Is Commerce Good for the Soul? An Empirical Assessment

Wright, Walker A.

doi:10.1111/ecaf.12320

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 67 publications

(67 reference statements)

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“…For a critical review of empirical literature on how markets in general, and neoliberalism in particular, relate to other crucial social issues, such as human pro-sociality (i.e. cooperation, trust, corruption), violence (both interpersonal and state-level), and various forms of discrimination, see Wright (2018), Storr andChoi (2019), andRutar (2023a).…”

Section: A Gap In the Existing Literature On Neoliberalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is neoliberalism really? A global analysis of its real-world consequences for development, inequality, and democracy

Rutar

2023

Social Science Information

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The notion that the world has been witnessing a profound neoliberal transformation since around the 1980s onward is widely accepted in many parts of social science and the humanities. Moreover, the overarching impression is that this transformation has mostly been regrettable in economic, political, and other social terms. At the same time, careful interdisciplinary research recently uncovered that neoliberalism has been notoriously hard to define. Based on that research, this article first clarifies the conceptual confusion surrounding neoliberalism and presents a broad, synthetic institutions-based working definition of it that captures its typical contemporary usages. The article then asks if a systematic empirical assessment of neoliberalism’s social impact over the past decades across the world is even possible. It suggests it is by empirically operationalizing neoliberalism in three distinct, yet potentially overlapping, ways that appear in the literature: first, as a broad set of economic institutions measured by economic freedom indexes; second, as the process of international trade liberalization (itself proxied by import shocks); and third, as shock-therapy type institutional reforms in (parts of) post-communist Europe. Synthesizing the findings of the existing vast research literature, the main conclusion of the article is that neoliberalism’s social impact has been more nuanced than suggested by prevailing discourse.

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Section: A Gap In the Existing Literature On Neoliberalismmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is neoliberalism really? A global analysis of its real-world consequences for development, inequality, and democracy

Rutar

2023

Social Science Information

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“…Other research indicates that market liberalisation is associated with less violence and corruption along with greater trust, cooperation, fairness, and protection of human rights (e.g. W. Wright, 2018): all of which can be manifestations of higher tolerance. These findings demonstrate that the liberalised market can act as “a social space where meaningful extraeconomic social relationships can be developed” (Storr, 2008, p. 138) and a form of “other‐regardingness” can emerge (Oman, 2016, p. 44).…”

Section: The Economics Of Tolerancementioning

confidence: 99%

Illiberal economic institutions and racial intolerance in the United States

Wright

2022

Economic Affairs

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This article presents the history of anti‐black racism in the United States as a case study of the interrelation between economic institutions and racial (in)tolerance. It begins by reviewing the current social science on the topic of economic systems and tolerance. It then moves from the history of slavery through Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era to the Civil Rights movement, demonstrating that government intervention in the economy helped maintain a racial hierarchy and solidify racist attitudes. The article concludes by arguing that liberal economic institutions are a means of dissolving segregated racial orders and creating more tolerant, integrated ones.

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Corporations as the Outgroup?

Murphy

2018

SSRN Journal

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Is Commerce Good for the Soul? An Empirical Assessment

Cited by 3 publications

References 67 publications

What is neoliberalism really? A global analysis of its real-world consequences for development, inequality, and democracy

What is neoliberalism really? A global analysis of its real-world consequences for development, inequality, and democracy

Illiberal economic institutions and racial intolerance in the United States

Corporations as the Outgroup?

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