Papers by Frederick G Day
International Journal of Green Economics, 2014
This paper investigates the energy investment needs of the European Union (EU), including renewab... more This paper investigates the energy investment needs of the European Union (EU), including renewable energy. Europe currently has little or no economic growth, and interest-rates are expected to rise. Given the state of many EU countries' economies, this is a good time to encourage investment because -according to Keynesian economics -extra spending can stimulate economic activity. The current economic situation limits options for many governments in EU countries, so new approaches may be required. This paper uses ideas from the European Commission, on how a 'smart' electricity grid can enable renewable energy -such as solar power. The EU Parliament could enable a market-provided solution by offering incentives to the private sector. Private investment will be encouraged if the EU gives long-term low-interest-rate loans for renewable energy generation. Also, a Europe-wide grid makes it profitable to locate solar panels in low-wage countries in southern Europe, and sell electricity in richer countries.
By means of a close reading of early 19th century economic works, and by reconstructing aspects o... more By means of a close reading of early 19th century economic works, and by reconstructing aspects of Thomas Hodgskin‘s political economy, this thesis presents an exposition of those parts of his work that contributed to his position on growth. Rather than concentrating on his ideas on capital, we have centred on his concept of political economy as a science concerned with labour as the sole creator of wealth. We present his political economy as having labour as its focal point within a hypothetical pure market economy. From here he sought a foundation to economic growth derived from human action rather than capital or other material circumstances. Hodgskin saw human knowledge and the use of technology as the starting point that would, from his perspective, lead inevitably to those economic conditions that produce improvements in economic welfare and by doing so allow for an increase in population. In order to demonstrate his ideas on growth, we reconstruct his concepts of what was nat...
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Papers by Frederick G Day