La critique d'ad hocité est courante en économie, mais elle reste confuse, reposant aussi bien sur des arguments d'ordre heuristique (fondements microéconomiques), que sur des arguments d'ordre empirique (ajustement d'une théorie aux faits). Si l'épistémologie d'inspiration poppérienne...

A la fin du XXème siècle, le développement économique rencontre deux limites : écologique et sociale. La problématique du développement soutenable est placée dans une alternative. D'un coté l'économie de l'environnement cherche à internaliser les externalités négatives pour élargir...

In this article, as part of the symposium on total factor productivity, Richard G. Lipsey of Simon Fraser University and Kenneth Carlaw of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand provide a trenchant critique of the concept of total factor productivity. They conclude that "the degree of...

Brief introduction to the symposium highlighting the importance of price measurement for reliable productivity estimates. Accurate price indexes are essential for reliable productivity measurement. the author points out that a one percentage point upward bias in price changes results in a one...

The aim of this article is to analyze the economic literature from the last thirty years in the field of addiction and to study its relation to the theory of rational choice (TRC). We show that the application of the TRC to addictive behaviors appeared in a context of reciprocity of stakes, i.e....

The sustainability rises the central question of political economy and its critisim again : the theory of value. Firstly, the question of the ecological sustainability through the supposed value of nature is examinated ; secondly, the question of social sustainability through the relation...

Starting from a definition of the concept of development centered on the satisfaction of the essential needs, health, education, feeding, we show that the present pattern of development, while trying to impose Western values all over the world, prevents developing countries from building their...

The measurement of productivity is a complex task. The OECD has recently released a comprehensive manual or guide to the measurement of industry-level and aggregate productivity. In the fifth article, Paul Schreyer from the OECD and the author of the OECD productivity manual provides an overview...

This article suggests a conceptual framework for analyzing the consequences of the recent prices increase on the poorest people in the world. The complexity of mechanisms at work is demonstrated. At the global level, the analysis points out that Sub Saharan Africa exhibits the worst situation...