Nikos Astroulakis | Hellenic Open University (original) (raw)

Papers by Nikos Astroulakis

For many political scientists, homelessness is usually confronted as a social policy problem with... more For many political scientists, homelessness is usually confronted as a social policy problem within the limits of the existing welfare state; they do not care so much for the running economic system. From the angle of neoclassical economics, homelessness is commonly seen as a «byproduct» of the market failures without taking seriously in account the structure and the magnitude of the welfare state. In the mainstream perceptions, homelessness is primarily related with the meaning of vulnerability. Therefore, social policies against homelessness mainly focus on the vulnerable individuals or group of individuals. At least in the last decades, the tendency of researching homelessness is attracted by individualistic approaches in, a more or less, a supposedly neutral social-economic environment. In methodological terms, the manner of approaching homelessness in lines with several mainstream political scientists and economists can be found in the principles of methodological individualism. This leads to narrow explanations on homelessness as an individualistic, a microeconomic and micro-social issue, and a particular settings of policy targets and policy implications within a social policies lattice, commonly called as social safety net. For this study homelessness is principally confronted as a historically specific social-economic issue with political, institutional, ideological, and ethical dimensions. The study looks deeper in the existing economic system of the open market economy or differently the capitalistic economic system. To better comprehend the state of play and the manner in which "things are moving", homelessness is elucidated in a political economy context, without being neglected the structural elements of the economy and the society such as the forces and the relations of production, and the established politics, ideology, institutions and ethics.

Η Εφημερίδα των Συντακτών, 12-13 Σεπτ. 2020, Αρ.Φύλλου 2.309. Ένθετο νησίδες «Αφιέρωμα Ηθική και Οικονομία», σελ. 10), 2020

Σκοπός των παρακάτω γραμμών είναι να προσφέρει στον αναγνώστη, περιεκτικά, ένα κριτικό τρόπο προσ... more Σκοπός των παρακάτω γραμμών είναι να προσφέρει στον αναγνώστη, περιεκτικά, ένα κριτικό τρόπο προσέγγισης του πεδίου της επιχειρηματικής ηθικής (business ethics) βάσει μιας τυπικής επιστημολογικής παρουσίασης των ερμηνευτικών διαστάσεων της ηθικής φιλοσοφίας.

Problemas del Desarrollo. Revista Latinoamericana de Economía

The paper challenges the mainstream stance in the study of applied ethicsin international develop... more The paper challenges the mainstream stance in the study of applied ethicsin international development. Applied ethics is positioned at the macro-social levelof global ethics while a specific codification is attempted by formulating international development based on its structural synthesis, in a threefold level: First, the structural synthesis –associated with the framework of existing international development policy–can be found in the ‘market relations’. Second, the analysis specifies the policies applied at the national level and the role of nation-state policy. Third, the paper criticizes the international development institutions’ policies. In each of the levels mentioned above, the analysis reveals the fundamental policy theory issues of neoclassical economics, as the intellectual defender of free market economics.

Problemas Del Desarrollo, Dec 1, 2013

Alternative Perspectives of a Good Society, 2012

The purpose of this chapter is to develop an ethical framework for what defines a good society.... more The purpose of this chapter is to develop an ethical framework for what defines a good society. The central ethical question that we investigate is: What are the requirements of a good life and of a good society in the modern world? The response to this question is based on the development ethics alternative view of a good society that contradicts the dominant mainstream economics perception. Writing this chapter has been a challenge because development ethics can be identified as a new branch of the social sciences with areas of consensus and controversies (see Crocker 1998; Clark 2002). However, our intention is to present areas of agreement within a development ethics framework rather than an area of controversies with respect to “what is a good society?” The findings of this analysis can assist in identifying the foundation of development ethics regarding the end state of development, the good society, and its ethical underpinnings. To our knowledge, no such endeavor has been attempted previously. The development ethicists’ community as well as scholars and students of international development would benefit from this novel exploration of the dominant mainstream economics assumptions for a good society using the alternative development ethical proposal of a better life and a good society.

Panoeconomicus

An advancement that includes the intellectual history of development ethics is examined in this p... more An advancement that includes the intellectual history of development ethics is examined in this paper. Relying upon contributions of distinguished scholars, this inquiry considers the intellectual history of the sub-field known as "development ethics". Special attention is paid to the pioneering development ethicist Denis Goulet, recognized as the founder of the field. The paper concentrates on individual contributions on a variety of issues, emphasizing linkages to Goulet?s conception of tasks, methods and normative principles. Students of international development can benefit from this distinctive perspective where ethics is integrated into economic development, disclosing an enlightened perspective of an ethical developing world. Overall, the goal is to establish development ethics as an important subcategory of development economics in regards with its ethical aspects and one which deserves greater attention from economists and development studies scholars.

La ética del desarrollo es un tema que contribuye al estudio del crecimiento, el cual frecuenteme... more La ética del desarrollo es un tema que contribuye al estudio del crecimiento, el cual frecuentemente es olvidado en el campo de la economía, inclusive en la línea pluralista de la economía social. La ética del desarrollo en ese contexto argumenta que la sociedad es más que la suma de individuos y que la economía lo es también de preferencias individuales. A diferencia del positivismo de la economía convencional, el desarrollo no es visto como crecimiento en un sentido estrecho de expansión material del bienestar, sino como el enriquecimiento cualitativo de los seres humanos en todos los aspectos relevantes de la vida humana. El autor sugiere un paradigma novedoso en la ética del desarrollo desde la perspectiva de la economía y la ética sociales. Al menos la economía social, en la forma de ética social, presenta los cuestionamientos justos y la ética del desarrollo ofrece las respuestas correctas. Palabras clave: ética del desarrollo, economía social, paradigma, ética social, economía convencional.

ABSTRACT: The author argues that development ethics, and its subject matter which is internationa... more ABSTRACT: The author argues that development ethics, and its subject matter which is international development, may be accurately interpreted within a political economy context in relation with the ethical theory's reflections to international development. Development ethics came at the stage in the middle of 20th century by Louis Joseph Lebret and became widely known by his student Denis Goulet.

Journal of Economic Issues, Jan 1, 2010

The aim of this paper is to associate elements of Aristotle's view of a "good society" with the d... more The aim of this paper is to associate elements of Aristotle's view of a "good society" with the development ethics standpoint of a "good society." For Aristotle, the vehicle to "eudaimonia" and to a "good society" is "politics." We argue that development ethics provides an ethical response to the question "what is good society" based on Aristotle's key concept of "eudaimonia." The Aristotelian vision for a "good life" can be perceived as a precursor and a contributor to development ethics perspective for a "good society."

Journal of Economic Issues, Jan 1, 2009

The aim of the paper is to investigate the relationship between institutions and development ethi... more The aim of the paper is to investigate the relationship between institutions and development ethics. In a value context, the center of the discussion between institutions and development ethics is based on confronting ethics as "means of the means," which implies that ethics is not only concerned with the ends of human action but also enters into the value dynamisms of the instruments utilized by development agents in achieving these ends: the means. A common acceptable definition of development ethics is the ethical reflection of the ends and means for any purposeful social-economic activity toward development. Institutions are the social cement that condition and enhance the roles agents play in economic life. We argue that development ethics and institutions are entwined: development ethics influence institutions and institutions influence development ethics.

Abstract The purpose of the paper is to analyze development in a value-based context using a para... more Abstract The purpose of the paper is to analyze development in a value-based context using a paradigm based on development ethics. After a brief navigation of the ethical study of development, the paper introduces to the origins and fundamental principles of the development ethics. For development ethicists the true indicator of development is the qualitative enrichment of human beings in all relevant aspects of human life.

Abstract Development ethics is a contributing topic in the study of development which is often ne... more Abstract Development ethics is a contributing topic in the study of development which is often neglected in the field of economics even in the pluralistic lines of social economics.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this chapter is to determine the competitiveness, exercise of entrepreneu... more ABSTRACT The purpose of this chapter is to determine the competitiveness, exercise of entrepreneurship and quality of the business environment in Greece, based on the analysis of the motives and barriers of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) for the period 1995-2003. The analysis was based on research that was carried out using a questionnaire, which was sent to 150 multinational enterprises (MNEs) that had invested in Greece in the aforementioned period.

Drafts by Nikos Astroulakis