The Journal of Economic Abstracts June 1968 [antikvár]

. fre Abstract and Article Listing by Subject General Economics; Methodology Frey, B. A Political Theory of Economic Growth (Eine politische Theorie des wirtschaftlichen Wachstums). Modern growth theory concentrates around the concept of the Golden Age and disregards completely many facts which are important in reality. Particularly, the influence of political factors is not taken into account. This article endeavours to formulate a growth theory in which political and economic factors are interwoven. Long term growth is strongly influenced by the amount of infrastructure available but the supply of infrastructural capacity is determined not by the market mechanism but by political decisions. As long as there is an oversupply of infrastructure, the economy grows rapidly and with little price rises. This means that voters are satisfied and the government party gets many votes. As soon as infrastructural capacity is fully used up, growth is reduced, inflation is high and voters are also harmed directly in their consumption. Only the opposition party gives a clear alternative—namely more infrastructure—and wins the next elections. The lack of infrastructure is subsequently removed and an oversupply of infrastructure reappears. Thus, a growing economy is characterized not by a purely market determined economic equilibrium but rather by a continuing interplay of economic and political factors and their interrelationship with the size of infrastructure. Kyklos, 1968, 21(1), pp. 70-99 (German). Universität Basel and Stanford University Johnson, H. G. The Economic Approach To Social Questions. Economics has become increasingly mathematical and "scientific"; yet it is still a social science, relevant to social questions. In a fully employed economy, micro-economics rather than macro-economics is the more relevant. On the positive side, micro-economics emphasizes the interdependence of the system; on the normative side, it emphasizes the means-ends distinction and the fact and process of choice among alternatives. 292