Douglas, Gesell, and the Economic Ethics of Ezra Pound
The poet Ezra Pound (1885-1972) was a moralist who regarded economics as key to understanding human society, and thereby to solve most social problems. He became a prolific writer of economic texts, in which he espoused the ideas of two economists: Major Clifford Douglas’ social credit and national dividend, and Silvio Gesell’s perishable currency. Pound’s economic thought reflects deep philosophical and moral roots. However, it is unfortunate that, of Pound’s economic lessons, the morally most compelling ones are also those less economically sound.
Can ice cream be money?: Perishable medium of exchange
The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that a perishable good may be used as commodity money, even in economies in which perfectly durable commodities are available. This is shown in the general context of a search-theoretical model of a decentralized economy.
Migration, Labor Mobility, and Relocation Assistance: The Case of the American Indian
This article, an example of "indirect" program evaluation, utilizes a 1/100 public use sample of American households from the 1970 U.S. census to examine family welfare levels among three categories of Indian families: (1) nonmigrant families living in traditional areas of Indian population concentration; (2) families in areas not receiving relocation assistance through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); and (3) migrant families moving to urban areas with BIA relocation assistance. The article concludes that the population of migrants receiving relocation assistance has a substantially higher level of economic welfare in both absolute and relative terms and that earnings are the principal source of increased welfare. It is suggested that such assistance might be utilized on a wider basis to assist other migrating populations.