also the Association for Social Economics call for papers on the topic of "The Economics of Social Responsibility" for the 2012 ASSA sessions, which can be found here.)

Call for papers: Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of Law and Economics

Mark D. White

I just received the call for papers for the second MetaLawEcon workshop, being held during the 25th World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (I blogged about this group previously):

 

 

 

 

Call for Papers

Theoretical and Methodological Foundations of

Law and Economics

Special Workshop at the XXVth World Congress of Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy (Frankfurt am Main, 15–20 August 2011)

In the last decades, economic analysis seems to have become the lingua franca

of US legal scholarship. While increasingly popular in Europe and elsewhere in the world, there are still significant misunderstandings surrounding its theoretical status, methodology and normative commitments. Compared to the 1970s and 80s, the discipline has become more pluralistic in its methods and more self-critical about its assumptions, assertions and ambitions. On the other hand, it meets ambivalent reactions among legal theorists. This calls for a renewed focus on how empirical and theoretical research on human behaviour and social interaction can be integrated in legal and jurisprudential discourses.

The workshop will address various aspects of the subject, including meta-theoretical and epistemological questions (What constitutes law and economics scholarship? How can it be positioned among current legal theories? If law is local, can its economic analysis be universal?, Is law and economics linked to common law or American legal scholarship?), methodological issues (the role of formal models, game theory, experiments, etc.), normative debates (related to efficiency, welfare, justice, fairness, consequentialism), the interplay of economics with psychology or comparative law. Philosophical, linguistic, rhetorical analyses, theoretical reflections linked to particular legal systems or doctrinal legal areas are welcome as well.

Circulating the papers in advance shall to contribute to the discussion-led style of the workshop.

This workshop will be the second meeting of the MetaLawEcon

research network, http://ealeorg.blogspot.com/2010/12/conference-in-tilburg-on-meta-law-and.html

Abstracts (1-2 pages) for consideration should be sent by e-mail to Péter Cserne (peter.cserne@uvt.nl), Tilburg University, Tilburg Law and Economics Center

The deadlines are: 31 March, 2011 for abstracts and 31 May, 2011 for full papers.

Participants have to be registered for the conference. For further details see the conference website: http://www.ivr2011.org

 

Call for papers: The Economics of Social Responsibility (2012 Association for Social Economics/ASSA meetings)

Mark D. White

Here is the call for papers for the Association for Social Economics sessions at the next ASSA meetings in Chicago in January 2012:

CALL FOR PAPERS

Allied Social Science Association meetings
Chicago, IL -- Jan. 6-8, 2012

“The economics of social responsibility”

The concept of social responsibility holds that individuals, communities, businesses, and governments should consider the consequences of their actions for others -- avoiding behaviors that limit the options or erode the wellbeing of others, and favoring those which enhance them. Examples of important SR initiatives include: Corporate Social Responsibility, Socially Responsible Investment, Social Enterprises, microfinance, Socially Responsible Lending, sustainable banking and finance, ethical and sustainable consumption, local- and organic-food sourcing, fair-trade supply chains, sweat-free labor standards, and ‘green sourcing’ by businesses and governments. Issues of social responsibility have been little studied in economics, despite their obvious theoretical, empirical and policy interest.

For the ASE sessions at the 2012 ASSA meetings, we welcome proposals for papers on all aspects of the economics of social responsibility. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:

• Foundations of SR in theories of ethics and social justice
• Theories of business and individual behaviors as guided by self-interest, pro-social motives, and social norms
• Identifying what prompts businesses, consumers, industry groups, local governments, and other groups to voluntarily modify their behaviors to incorporate SR concerns
• Evidence on the impact of SR -- e.g. for slowing environmental degradation, building sustainable communities, improving livelihoods and capabilities of disadvantaged groups, etc.
• Effects of SR on business performance: Profits, productivity, employment, compensation
• Skeptical views: Is SR is “all talk and little action”?
• Comparisons of private pro-social initiatives vs. government actions as means of advancing social welfare
• Social & ethical responsibilities of the economics profession -- in research, policy-making, and the classroom

Submissions

The deadline for proposals is April 30, 2011. All proposals should include: paper title, abstract of up 250 words, authors’ names and institutional affiliations, and contact info for the corresponding author, including email address. Proposals for complete sessions are also welcome. Submissions should be sent to Martha Starr, ASE President-elect, at mstarr@american.edu.

Individuals whose papers are accepted for presentation must either be or become members of the Association for Social Economics no later than July 1, 2011, in order for the paper to be included in the program. Membership information can be found at www.socialeconomics.org.

All papers presented at the ASSA meetings are eligible for the Warren Samuels Prize, awarded to the best paper that advances the goals of social economics and has widespread appeal. Papers can also be considered for a special P&P issue of the Forum for Social Economics. Details of these opportunities will be sent to authors of accepted papers.

Call for papers: Workshop on History of Economics as Culture

Mark D. White

From the indispensable Heterodox Economics Newsletter comes this fascinating call:

Workshop: History of Economics as Culture

April 8th, 2011 | the University of Cergy-Pontoise (near Paris, France)
Deadline for proposals is January 15, 2011

This is to remind you that we are organizing on behalf of the H2S (History of Social Science) group, Economix (CNRS FRE 2357) and THEMA (CNRS UMR 8184), the third workshop on "history of 'economics as culture' (Histoire culturelle des savoirs économiques)" to be held Friday, April 8th, 2011 at the University of Cergy-Pontoise (near Paris, France). Our intention is to bring together scholars from different disciplines to discuss from an historical vantage point, the place of economics in our culture. Below are some suggestions of topics that exemplify what will be at issue:

• To consider the interactions between art, literature and economics;
• To discuss the interactions between cultural or artistic objects such as magazines, books, maps, photographs, paintings, graphs and economic thinking and to consider economic texts as cultural items and to reflect upon the consequences their physical form had on their reception.
• To consider economics as part of cultures (political, commercial, scientific, etc.) of past (including very recent past) societies; in particular, to discuss the economic representations (or culture) of specific social groups such as merchants, workers, businessmen, etc.

The workshop will comprise of 5 or 6 papers containing genuine unpublished research. If you have an interest in these topics, please send us a proposal of no more than 1000 words or a draft paper of what you want to present before January, 15 at the following address: historyofeconomicsasculture@gmail.com

If you are interested in the subject but are unable to send a proposal, feel free to contact us at the same address for further discussion/information. Also, last year program is available here: http://economix.u-paris10.fr/fr/activites/colloques/?id=113

Call for papers: International Network for Economic Method, Helsinki, September 2011

Mark D. White

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

IX Conference of the

International Network for Economic Method

 Friday-Saturday 2-3 September 2011

Helsinki, Finland

 

The ninth INEM conference will be hosted by TINT at the University of Helsinki. Proposals for contributed papers as well as symposia are welcome in all areas of economic methodology and cognate disciplines.

Please send an abstract of 500-1500 words (for symposia 1500-3000 words) to aki.lehtinen@helsinki.fi. Attach contact details of the author (name, affiliation, email address) on a separate page.

The deadline for submissions is 1 April, 2011. Acceptance will be communicated by 15 May, 2011.

Acceptance to present a paper at the conference will be based solely on the abstracts. If, however, you send a full paper to the conference organisers by the 1^st of July, and your abstract has been accepted, then a discussant will be assigned to your paper.

The selection committee and special keynote speakers will be announced later.

Local organising committee: Uskali Mäki, Till Grüne-Yanoff, Aki Lehtinen, Caterina Marchionni, Tarja Knuuttila, Jaakko Kuorikoski.

Call for papers: Conference on Distributive Justice in Health

Mark D. White

This is timely: Ethics Etc. brings us this call for papers (visit the linked post for more detail):

The Centre for Humanistic Studies of the University of Minho (CEHUM) is sponsoring an international conference on distributive justice in health which will take place in Braga the 6th and 7th of October 2011.

The aim of this conference is to define the state of the art in the discussion of justice in the distribution of health resources. For example, what is the right “currency” of justice in health : health care, all determinants and resources for health, Quality-Adjusted Life Years, health-related quality of life, something else ? And what is the right “pattern” : equality, sufficiency, priority to the worse-off, what the demos deliberately elects?