15th WAPE Forum (31 July – 2 August 2020), ‘Rethinking Economic Analysis: Political Economy vs Economics’, Panteion University

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Stavros Mavroudeas
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Call for Papers

for the

Fifteenth Forum of the World Association for Political Economy

‘Rethinking Economic Analysis: Political Economy vs Economics’

31 July – 2 August 2020, Panteion University, Athens, Greece

The 15^th WAPE Forum will be held 31 July – 2 August 2020 at Panteion University, Athens, Greece. It is co-organised by WAPE (World Association of Political Economy – http://www.wapeweb.org/) and GAPE (Greek Association of Political Economy – https://poleconom.wordpress.com/) and hosted by the Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (https://www.panteion.gr/en/).

The broad theme of the conference focuses on the controversy between the two main alternative traditions in economic analysis, Political Economy and Economics. Economics (with their myopic understanding of the economy as simply market relations, neglect of social and political factors and class struggle and their almost overt support for capital against labour) has been historically proved incapable of grasping how economies work and forecast and confront competently economic crises. On the other hand, Political Economy (offering a social understanding of the economy, focusing on the sphere of production, linking economic analysis to social and political factors and to class struggle) has been more successful in comprehending the actual workings of the economy and in analyzing economic crises. However, despite their long-standing failures, Economics continue to dominate academia and policy-making centers, especially in the West. Even after the last global economic crisis and its blatant failure to foresee and to resolve it, its dominance remains unwavered as it is supported by strong vested class interests. Nevertheless, there is growing unrest within both the academia and the society with this failed dominance. Political Economy is the main approach towards which all those dissatisfied with Economics turn.

This conference aims to juxtapose Political Economy and Economics and contrast their positions on the various fields and areas of economic analysis. Within its broad theme, WAPE 2020 invites all contributions that enrich the perspective of Political Economy and expand the ground for further discussion. Indicatively but not exclusively, proposed papers can touch upon the following issues:

• Historical anniversaries:
• Friedrich Engels’ 200^th anniversary: his legacy in Marxism and Political Economy
• I. Lenin’s 150^th anniversary: his economic writings
• Curriculum reform in Economics: How Political Economy can challenge Economics’ dominance of university curricula
• Contemporary controversies in Macroeconomics: Neoclassicism, Keynesianism and Marxism
• Neoliberalism and the New Macroeconomic Consensus
• Marxism and Macro-economic modelling
• History of Political Economy
• Economic History
• Theory of stages and periodization of capitalism
• Theories and analyses of economic crisis
• Profitability, crises and economic cycles
• Race, class and gender
• Methodology of economic analysis
• Trends and challenges in contemporary economic policy
• Neoconservative economic policies
• Economic planning, fiscal and monetary policies reconsidered
• A return of industrial policy?
• Marxism and the Political Economy of money and finance
• Labour process, markets and the Political Economy of Work
• Labour movement and Trade Unions
• Flexible employment and unemployment
• The current state of Labour Process Theory
• The Political Economy of poverty and inequality
• Austerity and the welfare system
• The current state of social policy
• Political Economy of education
• Political Economy of health and health policies
• Environmental Political Economy
• Urban and regional economics
• Law and Political Economy
• World economy: globalization or imperialism?
• International conflicts and imperialism
• The retreat of US hegemony and the emergence of a multi-polar world system
• Political Economy of capital flows
• BRICS, the newly emerging economies and the world economy
• Global value chains and transnational corporations
• Political Economy of foreign direct investment (FDI)
• International Political Economy
• Political Economy of European integration and the Eurozone crisis
• Development studies at an impasse
• Developmental state after the Post-Washington Consensus
• Role and policies of international organizations (IMF, WB, WHO, UNHCR, UN etc.)
• Country case studies

Official Language: The official language of the Forum is English.

Publication Possibilities: All accepted papers will be published as an e-book with ISBN before the conference. Best papers will be considered for publication in the World Review of Political Economy (http://www.plutojournals.com/wrpe/) and the International Critical Thought (https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rict20) after passing the peer refereeing process.

HOW TO APPLY

Send a paper abstract (500 words) and your full curriculum vitae in English to both [email protected] and [email protected] by 20 March 2020. Acceptance letters and instructions for registration will be sent out by 1 April 2020. The structure and the schedule of registration fees are detailed below. Full papers must be submitted by 1 June 2020.

Both individual papers and complete panels on the main theme and proposed topics are welcome. You are also welcome to propose other topics on the theme. There is also the option to apply to attend the forum without a paper. In that case, you will be sent an invitation letter for visa purposes etc. upon registration and payment of registration fees.

Important dates

• Deadline for abstract proposals: 20 March 2020
• Notice of acceptance: 1 April 2020
• Deadline for full paper: 1 June 2020

Registration fees

• 140 euros: for online payment before 1 May 2020
• 170 euros: for online payment before 20 June 2020
• 200 euros: for online payment after 20 June 2020 or on-site payment
• 50 euros: reduced rate for unemployed, retired and students for online payment before 1 May 2020

What are the benefits of joining WAPE?

WAPE has decided to develop itself as a membership organization in order to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, new thought and research across the divide of languages and geography, and offer its members access to certain benefits. To register for the 15^th WAPE Forum, you must become a WAPE member first.

Standard Membership. The benefits to be a Standard Member include:

• Free digital copies of the organization’s peer reviewed academic journal, World Review of Political Economy (WRPE), which is published four times a year.
• Publishing of members’ selected articles on our websites.
• Translating selected books and articles into Chinese and publishing them in China.
• Invitations to attend a variety of conferences in China.
• Scholars who are members may be invited to China on a lecture tour.
• Members will be invited to join panels, which WAPE will organize for various international conferences held in different countries.

The membership fee for Standard Members is US$30 per year.

Council Membership. Council Members have the priority over all the benefits offered by WAPE for Standard Members. Besides, you will get both free digital copies and hard copies of the World Review of Political Economy (WRPE). Council Members are required to submit one paper to or call for one paper for WRPE, and review one paper for WRPE per year. The membership fee for Council Members is US$100 per year.

Low-income Membership. Low-income Membership is a discretionary rate of US$10 for students, retired and unemployed people, and part-time workers on reduced income.

WAPE. The World Association for Political Economy, registered in Paris, is an international academic organization founded by Marxist economists and related groups around the world. The mission of WAPE is to utilize modern Marxist economics to analyze and study the world economy, reveal its laws of development, and offer policies to promote economic and social progress on the national and global levels. The last fourteen WAPE forums were successively held in Shanghai (China), Shimane (Japan), Beijing (China), Paris (France), Suzhou (China), Amherst (USA), Mexico City (Mexico), Florianopolis (Brazil) and Hanoi (Vietnam), Johannesburg (South Africa), Patiala (India), Moscow (Russia), Berlin (Germany) and Winnipeg (Canada) annually between 2006 and 2019. Participants in past WAPE forums have come from over 50 countries across Asia, Australia, Africa, Europe, and North and South America.

WRPE. The World Review of Political Economy is a peer-reviewed quarterly journal of Marxist Political Economy sponsored by WAPE and published by Pluto Journals. For more information including types of submissions that will be considered, please go to http://www.plutojournals.com/wrpe/ and submit your articles to  [email protected].

WAPE Awards. The Distinguished Achievement Award of World Political Economy of the 21st Century, established by WAPE, has been granted annually since 2009 to recognize outstanding books and articles in political economy published since the year of 2001. It is intended to promote research of modern political economy around the world by granting this award to those who have made important innovations in the theories or methodology of political economy. The Marxian Economics Award, established by WAPE in 2011, is given to recognize an outstanding lifetime record of achievement in political economy. Its purpose is to promote the development of research of Marxist economics around the world by granting this award to those who have made important innovations in the research of theories, methodology, and application of Marxist economics. The 2020 WAPE Awards will be granted at the opening ceremony of the 15^th WAPE Forum. Nominations and applications can be sent to [email protected].

Marxist economists from all over the world are welcome to join WAPE and attend WAPE forums. WAPE aims to encourage cooperation among Marxist economists and to enlarge and strengthen the influence of Marxist economics in the world.

The WAPE Secretariat

October 2019