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Aristotle on Economics and Ethics

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  • Emel Kahya, Sungsoo Kim

Abstract

Over the last several decades, we have witnessed seismic changes in corporate America: the increasingly myopic perspective of American managers, the relentless pursuit of short-term paper profit, reckless disregard for the interests of the non-shareholder community, a rise in hedge fund activism, and an ever-increasing use of incentive compensation, which arguably motivates managers to take on riskier investments. By revisiting Aristotle¡¯s properties of ethics and economics, and considering their implications for accounting and finance, we try to learn guiding principles of economics, and by extension accounting and finance, from a great philosopher. We then discuss whether we have made progress, stood still, or even retreated from the philosopher¡¯s propositions of more than two millenniums ago.

Suggested Citation

  • Emel Kahya, Sungsoo Kim, 2018. "Aristotle on Economics and Ethics," Applied Economics and Finance, Redfame publishing, vol. 5(6), pages 23-32, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:rfa:aefjnl:v:5:y:2018:i:6:p:23-32
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Barry J. Gordon, 1964. "Aristotle and the Development of Value Theory," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 78(1), pages 115-128.
    4. John C. Coffee Jr, 2017. "Preserving the corporate superego in a time of stress: an essay on ethics and economics," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 33(2), pages 221-256.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    ethics; Aristotle; accounting/financial profession; economics; business;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • R00 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General - - - General
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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