Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical ... more Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical fields), journal articles, book chapters and books, conference presentations, government reports, etc. – are distilled here. Papers are often sent to me for “language correction”, but what I usually find is that, far more than that, what they most need is major work on organization, writing, and formatting (including presentation of tables and figures). Even good writers can improve their writing by paying attention to the points herein, I believe. Of course digging deeply into issues of organization, writing, and even formatting improves readability (and thus the probability of being published, read, and cited), but it can also help to improve the quality of the thinking, i.e., the content of the paper. I first review the standard organization of most empirical papers in economics, with suggestions for improvement (including a brief discussion of some issues in reporting of statistical ...
The three “spheres ” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged y... more The three “spheres ” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged yet the overall organization is analyzed only rarely, and interactions between the spheres have perhaps never been modeled. Fiske’s four relational models (community-sharing, authority-ranking, equality-matching, and market-pricing) are used as the theoretical underpinning for a model of these three spheres, which is then used briefly to examine the effects of economic behavior (including economic thinking and theorizing) in determining the balance between them. Each of the spheres is assumed to have a fairly fixed core, plus some space between the cores which may be designated to one or another sphere. In the long run, this designation may reflect meta-economic efficiency, influenced by changes in physical, social, psychological, and information-technology. In the short run, however, the outcome depends on human choice and will, in evaluating uncertain information about technologies and ...
Paper 1: Should Deliveries of Used Clothes to LDCs Be Supported? This is the journal version of a... more Paper 1: Should Deliveries of Used Clothes to LDCs Be Supported? This is the journal version of a study of the worldwide used-clothes trade – with focus on Sweden’s participation in it – undertaken for Sida (the Swedish foreign aid agency). We looked at both theoretical and empirical effects of the commercial used-clothes trade, and at the effects of subsidizing it. We basically concluded that, while markets work, there was no need to subsidize them under normal conditions because – even given the goal of helping the poor – there might well be better uses of the money. There might be an argument for subsidized used-clothes exports in dealing with an emergency where supply had broken down, but even then most NGOs prefer to supply new clothes. Paper 2: A Model of Dynamic Balance Among the Three Spheres of Society – Markets, Governments, and Communities – Applied to Understanding the Relative Importance of Social Capital and Social Goods This paper revisits old questions of the proper ...
The three “spheres” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged ye... more The three “spheres” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged yet the overall organization is analyzed only rarely, and interactions between the spheres have perhaps never been modeled. Fiske’s four relational models (community-sharing, authority-ranking, equality-matching, and marketpricing) are used as the theoretical underpinning for a model of these three spheres, which is then used briefly to examine the effects of economic behavior (including economic thinking and theorizing) in determining the balance between them. Each of the spheres is assumed to have a fairly fixed core, plus some space between the cores which may be designated to one or another sphere. In the long run, this designation may reflect meta-economic efficiency, influenced by changes in physical, social, psychological, and information technology. In the short run, however, the outcome depends on human choice and will, in evaluating uncertain information about technologies and th...
Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical ... more Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical fields), journal articles, book chapters and books, conference presentations, government reports, etc. – are distilled here. Papers are often sent to me for “language correction”, but what I usually find is that, far more than that, what they most need is major work on organization, writing, and formatting (including presentation of tables and figures). Even good writers can improve their writing by paying attention to the points herein, I believe. Of course digging deeply into issues of organization, writing, and even formatting improves readability (and thus the probability of being published, read, and cited), but it can also help to improve the quality of the thinking, i.e., the content of the paper. I first review the standard organization of most empirical papers in economics, with suggestions for improvement (including a brief discussion of some issues in reporting of statistical ...
Should Swedish used-clothes exports continue to be subsidized as development aid? Theoretical ana... more Should Swedish used-clothes exports continue to be subsidized as development aid? Theoretical analysis and review of empirical evidence regarding effects of both commercial and charitable (subsidized) used-clothes imports in LDCs. Includes statistics on the world used-clothes trade, including 127 gross used-clothes- exporting countries and 181 importing countries in 1990 (with values, weights, average prices, and weights-per-capita), and some specifics of U.S. and Swedish imports and exports. Discussion of images of the trade in labor and popular media; trends in national trade policies and practices; NGO attitudes and involvement; similar issues with food aid; and excerpts regarding the trade in 18th century Britain. Conclusion: Greater benefits are possible for poor people with a more imaginative approach. Poor people who need clothes need many things. Used clothes can be sold and the proceeds used, along with erstwhile subsidy funds, for income-generating projects. A possible exc...
Presented at the 2004 Joint Conference Private Powers and Public Domains Redefining Relations Among States Markets and Societies of the Society For the Advancement of Socio Economics and the Communitarian Summit Washington D C Usa, 2004
Worldwide textile and clothing trade, including Third World exports 1 Worldwide gross and net use... more Worldwide textile and clothing trade, including Third World exports 1 Worldwide gross and net used-clothes exports, 1984-'93 2 Twenty-four net used-clothes exporting countries, 1984-'93 3 Gross exports of 127 countries or trading territories in 1990 4 Commercial used-clothes exporters: the "rag merchants" 5 Charitable used-clothes (and other) exports 7 Sweden's used-clothes collections, exports, and imports 8 Summary and conclusions &KDSWHU 8VHG&ORWKHV ,PSRUWV Ninety net used-clothes importing countries, 1984-'93 Gross imports of 181 countries or trading territories in 1990 Distribution of used clothes in Rwanda Distribution of used clothes in Zambia Summary and conclusions &KDSWHU 7KH *HQHUDO &RQWH[W RI WKH 8VHG&ORWKHV 7UDGH Popular images: producer organizations, labor unions, and the mass media A possibly more balanced, African media view National government used-clothes trade policies and practices Summary and conclusions &KDSWHU 1*2 $WWLWXGHV DQG ,QYROYHPHQW LQ WKH 8VHG&ORWKHV 7UDGH The naked truth (1988): PS and UFF used-clothes exports to Mozambique Another slightly out-of-date example: the Swedish Red Cross (1992) Combining commercial used-clothes sales with development projects (UFF) Non-Swedish and international NGO attitudes towards used-clothes exports Commercial "for-profit" involvement in used-clothes collection and distribution
Fifteen years of copy-editing experience -with theses (both in economics and in several medical f... more Fifteen years of copy-editing experience -with theses (both in economics and in several medical fields), journal articles, book chapters and books, conference presentations, government reports, etc. -are distilled here. Papers are often sent to me for "language correction", but what I usually find is that, far more than that, what they most need is major work on organization, writing, and formatting (including presentation of tables and figures). Even good writers can improve their writing by paying attention to the points herein, I believe. Of course digging deeply into issues of organization, writing, and even formatting improves readability (and thus the probability of being published, read, and cited), but it can also help to improve the quality of the thinking, i.e., the content of the paper. I first review the standard organization of most empirical papers in economics, with suggestions for improvement (including a brief discussion of some issues in reporting of statistical and econometric results). Then I discuss many points of good (and bad) writing (including sections on The Language of Economists and on Overused/Misused Words) as well as points of formatting (including many choices, where -even more than in writing -consistency is the most important rule). Throughout, some differences between Swedish and English practice are discussed, as well as some between American and British practice.
ABSTRACT Used clothes have to go somewhere, and commercial used clothes exports from industrial c... more ABSTRACT Used clothes have to go somewhere, and commercial used clothes exports from industrial countries to LDCs have been growing rapidly, leading to public alarm. Used clothes have also been used as a form of commodity aid, similar to food aid. But used clothes are quite different from food, and deserve separate study. Both theoretical and empirical effects of commercial used clothes imports are examined, with somewhat ambiguous results: empirical studies show generally positive effects, while theory raises the possibility of significant damage. Subsidized deliveries targeted to those too poor to enter the market might reduce the risk of damage, but are more subject to neglect, theft and corruption. In addition, the cost of subsidies is generally greater than the welfare gain, and the cost of well-targeted subsidies would be greater still. The exception is catastrophe aid, in which supply would not exist without subsidized delivery.
The three "spheres" of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged ye... more The three "spheres" of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged yet the overall organization is analyzed only rarely, and interactions between the spheres have perhaps never been modeled. Fiske's four relational models (community-sharing, authority-ranking, equality-matching, and marketpricing) are used as the theoretical underpinning for a model of these three spheres, which is then used briefly to examine the effects of economic behavior (including economic thinking and theorizing) in determining the balance between them. Each of the spheres is assumed to have a fairly fixed core, plus some space between the cores which may be designated to one or another sphere. In the long run, this designation may reflect meta-economic efficiency, influenced by changes in physical, social, psychological, and information-technology. In the short run, however, the outcome depends on human choice and will, in evaluating uncertain information about technologies and the meta-economic efficiency of changing sphereassignments (including possible changing cultural and historical differences in the relative evaluation of public, private, and social goods produced in the three spheres). It can thus be influenced by ideology, specifically through the application of inappropriate relational models to any particular social function or situation. For example, applying economic thinking to communities may undermine them, especially if the social sphere of communities operating under its own relational models is not acknowledged.
This paper revisits old questions of the proper subject and bounds of economics: Does economics s... more This paper revisits old questions of the proper subject and bounds of economics: Does economics study "provisioning"? or markets? or a method of reasoning, selfinterested rational optimization? A variety of scholars and others in many fields make use of a taxonomy of society consisting of three "spheres": markets, governments, and communities. It is argued here that this tripartite taxonomy of society is fundamental and exhaustive. A variety of ways of understanding this taxonomy are explored, especially Fiske's (1991, 2004) Relational Models theory. Then-after communities and their products, social goods, are defined more thoroughly-a visual model of interactions among the three spheres is presented. The model is first used briefly to understand the historical development of markets. The model is then applied to understanding how economic thinking and market ideology, including the notion of social capital, can be destructive of communities and their production of social goods (and their production of social capital as well). It's not possible to measure these effects monetarily, so calculating precisely "how this affects results" in a standard economic model is impossible. Nevertheless we could better prepare students for real-world analysis, and better serve our clients, including the public, ifwhenever relevant, such as in textbook introductions and in benefit/cost analyseswe made them aware of the limitations of economic analysis with respect to communities and social goods. The three-spheres model offered here, based on Fiske's Relational Models theory, facilitates this awareness.
Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical ... more Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical fields), journal articles, book chapters and books, conference presentations, government reports, etc. – are distilled here. Papers are often sent to me for “language correction”, but what I usually find is that, far more than that, what they most need is major work on organization, writing, and formatting (including presentation of tables and figures). Even good writers can improve their writing by paying attention to the points herein, I believe. Of course digging deeply into issues of organization, writing, and even formatting improves readability (and thus the probability of being published, read, and cited), but it can also help to improve the quality of the thinking, i.e., the content of the paper. I first review the standard organization of most empirical papers in economics, with suggestions for improvement (including a brief discussion of some issues in reporting of statistical ...
The three “spheres ” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged y... more The three “spheres ” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged yet the overall organization is analyzed only rarely, and interactions between the spheres have perhaps never been modeled. Fiske’s four relational models (community-sharing, authority-ranking, equality-matching, and market-pricing) are used as the theoretical underpinning for a model of these three spheres, which is then used briefly to examine the effects of economic behavior (including economic thinking and theorizing) in determining the balance between them. Each of the spheres is assumed to have a fairly fixed core, plus some space between the cores which may be designated to one or another sphere. In the long run, this designation may reflect meta-economic efficiency, influenced by changes in physical, social, psychological, and information-technology. In the short run, however, the outcome depends on human choice and will, in evaluating uncertain information about technologies and ...
Paper 1: Should Deliveries of Used Clothes to LDCs Be Supported? This is the journal version of a... more Paper 1: Should Deliveries of Used Clothes to LDCs Be Supported? This is the journal version of a study of the worldwide used-clothes trade – with focus on Sweden’s participation in it – undertaken for Sida (the Swedish foreign aid agency). We looked at both theoretical and empirical effects of the commercial used-clothes trade, and at the effects of subsidizing it. We basically concluded that, while markets work, there was no need to subsidize them under normal conditions because – even given the goal of helping the poor – there might well be better uses of the money. There might be an argument for subsidized used-clothes exports in dealing with an emergency where supply had broken down, but even then most NGOs prefer to supply new clothes. Paper 2: A Model of Dynamic Balance Among the Three Spheres of Society – Markets, Governments, and Communities – Applied to Understanding the Relative Importance of Social Capital and Social Goods This paper revisits old questions of the proper ...
The three “spheres” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged ye... more The three “spheres” of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged yet the overall organization is analyzed only rarely, and interactions between the spheres have perhaps never been modeled. Fiske’s four relational models (community-sharing, authority-ranking, equality-matching, and marketpricing) are used as the theoretical underpinning for a model of these three spheres, which is then used briefly to examine the effects of economic behavior (including economic thinking and theorizing) in determining the balance between them. Each of the spheres is assumed to have a fairly fixed core, plus some space between the cores which may be designated to one or another sphere. In the long run, this designation may reflect meta-economic efficiency, influenced by changes in physical, social, psychological, and information technology. In the short run, however, the outcome depends on human choice and will, in evaluating uncertain information about technologies and th...
Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical ... more Fifteen years of copy-editing experience – with theses (both in economics and in several medical fields), journal articles, book chapters and books, conference presentations, government reports, etc. – are distilled here. Papers are often sent to me for “language correction”, but what I usually find is that, far more than that, what they most need is major work on organization, writing, and formatting (including presentation of tables and figures). Even good writers can improve their writing by paying attention to the points herein, I believe. Of course digging deeply into issues of organization, writing, and even formatting improves readability (and thus the probability of being published, read, and cited), but it can also help to improve the quality of the thinking, i.e., the content of the paper. I first review the standard organization of most empirical papers in economics, with suggestions for improvement (including a brief discussion of some issues in reporting of statistical ...
Should Swedish used-clothes exports continue to be subsidized as development aid? Theoretical ana... more Should Swedish used-clothes exports continue to be subsidized as development aid? Theoretical analysis and review of empirical evidence regarding effects of both commercial and charitable (subsidized) used-clothes imports in LDCs. Includes statistics on the world used-clothes trade, including 127 gross used-clothes- exporting countries and 181 importing countries in 1990 (with values, weights, average prices, and weights-per-capita), and some specifics of U.S. and Swedish imports and exports. Discussion of images of the trade in labor and popular media; trends in national trade policies and practices; NGO attitudes and involvement; similar issues with food aid; and excerpts regarding the trade in 18th century Britain. Conclusion: Greater benefits are possible for poor people with a more imaginative approach. Poor people who need clothes need many things. Used clothes can be sold and the proceeds used, along with erstwhile subsidy funds, for income-generating projects. A possible exc...
Presented at the 2004 Joint Conference Private Powers and Public Domains Redefining Relations Among States Markets and Societies of the Society For the Advancement of Socio Economics and the Communitarian Summit Washington D C Usa, 2004
Worldwide textile and clothing trade, including Third World exports 1 Worldwide gross and net use... more Worldwide textile and clothing trade, including Third World exports 1 Worldwide gross and net used-clothes exports, 1984-'93 2 Twenty-four net used-clothes exporting countries, 1984-'93 3 Gross exports of 127 countries or trading territories in 1990 4 Commercial used-clothes exporters: the "rag merchants" 5 Charitable used-clothes (and other) exports 7 Sweden's used-clothes collections, exports, and imports 8 Summary and conclusions &KDSWHU 8VHG&ORWKHV ,PSRUWV Ninety net used-clothes importing countries, 1984-'93 Gross imports of 181 countries or trading territories in 1990 Distribution of used clothes in Rwanda Distribution of used clothes in Zambia Summary and conclusions &KDSWHU 7KH *HQHUDO &RQWH[W RI WKH 8VHG&ORWKHV 7UDGH Popular images: producer organizations, labor unions, and the mass media A possibly more balanced, African media view National government used-clothes trade policies and practices Summary and conclusions &KDSWHU 1*2 $WWLWXGHV DQG ,QYROYHPHQW LQ WKH 8VHG&ORWKHV 7UDGH The naked truth (1988): PS and UFF used-clothes exports to Mozambique Another slightly out-of-date example: the Swedish Red Cross (1992) Combining commercial used-clothes sales with development projects (UFF) Non-Swedish and international NGO attitudes towards used-clothes exports Commercial "for-profit" involvement in used-clothes collection and distribution
Fifteen years of copy-editing experience -with theses (both in economics and in several medical f... more Fifteen years of copy-editing experience -with theses (both in economics and in several medical fields), journal articles, book chapters and books, conference presentations, government reports, etc. -are distilled here. Papers are often sent to me for "language correction", but what I usually find is that, far more than that, what they most need is major work on organization, writing, and formatting (including presentation of tables and figures). Even good writers can improve their writing by paying attention to the points herein, I believe. Of course digging deeply into issues of organization, writing, and even formatting improves readability (and thus the probability of being published, read, and cited), but it can also help to improve the quality of the thinking, i.e., the content of the paper. I first review the standard organization of most empirical papers in economics, with suggestions for improvement (including a brief discussion of some issues in reporting of statistical and econometric results). Then I discuss many points of good (and bad) writing (including sections on The Language of Economists and on Overused/Misused Words) as well as points of formatting (including many choices, where -even more than in writing -consistency is the most important rule). Throughout, some differences between Swedish and English practice are discussed, as well as some between American and British practice.
ABSTRACT Used clothes have to go somewhere, and commercial used clothes exports from industrial c... more ABSTRACT Used clothes have to go somewhere, and commercial used clothes exports from industrial countries to LDCs have been growing rapidly, leading to public alarm. Used clothes have also been used as a form of commodity aid, similar to food aid. But used clothes are quite different from food, and deserve separate study. Both theoretical and empirical effects of commercial used clothes imports are examined, with somewhat ambiguous results: empirical studies show generally positive effects, while theory raises the possibility of significant damage. Subsidized deliveries targeted to those too poor to enter the market might reduce the risk of damage, but are more subject to neglect, theft and corruption. In addition, the cost of subsidies is generally greater than the welfare gain, and the cost of well-targeted subsidies would be greater still. The exception is catastrophe aid, in which supply would not exist without subsidized delivery.
The three "spheres" of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged ye... more The three "spheres" of society (governments, markets, and communities) are widely acknowledged yet the overall organization is analyzed only rarely, and interactions between the spheres have perhaps never been modeled. Fiske's four relational models (community-sharing, authority-ranking, equality-matching, and marketpricing) are used as the theoretical underpinning for a model of these three spheres, which is then used briefly to examine the effects of economic behavior (including economic thinking and theorizing) in determining the balance between them. Each of the spheres is assumed to have a fairly fixed core, plus some space between the cores which may be designated to one or another sphere. In the long run, this designation may reflect meta-economic efficiency, influenced by changes in physical, social, psychological, and information-technology. In the short run, however, the outcome depends on human choice and will, in evaluating uncertain information about technologies and the meta-economic efficiency of changing sphereassignments (including possible changing cultural and historical differences in the relative evaluation of public, private, and social goods produced in the three spheres). It can thus be influenced by ideology, specifically through the application of inappropriate relational models to any particular social function or situation. For example, applying economic thinking to communities may undermine them, especially if the social sphere of communities operating under its own relational models is not acknowledged.
This paper revisits old questions of the proper subject and bounds of economics: Does economics s... more This paper revisits old questions of the proper subject and bounds of economics: Does economics study "provisioning"? or markets? or a method of reasoning, selfinterested rational optimization? A variety of scholars and others in many fields make use of a taxonomy of society consisting of three "spheres": markets, governments, and communities. It is argued here that this tripartite taxonomy of society is fundamental and exhaustive. A variety of ways of understanding this taxonomy are explored, especially Fiske's (1991, 2004) Relational Models theory. Then-after communities and their products, social goods, are defined more thoroughly-a visual model of interactions among the three spheres is presented. The model is first used briefly to understand the historical development of markets. The model is then applied to understanding how economic thinking and market ideology, including the notion of social capital, can be destructive of communities and their production of social goods (and their production of social capital as well). It's not possible to measure these effects monetarily, so calculating precisely "how this affects results" in a standard economic model is impossible. Nevertheless we could better prepare students for real-world analysis, and better serve our clients, including the public, ifwhenever relevant, such as in textbook introductions and in benefit/cost analyseswe made them aware of the limitations of economic analysis with respect to communities and social goods. The three-spheres model offered here, based on Fiske's Relational Models theory, facilitates this awareness.
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