Economic Theories of State or 'Economics Imperialism': Rent-Seeking Analysis as an Exemplar

‘Devlet’ ve ‘piyasa’ o kadar suistimal edilen kavramlardır ki neredeyse analitik kategoriler olarak açıklayıcı değerlerini yitirmişlerdir. Ayrıca sadece alternatif kapitalist gelişme stratejilerini değil, üzerinde hegemonya stratejilerinin geliştirildiği rakip öncülleri de sembolize etmeye başlamışlardır. Neoliberal hegemonya döneminde, ana akım iktisadın kusurlarını telafi etmek için bir ‘devlet kuramı’na gereksinim duyulduğu belirtilmiştir. Bu çalışma, etkili bir girişimin; iktisadi bir siyaset kuramı, başka bir deyişle, rant kollama analizi geliştirmenin açmazlarına odaklanmaktadır. Bu bağlamda, sözleşme ilişkilerinin tarafsız garantörü olarak devlet kavramının, bir ‘zihinsel inşa’dan daha fazlası olmadığı gerçeğini vurgulamaktadır; ki bu ‘zihinsel inşa’ ele alınan olguların açıklanmasıyla zar zor alakalı olduğu halde tikel bir modelin varsayımlarına göre işleyen ‘rasyonel iktisadi insan’a uygun koşulları sağlamada araçsaldır. Bu durum da, empirisist epistemolojilerin ve/veya bireyselci temellere dayanan kuramların sağlayamadığı şekillerde ‘kollektif eylem’i irdelemek için kavramsal kategorilere ihtiyacı belirtmektedir.

İktisadi Devlet Teorileri veya 'İkdisadın Emperyalizmi': Rant-Kollama Yaklaşımı Örneği

‘State’ and ‘market’ are concepts so grossly abused that they have almost lost their heuristic value as analytical categories. They have also come to symbolise not only alternative strategies of capitalist development, but also rival premises upon which hegemonic strategies were to be developed. In the era of neoliberal hegemony, it has been contended that a ‘theory of state’ is required so as to make up for the deficiencies of the mainstream economics. This study focuses on the antinomies of an influential attempt to develop an economic theory of politics, namely, the rent-seeking analysis. It highlights the fact that the concept of the state as a neutral guarantor of contractual relations is no more than a ‘mental construct’, hardly relevant to account for the phenomena in question, but one which would be instrumental in providing the circumstances conducive for the ‘rational economic man’ to operate according to the assumptions of a particular model. This, in turn, indicates the need for conceptual categories to come to terms with ‘collective action’ in ways in which theories premised on individualistic foundations and/or limited by empiricist epistemologies could not provide.

PDF

___

ALT, J. and SHEPSLE, K. (eds)(1990), Perspectives on Positive Political Economy, Cambridge University Press.

ARNESON, R. (1992), “Introduction” in R. Arneson, (ed) Liberalism, Vols.I-II-III, E.Elgar.

BALASSA, B. (1982), “Structural Adjustment Policies in Developing Economies” World Development, 10(1).

BARDHAN, P. (1990), “Symposium on the State and Economic Development”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 4(3).

BARKER, E. (1965), Essays on Government, Oxford University Press.

BARRY, N. (1979), Hayek’s Social and Economic Philosophy, Macmillan. ————(1987), The New Right, Croom Helm. ————(1988), The Invisible Hand in Economics and Politics, Hobart Paper, No.111, The Institute of Economic Affairs, London. ————(1989), An Introduction to Modern Political Theory, Second Edition, Macmillan.

BATES, R. (1988), “Toward a Political Economy of Development”, in R.Bates (ed), Toward a Political Economy of Development : A Rational Choice Perspective, University of California Press, Berkeley. ————(1989), Beyond the Miracle of the Market, Cambridge University Press. ————(1990), “Macropolitical Economy in the Field of Development”, in J. Alt and K.Shepsle (eds), Perspectives on Positive Political Economy, Cambridge University Press. ————(1991), “A Critique by Political Scientists” in G.Meier (ed), Politics and Policy Making in Developing Countries : Perspectives on New Political Economy, ICS Press, San Francisco.

BATES, R. and KRUEGER, A. (1993), “Generalisations from the Country Studies” in R.Bates & A.Krueger (eds), Political and Economic Interactions in Economic Policy Reform, Blackwell.

BAYSINGER, B. et al. (1980), “Mercantilism as a Rent-Seeking Society” in J.Buchanan, R.Tollison, G.Tullock (eds) Toward a Theory of Rent-Seeking Society, Texas A&M University Press.

BELLAMY, R. (1992), Liberalism and Modern Society, Polity.

BLAUG, M. (1980), The Methodology of Economics, Cambridge University Press.

BRENNER, R. (1986), The Social Basis of Economic Development” in J. Roemer (ed), Analytical Marxism, Cambridge University Press.

BROOKS, M., HEIJDRA, B. and LOWENBERG, A. (1990), “Productive and Unproductive Labor and Rent Seeking”, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, 146, 3.

BUCHANAN, J. (1979), What Should Economists Do?, Liberty Press. ————(1980), “Rent Seeking and Profit Seeking” in J.Buchanan, R.Tollison, G.Tullock (eds) Toward a Theory of Rent-Seeking Society, Texas A&M University Press. ————(1986), Liberty, Market and the State, Harvester Press. ————(1987), Economics : Between Predictive Science and Moral Philosophy, Texas A&M University Press. ————(1991), Constitutional Economics, Blackwell.

CAMPBELL, J. and LINDBERG, L. (1990), “Property Rights and the Organisation of Economic Activity by the State”, American Sociological Review, Vol.55.

CHANG, Ha-Joon (1994), The Political Economy of Industrial Policy, Macmillan. ————(2002) “Breaking the Mould : An Institutionalist Political Economy Alternative to the Neo-Liberal Theory of the Market and the State”, Cambridge Journal of Economics, Vol.26.

CHOWDHURY, A. and ISLAM, I. (1993), The Newly Industrialising Economies of East Asia, Routledge.

CLARK, J. (1990), “The History of Britain : a Composite State in a Europe de Patries?”, in J. Clark (ed). Ideas and Politics in Modern Britain, Macmillan

COLANDER, D. (1984), “Introduction” in D.Colander (ed.), Neoclassical Political Economy : The Analysis of Rent-Seeking and DUP Activities, Ballinger.

COLCLOUGH, C. (1991), “Structuralism vs. Neo-liberalism : An Introduction” in C. Colclough & J. Manor (eds), States or Markets? Neo-liberalism and the Development Policy Debate, Oxford University Press.

COLLETTI, L. (1975), “Introduction”, Early Writings Marx, Penguin.

CULLIS, J. and JONES, P. (1992), Public Finance and Public Choice, McGraw-Hill.

DE MELO, J. and ROBINSON, S. (1992), “Productivity and Externalities: Models of Export Growth”, The Journal of International Trade and Economic Development, Vol.1, No.1.

DILORENZO, T. (1988), “Property Rights, Information Costs and the Economics of Rent Seeking”, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol.144, No.2.

DOBB, M. (1973), Theories of Value and Distribution since Adam Smith, Cambridge University Press.

DORNBUSCH, R. (1990), “Policies to Move from Stabilisation to Growth”, Proceedings of the World Bank Annual Conference on Development Economics, Supplement to The World Bank Economic Review.

DOWDING, K. (1991), Rational Choice and Political Power, E.Elgar.

DYSON, K. (1980), The State Tradition in Western Europe, Martin Robertson.

EGGERTSSON, T. (1990), Economic Behavior and Institutions, Cambridge University Press.

KRUEGER, A. (1993), Political Economy of Policy Reform in Developing Countries, MIT Press.

KRUEGER, A. and TUNCER, B. (1980), “Estimating Total Factor Productivity Growth in a Developing Country”, World Bank Staff Working Paper 422.

LAL, D. (1983), The Poverty of ‘Development Economics’, The Institute of Economic Affairs, London. ————(1987), “The Political Economy of Economic Liberalisation”, World Bank Economic Review, 1(2).

LATSIS, S. (1976), “A Research Programme in Economics” in S. Latsis (ed), Method and Appraisal in Economics, Cambridge University Press.

LEIJONHUFVUD, A. (1976), “Schools, ‘Revolutions’, and Research Programmes in Economic Theory” in S.Latsis (ed), Method and Appraisal in Economics, Cambridge University Press.

LEVACIC, R. (1990), “Public Choice : The Economics of Politics” in J.Shackleton (ed), New Thinking in Economics, Edward Elgar.

LETWIN, S. (1992), The Anatomy of Thatcherism, Fontana.

LEVI, M. (1988), Of Rule and Revenue, University of California Press.

MACPHERSON, C.B. (1961), The Political Theory of Possessive Individualism, Oxford University Press.

MARCUSE, H. (1955), Reason and Revolution, RKP.

NAQVI, S. (1993), Development Economics : A New Paradigm, Sage.

NELSON, J. (1989), “The Politics of Long-Haul Economic Reform” in J. Nelson et al. Fragile Coalitions : The Politics of Economic Adjustment, Overseas Development Council, Washington, D.C.

NORTH, D. (1984), “Three Approaches to the Study of Institutions”, in D.Colander (ed). Neoclassical Political Economy : The Analysis of Rent-Seeking and DUP Activities, Ballinger.

NORTH, D. (1990a), Institutions, Institutional Change and Economic Performance, Cambridge University Press. ————(1990b), “Institutions and A Transaction-Cost Theory of Exchange”, in J.Alt and K.Shepsle (eds) Perspectives on Positive Political Economy, Cambridge University Press.

OAKESHOTT, M. (1975a), On Human Conduct, Oxford University Press. ————(1975b), Hobbes on Civil Association, Blackwell.

O’DRISCOLL, G. and RIZZO, M. (1985), The Economics of Time and Ignorance, Blackwell.

ÖZBIDECILER, U. (2003): Social Market Economy: An Inquiry into the Theoretical Bases of German Model of German Capitalism, unpublished MSc.dissertation, METU, Department of European Studies.

PEACOCK, A. et al. (1984), The Regulation Game, Blackwell.

PERKINS, D. (1991), “Economic Systems Reform in Developing Countries” in D.Perkins and M.Roemer (eds) Reforming Economic Systems in Developing Countries, Harvard Institute for International Development.

POLANYI, K. (1944), The Great Transformation, Beacon Press.

RICKETTS, M. (1987), “Rent Seeking, Entrepreneurship, Subjectivism and Property Rights”, Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics, Vol.143, No.3.

RODRIK, D. et al. (2005), “Growth Diagnostics”, http://ksghome.harvard.edu/ ~drodrik/

SAMUELS, W. and MERCURO, N. (1984), “A Critique of Rent-Seeking Theory” in D.Colander(ed.), Neoclassical Political Economy : The Analysis of Rent-Seeking and DUP Activities, Ballinger.

SAYER, D. (1987): The Violence of Abstraction : The Analytic Foundations of Historical Materialism, Blackwell.

SHAPIRO, H. and Taylor, L. (1990), “The State and Industrial Strategy”, World Development, 18(6).

SRINIVASAN, T. N. (1985), “Neoclassical Political Economy, the State and Economic Development”, Asian Development Review, 3(2).

STIGLITZ, J. (1989), “Rational Peasants, Efficient Institutions, and a Theory of Rural Organisatons : Methodological Remarks for Development Economics”, in P.Bardhan (ed), The Economic Theory of Agrarian Institutions, Oxford University Press.

STIGLITZ, J. et al. (1989), The Economic Role of the State, Blackwell.

STIGLITZ, J. (1993), “Post Walrasian and Post Marxian Economics”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7(1).

SUGDEN, R. (1989), “Spontaneous Order”, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 3(4).

TAYLOR, L. (1993), “The Rocky Road to Reform” in L.Taylor (ed), The Rocky Road to Reform, MIT Press.

TULLOCK, G. (1980), “Rent Seeking as a Negative Sum Game” in J.Buchanan, R.Tollison, G.Tullock (eds) Toward a Theory of Rent-Seeking Society, Texas A&M University Press.

VON MISES, L. (1960), Epistemological Problems of Economics, Van Nostrand Company, New Jersey.

WADE, R. (1990), Governing the Market, Princeton University Press. ————(1992), “Review Article : East Asia’s Economic Success Conflicting Perspectives, Partial Insights, Shaky Evidence”, World Politics, 44(2).

WALDRON, J. (1990), The Right to Private Property, Oxford University Press.

WATERBURY, J. (1989), “The Political Management of Economic Adjustment and Reform” in J. Nelson et al. Fragile Coalitions : The Politics of Economic Adjustment, Overseas Development Council, Washington, D.C.

WATERBURY, J. (1992), “The Heart of the Matter ? Public Enterprise and the Adjustment Process”, in S.Haggard & R.Kaufman (eds), The Politics of Economic Adjustment, Princeton University Press. ————(1993), Exposed to Innumerable Delusions, Cambridge University Press.

WEINTRAUB, E.R. (1988), “The Neo-Walrasian Program is Empirically Progressive” in N. de Marchi (ed), The Popperian Legacy in Economics, Cambridge University Press.

WHYNES, D. and BOWLES, R. (1981), The Economic Theory of the State, Martin Robertson.

WILLIAMSON, J. (1990), “What Washington Means by Policy Reform” in J.Williamson (ed), Latin American Adjustment : How much has happened? Institute for International Economics, Washington. ————(1993), “In Search of a Manual for Technopols” in J.Williamson (ed), The Political Economy of Policy Reform, Institute for International Economics, Washington.

WOOD, E.M. (1991), The Pristine Culture of Capitalism, Verso. ————(1995), Democracy Against Capitalism, Cambridge University Press.

WORLD BANK (1983), World Development Report. ————(1987), World Development Report. ————(1990), Adjustment Lending Policies for Sustainable Growth, Policy and Research Series, 14.————(1997), World Development Report.