Economica is an international journal covering research in all branches of economics published on behalf of the LSE Economics Department. It welcomes high-quality contributions from all parts of the international research community which are of interest to general readers. Economica is a leading economics journal, appearing high in the published citation rankings. From time to time the journal publishes special issues on selected topics, and are available either as single back issues or, if published in the current year, as part of the annual subscription.
One can be independent, or one can be subject to decisions made by others. This paper argues that this difference, embodied in the institutional distinction between the decision‐making procedures ‘market’ and ‘hierarchy’, affects individual wellbeing beyond outcomes. Taking self‐employment as an important case of independence, it is shown that the self‐employed derive higher satisfaction from work than those employed in organizations, irrespective of income gained or hours worked. This is evidence for procedural utility: people value not only outcomes, but also the processes leading to outcomes.
The dominant perspective in discussions of labour and environmental standards and globalization is that of North–South competition and its impact on Northern standards. This paper presents an alternative perspective, that of South–South competition to export to the North and its impact on Southern standards. It develops a simple model of Southern competition, and demonstrates that whether a Southern race to the bottom is possible depends intricately on the Northern demand curve, the size of large exporters relative to each other and the relative size of the competitive fringe of small exporters. The possibility that Northern trade protectionism may undermine Southern standards is also examined.