Author Archives: pseudoerasmus

About pseudoerasmus

www.pseudoerasmus.com

Where do pro-social institutions come from?

Posted on 2015-10-04 by pseudoerasmus

AKA “Cooperation, cultural evolution & economic development”. Where do ‘good’ or pro-social institutions come from? Why does the capacity for collective action and cooperative behaviour vary so much across the world today? How do some populations transcend tribalism to form a civil society? How have some societies gone beyond personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Cultural Evolution, Institutions, Political Economy, Social & Civic Capital, Social Evolution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 49 Comments

¿De donde vienen las instituciones prosociales?

Posted on 2015-10-03 by pseudoerasmus

[19 October 2015] Jesús Alfaro of the Autonomous University of Madrid has translated my previous post into Spanish: ¿De dónde vienen las instituciones prosociales?

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“Experimenting with Social Norms” in Small-Scale Societies

Posted on 2015-10-03 by pseudoerasmus

Social norms, institutions, and economic development. (A companion post to “Where do pro-social institutions come from?”)

Posted in Cultural Evolution, Economic Anthropology, Institutions, Social Evolution | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Educational Romanticism & Economic Development

Posted on 2015-06-15 by pseudoerasmus

An elaboration on Ricardo Hausmann’s article “The Education Myth” arguing that education is an overrated tool of economic development. This post also responds to a criticism of Hausmann’s views which appeared at the Spanish group blog Politikon; and also discusses whether developing … Continue reading →

Posted in economic growth, Education | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Markets & Famine: Amartya Sen is not the last word !

Posted on 2015-06-08 by pseudoerasmus

Whether markets help cause or exacerbate famines is one of the great questions of political economy. Cormac Ó Gráda’s recent book Eating People is Wrong, and Other Essays on Famine, its Past, and its Future, along with his earlier volume, Famine: A Short … Continue reading →

Posted in Famines | Tagged , , , , | 23 Comments

Anachronism & Relevance in History: a comment on Steve Pincus

Posted on 2015-05-25 by pseudoerasmus

Anachronism and relevance are in tension. Historians (often) rail against the former and (often) pine for the latter. They can easily manage a bit of relevance by intervening in today’s political and economic debates and offering ‘lessons’ from the past — but at high risk of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Did the “Invisible Blockade” against Allende’s Chile work?

Posted on 2015-05-21 by pseudoerasmus

Did an “invisible blockade” by the United States fatally undermine the Chilean economy under the presidency of Salvador Allende (1970-73)? Did it actually work? Short answer: No.

Posted in Chile, Political Economy | Tagged , , , | 16 Comments

Nazi political economy

Posted on 2015-05-06 by pseudoerasmus

My previous post about the political orientation of fascists got a response from Jonah Goldberg, the author of Liberal Fascism. This is my brief response to his.

Posted in fascism, Political Economy | Tagged , , , , , | 67 Comments

Fascism was not left-wing !!!

Posted on 2015-05-03 by pseudoerasmus

John Holbo at Crooked Timber reprises a debate which raged 7 years ago when a book called Liberal Fascism was published. His take focuses on Germany but mine puts more weight on Italy. I think the issue is kind of obvious, but it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in fascism, Political Economy | Tagged , , , , , , | 67 Comments

Errata dentata: The History Manifesto Revisited

Posted on 2015-04-13 by pseudoerasmus

This post, a follow-up to my earlier posts “La longue purée” and “Jo Guldi’s Curiouser & Curiouser Footnotes“, examines the recent revisions made to The History Manifesto. Warning: the post may be tedious. For die-hards only.

Posted in Environmental Economics, History Manifesto | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments