Indivisibilities are at the core of economic theory as rarely individuals can or want to limitlessly divide goods, inputs and activities, as well as related economic phenomena such as economies of scale, externalities and public goods. Indivisibilities help in explaining conflicts over social...

Drawing on actual reinterpretation of Mauss’s classical essay on “the Gift”, the authors examine four ideal-typical forms of gift which recur in the anthropologic literature, and theoretically analyze them under relevant contemporary phenomena. Kula - as reciprocity gift-, Potlach – as...

In questa nota si discutono le recenti ricerche quantitative sulla storia economica italiana post-unitaria. Si valutano, sulla base di tali ricerche, alcuni recenti contributi alla letteratura sul dualismo tra Nord e Sud d’Italia. Infine si propongono due schemi teorici, basati su categorie...

In this paper we intend to rethink and to reinforce the arguments of the authors who critique the mainstream economic theories and the rational choice theory. We start asserting that a fundamental anthropological condition of the choice is the incomparability of many alternatives and that in...

Traditions of studies dating back to Marshall, Porter and Krugman interpreted Local socio-economic systems (LSS) mainly considering the spatial proximity of the actors. It was the local anchorage that enabled an increase in specific forms of external economies, competitive advantages and...

Without the passions there would be little reason to act at all. Nevertheless, in standard economic models human action is driven solely by self-interest: the passions are supposed to interfere with our ability to form rational beliefs and to make rational choices. In fact, any action originated...

According to Plato, thymòs – a notion denoting the human need for recognition – triggers off the most powerful and overwhelming human passions. Indeed, any action originated and nurtured by thymòtic passions places its own raison d’être in itself. The acts motivated by thymòs can...

This article discusses Alvin Roth’s research about moneyless markets, and in particular about the manner in which kidneys are allocated to patients needing transplants. As Titmuss pointed out for blood transfusions, providing monetary incentives to blood donors may crowd out supply, since...

In questo saggio intendiamo discutere la questione del tempo libero nel capitalismo alla luce della problematica della liberazione dal e del lavoro (par. 1). Nel far ciò, dopo aver criticato la concezione dell’essere umano propria della scienza economica, proporremo l’abbozzo di una...

The main objective of this paper is to discuss the role of evaluative incompleteness in the work of Amartya Sen. In section 2, we consider Sen’s distinction between optimising or perfect choices and maximising or acceptable choices, showing it is based on a restrictive interpretation of...