New perspectives on economic development

Transcription

1 New perspectives on economic development

2 New perspectives on economic development A human agency approach Fu-Lai Tony Yu Wageningen Academic P u b l i s h e r s

3 ISBN: e-isbn: DOI: / First published, 2011 Wageningen Academic Publishers The Netherlands, 2011 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned. Nothing from this publication may be translated, reproduced, stored in a computerised system or published in any form or in any manner, including electronic, mechanical, reprographic or photographic, without prior written permission from the publisher, Wageningen Academic Publishers, P.O. Box 220, NL-6700 AE Wageningen, The Netherlands. copyright@wageningenacademic.com The content of this publication and any liabilities arising from it remain the responsibility of the author. The publisher is not responsible for possible damages, which could be a result of content derived from this publication.

4 Preface and acknowledgments This book puts together 10 papers in human agency economics while the author taught economic development and entrepreneurship at Feng Chia University (Taiwan) and Shue Yan University (Hong Kong). Chapter 1 reviews theories of economic development in history of Austrian economics, with the intention of extending the contributions of major Austrian economists to development phenomena. After pointing out the weaknesses in the orthodox neoclassical approach to economic growth, Chapter 2 introduces a subjectivist approach to understand issues in economic development. Specifically, it utilizes theories of human agency to interpret economic phenomena and policies. It also serves as a methodological foundation for arguments elaborated in the next seven chapters. Chapters 3 to 9 respectively discuss important issues in economic development, namely, entrepreneurial process, national capabilities, innovation, trade, government, transition and catching up strategies for firms in latecomer economies. Chapter 10 provides a concluding remark and proposes a new agenda for research in economic development. Earlier versions of some chapters in this book were previously presented at international conferences and/or published in academic journals. I thank conference participants for their comments and acknowledge the publishers of the following journals for permission to reproduce some materials in this volume. Part of material in Chapter 2 is published in A subjectivist approach to strategic management, Managerial and Decision Economics, special issue: integrating management and economic perspectives on corporate strategy, volume 24 (40), June 2003, pp ; I thank the guest editors of the special issue, J. Rajendran Pandian and Paul L. Robertson for their generous comments. The article is reprinted in I. Nonaka (editor) Knowledge Management: Critical Perspectives on Business and Management, London, UK: Routledge Falmer, pp Chapter 3 is modified from paper, A dynamic model of the entrepreneurial process: a human agency perspective, presented at the International Conference on Business and information, July 2007, Tokyo, Japan. The article is published in International Journal of Innovation and Learning, volume 6 (3), 2009, pp New perspectives on economic development 7

5 Chapter 4 is based on National capabilities and economic development: a subjectivist view, paper presented at the conference: Knowledge and economic and social change: new challenges to innovation studies, 7-9 April 2003, organized by Advances in the Economic and Social Analysis of Technology and the Institute of Innovation Research held in Manchester School of Management Building, Manchester, United Kingdom. The article is published in Forum for Development Studies, volume 3 (2), 2003, pp Chapter 5 (Innovation and communication) is adapted from Novelty and its acceptance: an inter-subjective perspective, International Journal of Arts and Technology, volume 1 (1), 2008, pp An earlier version of this paper was presented at the International Conference on Knowledge-based economy and global management held on 6-7 December 2007, College of Management, Southern Taiwan University of Technology (Taiwan). It also receives The Best Conference Paper Award in the 5 th multi-disciplinary management conference on Creativity and enterprising organized by Department of Business Administration, Tung Hai University (Taiwan), 26 April Chapter 6 is adapted from A human agency approach to economics of international trade, International Journal of Pluralism and Economic Education, volume 1 (1/2), October 2009, pp Chapter 7 is rewritten from Uncertainty, human agency and e-government, Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, volume 2 (4), 2008, pp Chapter 8 is based on Toward a subjective perspective of transition, paper presented at the international conference, Evolution of institutions and the knowledge economy, organized by the University of Debrecen held at Debrecen, Hungary (4-5 October 2002). The article is published in Philippines Journal of Development, volume 30 (2), 2003, pp Part of material in Chapter 10 is based on my work with Dr. Gary Moon Cheung Shiu (2009), The Austrian school of economics, unpublished working paper. As mentioned, this volume is a collection of papers written over the past several years. Each of the individual papers has consistently applied the Austrian subjectivist framework to economic and development issues. Since 8 New perspectives on economic development

6 a new idea does not arise from a vacuum, but builds upon previous ideas, when individual papers are gathered into a book form, some materials/ arguments will be unavoidably repeated. In preparing this volume, every effort is made to avoid repetition while at the same time ensuring that the arguments in each chapter flow smoothly without a loss of continuity. I extend my apology for some repetition of materials, if any. I have enjoyed and benefited from stimulating discussion with my academic friends, Teresa Shan-Yu Chen, Simon Chien-Yuan Chen, Dian Kwan, Gary Moon- Cheung Shiu, Ho-don Yan, and scholars from the Chinese Hayek Society over the past years. I am very grateful to Dian Kwan for her proofreading of the earlier drafts of individual papers. Of course, none of them bears any responsibility for the errors or shortcomings in this volume. Fu-Lai Tony Yu Professor Department of Economics and Finance Hong Kong Shue Yan University flyu@hksyu.edu New perspectives on economic development 9

7 Table of contents Preface and acknowledgments 7 Chapter 1. Economic development in Austrian economics Introduction: economic development in Austrian economics Carl Menger: uncertainty, knowledge and entrepreneurship Eugene von Bohm-Bawerk: the roundabout production process in the capitalist development Ludwig von Mises: entrepreneurship, economic calculation and the market process Friedrick A. Hayek: competition, discovery process and spontaneous growth Israel M. Kirzner: entrepreneurial discovery as the engine of economic growth Implications on constructing an Austrian model of economic development 30 References 31 Chapter 2. Bringing human agency back in: a subjectivist approach to economic development Orthodox neoclassical approaches to economic development: a critique Uncertainty, knowledge problems and entrepreneurship as the centre of economic analysis Foundations of the Austrian subjectivist approach Human action, sense-making and the formation of interpretation framework Entrepreneurial learning and the market process Trial and error elimination Competition, market selection and coordination 38 References 40 Chapter 3. The entrepreneurial process Introduction Theories of the entrepreneurial process in economics 44 New perspectives on economic development 11

8 3.3 The entrepreneurial process as a process of subjective interpretation Success or failure: profit or loss in the entrepreneurial process Summary 59 References 62 Chapter 4. National capabilities A need for a new research agenda Foundation of national capabilities Formation of agent s capabilities: experience and interpretation Capabilities to innovate From individual agent to firm capabilities Capabilities to cooperate and coordinate National capabilities and competitiveness Emergence of national capabilities: international competition, market selection and rule-following Understanding national capabilities through the subjectivist lens 72 References 78 Chapter 5. Innovation and communication Introduction The innovator in the social world Constructing the unknown future Accepting an innovation: intersubjective understanding Understanding Picasso s paintings Implications Conclusion 94 References 95 Chapter 6. Economics of international trade The foundation of neoclassical international trade theory Problems in mainstream neoclassical international trade theories Trade between two countries versus trade between two individuals from different nations Comparative advantage and subjective cost: the beaver and deer revisited Non-entrepreneurial trading system: static uncertainty and non-creativeness New perspectives on economic development

9 6.6 A new direction in international trade theory: a human agency approach To trade or not to trade, it is a subjective interpretation problem Dynamic learning, experimentation and error elimination Entrepreneurial discovery International trade, knowledge transmission and the market process Further implications 113 References 118 Chapter 7. Government as a learner Introduction The government as a national coordinator Government capabilities: resource-based and strategic planning The governmental process: an Austrian perspective Propositions regarding the public agent s action Modeling the decision-making process in the public sector The government as a learning agent: error elimination, revision of plans and policy change Conclusion 134 References 136 Chapter 8. A new perspective on transition Introduction Contributions from new institutional economics Classifying external events: the Hayekian perspective Rules and institutions: cost-saving device New opportunities, mental process and economic transition The process of transition: from perception to market selection The future of transition economies: a journey into the unknown Resistance of change during the transition period Two routes of economic reform: gradualism versus shock therapy Conclusion 153 References 154 New perspectives on economic development 13

10 Chapter 9. Entrepreneurial strategies for small firms in latecomer economies Introduction Distinctive assets of a small latecomer firm Survival strategies for a small Asian latecomer firm Strategies for growth Conclusion 168 References 169 Chapter 10. Conclusion Introduction Understanding economic development in subjectivist lens Public Choice School: understanding government in economic development New institutional economics: institution and economic development Evolutionary economics: history matters in economic development 180 References 181 Keyword index 183