From crisis to the everyday: Shouldn't we all be writing economies?

This commentary explores the politics of writing about the economy in a culture, society, and discipline that tends to prioritize masculinist (and white) theories and definitions of economy over embodied experiences of people living their everyday lives. Inspired by Timothy Mitchell's problematization of the economy as an object of analysis, we press further on the seemingly singular unit of “the” economy and who is allowed to define it as such. We are animated by questions of who is considered an expert on the economy and how, or by whom, crises in the economy are recognized. Drawing from our own writing experiences during the pandemic and from social movements we research, we argue for alternate ways of thinking about experiences of and expertise on the economy. In reckoning with how social movements speak to power in a bid to transform economies, we consider the role of economic geography in the economy of writing and knowledge production surrounding “the economy” itself. We make the case for a more public economic geography grounded in the social and economic embeddedness of knowledge production, the material consequences of who gets to define what is economically “important,” and the potential for this expertise to be located anywhere.

Estimating the broader fiscal consequences of acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) with recurrent attacks in Belgium using a public economic analytic framework

Background Acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) is a rare, debilitating disease characterized by potentially life-threatening attacks often resulting in chronic symptoms that negatively impact daily functioning and quality of life. Symptoms of AHP prevent many individuals from working and achieving lifetime work averages. The aim of this study was to apply a public economic framework to evaluate AHP in Belgium, taking into consideration a broad range of costs that are relevant to government in relation to social benefit payments and lifetime taxes paid. Methodology A public economic framework was developed exploring lifetime costs for government attributed to an individual with AHP and recurrent attacks in Belgium. Work-activity and lifetime direct taxes paid, indirect consumption taxes and requirements for public benefits were estimated based on established clinical pathways for AHP and compared to the general population (GP). The model includes AHP-related healthcare costs and non-AHP healthcare costs for the GP. Results Lifetime earnings are reduced in an individual with AHP by €347,802 per person (p.p.), translating to reduced lifetime taxes paid of €183,187 for an AHP individual compared to the GP. We estimate increased lifetime disability benefit support of €247,242 for an AHP individual compared to GP. Lifetime healthcare costs for a person with AHP were estimated to be €3,030,316 due to frequent hospitalisations associated with porphyria attacks compared to the GP. The lifetime costs for a person with 12 attacks per annum factoring in transfers, taxes and healthcare costs are estimated to be €3,460,745 p.p. Eliminating AHP attacks after 10 years of active disease, thus, enabling a person to return to work increases lifetime earnings by €224,575 p.p. Increased work activity in such individuals would generate an estimated €118,284 p.p. over their lifetime. The elimination of AHP attacks could also lead to reductions in disability payments of €179,184 p.p. and healthcare cost savings of €1,511,027 p.p. Conclusions Due to severe disability resulting from constant attacks, AHP patients with recurrent attacks incur significant public costs. Lifetime taxes paid are reduced as these attacks occur during peak earning and working years. In those patients, reducing AHP attacks can confer significant fiscal benefits for government, including reduced healthcare costs, reduced disability payments and improved tax revenue.

METHODOLOGY FOR STUDYING THE TRANSFORMATION OF ECONOMIC FUNCTIONS OF THE STATE IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBALIZATION

It is shown that modern socio-economic transformations of planetary scale are significantly changing the place and role of the state in the local, national and global dimensions, which increases the importance of discussing the problems of transformation of its functions in the context of globalization. It is argued that globalization processes create a contradiction between the interests of transnational and international structures and the political and economic interests of nation states. This is due to the fact that, on the one hand, part of the socioeconomic processes within countries come from the influence of the nation state and, on the other, private international structures are beginning to largely determine the course of events in a particular state. It is shown that the empirical generalization of economic functions of the state has a superficial character, a logical-historical methodology substantiated, the application of which allows to conclude that the market as a mechanism for reconciling the private interests of economic entities and the state as the embodiment of general economic interests are complementary structures. A logical-historical methodology is developed, which, in contrast to the empirical approach, contains other formulations and classification grouping of economic functions of the state, defining the main ones as follows: expression and representation of general economic interests, ensuring economic needs of society as a whole and protection of public economic interests. All other functions are derivative. Within the logical-historical methodology, it is substantiated that the main directions of transformation of the main economic functions of the state are: weakening of the monopoly component of its function in representation of public economic interests and growth of value in this process of state-public institutions; increasing the level of socialization and humanization of economic needs and ways to meet them; internationalization of mechanisms for protection of economic interests of states. It is noted that these areas of transformation of the main economic functions of the state should be given due attention by scientists, experts and developers of socioeconomic policy.

Comparing the Fiscal Consequences of Controlled and Uncontrolled Osteoarthritis Pain Applying a UK Public Economic Perspective

Background: Individuals experiencing osteoarthritis (OA) pain can pose significant costs for governments due to reduced work activity in these individuals and increasing reliance on public support benefits. In this analysis we capture the broader economic impact of OA pain by applying a government perspective, public economic framework to assess controlled and uncontrolled pain. Methods: We used a Markov model to compare labour market participation in people with uncontrolled OA hip or knee pain compared to a cohort with controlled OA pain. The likelihood of employment, long-term sickness, disability, and early retirement in those with controlled pain used publicly available UK data. The relative effect of uncontrolled OA pain on fiscal outcomes is drawn from peer reviewed publications reporting reduced work activity and reliance on public benefits for people with uncontrolled OA pain. Lost tax revenue was derived using UK tax rates and national insurance contributions applied to annual earnings. Social benefit rules were applied to calculate government financial support to individuals. Health-care costs were calculated based on estimates from an UK observational study. The base case analysis compared the projected lost tax revenue and transfer payments for a 50-year-old cohort with severe OA pain, retiring at age 65. Results: For a 50-year-old individual with moderate uncontrolled OA pain with 15-years remaining work expectancy, the model estimated a £62 383 reduction in employment earnings, a £24 307 reduction in tax contributions and a need for £16 034 in government benefits, compared to a person with controlled OA pain. In people with severe uncontrolled OA pain incremental foregone earnings were estimated to be £126 384, £44 925 were not paid through taxation and £25 829 were received in public benefits, compared to the controlled pain cohort. Health-care costs represented 13% and 12% of all OA-related fiscal cost in the moderate uncontrolled OA pain and severe uncontrolled OA pain comparison, respectively. Conclusions: For governments, maintaining an active workforce is paramount to maintaining economic growth and reducing spending on government programs. The approach described here can be used to augment cost-effectiveness models to inform a range of stakeholders of benefits attributed to controlled OA pain.

Estimating the Broader Fiscal Consequences of Acute Hepatic Porphyria (AHP) in Belgium Using a Public Economic Analytic Framework

Background Acute hepatic porphyria (AHP) is a rare, debilitating disease characterized by potentially life-threatening attacks often resulting in chronic symptoms that negatively impact daily functioning and quality of life. Symptoms of AHP prevent many individuals from working and achieving lifetime work averages. The aim of this study was to apply a public economic framework to evaluate AHP in Belgium, taking into consideration a broad range of costs that are relevant to government in relation to social benefit payments and lifetime taxes paid. Methodology A public economic framework was developed exploring lifetime costs for government attributed to an individual with AHP in Belgium. Work-activity and lifetime direct taxes paid, indirect consumption taxes and requirements for public benefits were estimated based on established clinical pathways for AHP and compared to the general population (GP). The model includes AHP-related healthcare costs and non-AHP healthcare costs for the GP. Results Lifetime earnings are reduced in an individual with AHP by €347,802 per person (p.p.), translating to reduced lifetime taxes paid of €183,187 for an AHP individual compared to the GP. We estimate increased lifetime disability benefit support of €247,242 for an AHP individual compared to GP. Lifetime healthcare costs for a person with AHP were estimated to be €3,030,316 due to frequent hospitalisations associated with porphyria attacks compared to the GP. The lifetime costs for a person with 12 attacks per annum factoring in transfers, taxes and healthcare costs are estimated to be €3,460,745 p.p. Eliminating AHP attacks after 10 years of active disease, thus, enabling a person to return to work increases lifetime earnings by €224,575. Increased work activity in this cohort would generate an estimated €118,284 p.p. over their lifetime. The elimination of AHP attacks could also lead to reductions in disability payments of €179,184 p.p. and healthcare cost savings of €1,511,027. Conclusions Due to severe disability resulting from constant attacks, AHP patients incur significant public costs. Lifetime taxes paid are reduced as these attacks occur during peak earning and working years. Reducing AHP attacks can confer significant fiscal benefits for government, including reduced healthcare costs, reduced disability payments and improved tax revenue.

The Features of the Legal Regulation of a Commercial Transaction in Tax Relations

Introduction: in the paper the author proposes to consider the interbranch relations of civil and other branches of law, for example, the financial one, proposing a resolution of establishing the “depth” of the limit of the synthesis of public economic interest in a commercial transaction, defining this conceptual framework, and to develop the proposals for resolving this problem in a practical aspect, applying the criteria (categories) of denoting the limit. The purpose and novelty: the scientific novelty of this topic lies in the fact that, first, it considers and decides the important legal problems of protection of the parties to the contract against the influence of public interest, and secondly, it provides the criteria for the evaluation of limits of mutual synthesis of public to private and private to public, and thirdly, it provides for the discussion and development of a new conceptual framework of interbranch relations. Methods: the paper uses the comparative, formal-legal and functional research methods. Results: the results of the research on the features of the legal regulation of the interbranch relations between the civil and financial branches indicate the existence of problems and contradictions in their enforcement by the subjects, in particular, the issue of the influence of public economic interest in a commercial transaction is considered. Conclusion: the protection of public economic interest in a commercial transaction is a “mirror” model for protecting the rights of the parties in such a transaction. Thus, the tools for protecting the violated rights of public economic interest are identical to the tools for protecting rights in the presence of vertical relations between the parties in a commercial transaction. The application of criteria for assessing the limit of synthesis of public economic interest in a transaction is a priority task, not only in the material terms, but also in virtual reality.