Growth, Employment, Inequality, and the Environment, Volume I: Unity of Knowledge in Economics

219 Pages·2015·2.612 MB·English

by  Adolfo Figueroa

Growth, Employment, Inequality, and the
Environment

Growth, Employment,
Inequality, and the
Environment
Unity of Knowledge in
Economics: Volume I
Adolfo Figueroa
growth, employment, inequality, and the environment
Copyright © Adolfo Figueroa, 2015.
All rights reserved.
First published in 2015 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–1–137–50266–7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Figueroa, Adolfo.
Growth, employment, inequality, and the environment : unity of
knowledge in economics / Adolfo Figueroa.
volumes cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978–1–137–50266–7 (vol. 1 : hardback : alk. paper)—
ISBN 978–1–137–50696–2 (vol. 2 : hardback : alk. paper)
1. Economics. 2. Capitalism. I. Title.
HB71.F497 2014
330—dc23 2014041730
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Newgen Knowledge Works (P) Ltd., Chennai, India.
First edition: April 2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To Yolita Vásquez, beloved wife and great partner

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables xi
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xix
Part I Scientific Knowledge Rules, Facts, and
Standard Theories Refutation
Chapter 1 Popperian Epistemology in Economics: The
Alpha-Beta Method 3
Chapter 2 The Capitalist System: Empirical Regularities 27
Chapter 3 Standard and Classical Economics 41
Part II The Short Run: Production, Employment,
and Distribution
Chapter 4 The Epsilon Society 77
Chapter 5 The Omega Society 105
Chapter 6 The Sigma Society 127
Chapter 7 Inequality and Social Disorder 151
Notes 181
Bibliography 183
Index 191

Figures

1.1 Diagrammatic representation of process analysis 7
1.2 The alpha-beta method 13
1.3 Types of economic processes: Static, dynamic, and
evolutionary 20
1.4 Alpha-beta method in economics 23
2.1 CO (1000–1998) and World Total GDP (1500–2000) 36
2
3.1 Neoclassical general equilibrium 52
3.2 Keynesian general equilibrium 59
3.3 Classical general equilibrium 68
4.1 Labor productivity and labor demand 83
4.2 General equilibrium in epsilon society 95
5.1 General equilibrium in omega society 114
6.1 General equilibrium in sigma society 139
7.1 Region of social tolerance for inequality 153
7.2 General equilibrium with social disorder in epsilon society 164
7.3 Relationships between asset inequality (δ), income
inequality (D), and social disorder (SD) 169
7.4 Income inequality (D) and social disorder (SD) levels
by types of capitalist societies 172