Papers by Yanis Varoufakis
Science & Society, 2008
ABSTRACT: Evolutionary game theory has recently furnished some exciting theoretical and experimen... more ABSTRACT: Evolutionary game theory has recently furnished some exciting theoretical and experimental insights regarding the birth of social power and discrimination. But can this type of theory illuminate the history and nature of capitalism? The an-swer turns out to be negative: evolutionary ...
Erkenntnis, 1993
ABSTRACT. Equilibrium game theory borrows from neoclassical economics its rational-ity concept wh... more ABSTRACT. Equilibrium game theory borrows from neoclassical economics its rational-ity concept which it immediately puts to work in order to produce the basic results it needs for building an elaborate narrative of social interaction. This paper focuses on some recent objections to ...
Notes on dcoumenta14's arrival in Athens in 2017.
Australian Economic Papers, 1989
The Industrial Relations Act (1991) of New South Wales features an addendum (Chapter 6) which has... more The Industrial Relations Act (1991) of New South Wales features an addendum (Chapter 6) which has recently been the subject of a wide ranging review. Chapter 6 provides for regulation of contract rates for those owner-drivers who have an exclusive contract with a particular company. The objective of such regulation is to guarantee a minimum return to the owner-drivers' labour input reflecting the award rates for employee-drivers. In May 1993 we were commissioned by the Transport Workers Union to provide an economic assessment of Chapter 6. In this paper we make the following suggestions: that the degree of transferability of property rights over the means of production ought to be an important determinant of the scope of industrial relations legislation.
This paper offers a precise definition of neoclassical economics based on three axioms which lie ... more This paper offers a precise definition of neoclassical economics based on three axioms which lie at the latter's foundations. This definition is all inclusive in that it applies as much to the neoclassical economic models of the late 19 th century as it does to today's more flexible and 'inclusive' models. The paper argues that these axioms, simultaneously, (a) provide the foundation for neoclassicism's discursive success within the social sciences and (b) are the deep cause of its theoretical failure. Moreover, (a) and (b) reinforce one another as neoclassicism's discursive power (which is largely due to the hidden nature of its three foundational axioms) makes it even less likely that it will conduct an open, pluralist debate on its theoretical foundations (i.e. the three axioms which underpin it).
This paper argues in favour of introducing solidarity into economics as a new analytical category... more This paper argues in favour of introducing solidarity into economics as a new analytical category of human motivation which encompasses all forms of other-regarding behaviour (e.g. utilitarian altruism, evolved natural sympathy, Kantian imperatives) but which, additionally, can be refined so as to account for moves and motives which existing categories fail to envelop.
Panoeconomicus, 2006
In recent decades the alliance of neoclassical economics and neoliberalism has hijacked the term ... more In recent decades the alliance of neoclassical economics and neoliberalism has hijacked the term "economic reform". By presenting political choices as market necessities, they have subverted public debate about what economic policy changes are possible and are or are not desirable. This venue promotes discussion of economic reform that is not limited to the one ideological point of view.
Erkenntnis, 2003
Many types of `other-regarding' acts and beliefs cannotbe accounted for satisfactorilyas instance... more Many types of `other-regarding' acts and beliefs cannotbe accounted for satisfactorilyas instances of sophisticated selfishness, altruism,team-reasoning, Kantian duty, kinselection etc. This paper argues in favour ofre-inventing the notion of solidarity as ananalytical category capable of shedding importantnew light on hitherto under-explainedaspects of human motivation. Unlike altruism andnatural sympathy (which turn theinterests of specific others into one's own), orteam-reasoning (which applies exclusivelyto members of some team), or Kantian duty (whichdemands universalisable principlesof action), the essence of solidarity lies in thehypothesis that people are capable ofresponding sympathetically to (or empathising with)a condition afflicting ‘others’,irrespectively of who those others are or whetherone cares for them personally. Andwhen that condition is a social artefact, we argue,solidarity turns radical.
Throughout Europe shoppers pay at the supermarket counter for food which they then proceed to dep... more Throughout Europe shoppers pay at the supermarket counter for food which they then proceed to deposit in 'solidarity bins' destined to be sent to Albania or Kurdistan. Workers the world over go on strike in support of dismissed colleagues, even though some of them are not ...
In an earlier paper (Arnsperger and Varoufakis, 1999) we proposed solidatiry as an umbrella conce... more In an earlier paper (Arnsperger and Varoufakis, 1999) we proposed solidatiry as an umbrella concept encompassing acts (or inclinations to perform them) motivated by a felling that some group (e.g. refugees) is entitled to our support independantly (a) of our sympathy (or lack therof) for its members as individuals, or (b) of any expectations (others' or, indeed, our own) regarding
By Y. Varoufakis and Hargreaves-Heap, S.; The Simultaneous Evolution of Social Roles and Cooperat... more By Y. Varoufakis and Hargreaves-Heap, S.; The Simultaneous Evolution of Social Roles and Cooperation: Some Experiemtal Evidence.
By Hargreaves-Heap, S. and Y. Varoufakis; MULTIPLE REPUTATIONS IN FINITELY REPEATED GAMES.
Economic Journal, 2002
When two people agree to trade, they unlock a mutual benefit, resolve a potential conflict and ga... more When two people agree to trade, they unlock a mutual benefit, resolve a potential conflict and gain in proportion to their relative 'aggression', eg the Hawk-Dove game. In an experiment with this game, a discriminatory convention evolved when half of the players were randomly assigned a red and the other half a blue label. Later, the same players were also offered the option of co-operating. Those disadvantaged by the colour-based discriminatory convention cooperated with one another most of the time while the rest did not. The paper offers an explanation of these observations based on a modification of Rabin (1993).
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Papers by Yanis Varoufakis