Conference: Economics Beyond Neoclassical Limits-Blackstone, VA, June 2002

Virginia Polytechnic Institute And State University, Blacksburg VA

Investigators

Abstract

Traditionally, Comparative Advantage had been the foundational logic that best frames the understanding of trade. A second alternative, that focuses on the Advantages of Specialization, offers an argument for the opening of markets that commands relatively more public support. Neoclassical economics was derived on the basis of comparative advantage because it allowed for constant returns postulate, without which a competitive economy seemed impossible. Only in the 1980's and 1990's, attention was directed to Adam Smith's emphasis on specialization and the size of the market. Modern analyses, not only demonstrates compatibility with competitive organization, but also identify sources of endogenous growth. These modern developments have been systematically presented in Xiaokai Yang's treatise, Economics: New Classical versus Neoclassical Framework (Blackwell, 2001). The purpose of the workshop is to stimulate examination of this emerging research program, which young scientists will not have encountered in their textbooks or in orthodox training. The workshop will expose them to Professor Yang, and to a critical evaluation of his treatise, in the expectation that they will, themselves, shift some of their interests to "generalized increasing returns" and its implications.