Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T14:04:09.194Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Mainstream Macroeconomics: A ‘Keynesian’ Revival?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Neil Hart*
Affiliation:
School of Economics and Finance, University of Western Sydney
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This paper examines the nature of the ‘convergence of vision’ that is said to have existed within mainstream macroeconomics prior to the ‘global economic recession’, and which has been the subject of strong criticism in recent times from Nobel Laureates such as Krugman, Akerlof and Solow. The nature of a proposed ‘Keynesian revival’ is also examined, and it is concluded that while the required changes in theoretical content and methodological perspective are substantial, the most significant obstacle to be overcome is to be found in what Keynes had referred to as the ‘metaphysical principles’ upon which laissez faire has been founded.

Type
Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2011

References

Akerlof, G. A. (2007) ‘The missing motivation in macroeconomics’, American Economic Review, 97(1), pp. 536.Google Scholar
Akerlof, G. A., Shiller, R. (2009) Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the Economy and Why it Matters for Global Capitalism, Princeton, Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Ali Abbas, S., Basdevant, O., Eble, S., et al (2010) Strategies for fiscal consolidation in the post-crisis world, Foreign Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund, February 4.Google Scholar
Arestis, P., Sawyer, M. (2003) ‘Reinventing fiscal policy’, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 26(13), pp. 325.Google Scholar
Arestis, P., Sawyer, M. (2006) ‘The nature and role of monetary policy when money is endogenous’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 30(6), pp. 847860.Google Scholar
Arrow, K. (1986) ‘Rationality of self and others in an economic system’, Journal of Business, 59, S385S399.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blanchard, O., Sheen, J. (2007) Macroeconomics, Second Australian Edition, Pearson/Prentice-Hall, Frenchs Forest.Google Scholar
Blankenburg, S., Palma, J. (2009) ‘Introduction: The Global Financial Crisis’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(4), pp. 531538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bliss, C. (1993) ‘Oil trade and general equilibrium: A review article’, Journal of International and Comparative Economics, 2, pp. 227242.Google Scholar
Caballero, R. J. (2010) ‘Macroeconomics after the Crisis: Time to deal with the pretence-of-knowledge syndrome’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(4), pp. 85102.Google Scholar
Chari, V., Kehoe, P. (2006) ‘Modern macroeconomics in practice: How theory is shaping policy’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 20(4), pp 328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Corden, W. (2009) ‘The theory of the fiscal stimulus: How will a debt-financed stimulus affect the future?’, Policy Insight, 34, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Australian National University, Canberra.Google Scholar
Creel, J., Sawyer, M. (eds) (2009) Current Thinking on Fiscal Policy, Macmillan, London.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, P. (2008) ‘Is the current financial distress caused by the subprime mortgage crisis a Minsky Moment? Or is it the result of attempting to securitize illiquid noncommercial mortgage loans’, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 30(4), pp. 669676.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Domar, E. D. (1946) ‘Capital expansion, rate of growth and employment’, Econometrica, 14, pp. 137147.Google Scholar
Dow, S. C. (1997) ‘Endogenous money’ in Harcourt, G. C., Riach, P. (eds) A ‘Second Edition’ of the General Theory, 2Vols, Routledge, London, pp. 6178.Google Scholar
Freedman, C., Michael Kumhof, M., Laxton, D., Lee, L. (2009) The case for global fiscal stimulus, IMF staff position note SPN/09/03, International Monetary Fund, 6 March.Google Scholar
G-20 (2010) The G-20 Toronto Summit Declaration, 26–27 June 2010, Toronto, Canada.Google Scholar
Galbraith, J. K. (1997) ‘Time to ditch the NAIRU’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 1(1), pp. 3349.Google Scholar
Ghosh, J. (2009) ‘The Nobel Prize for Economics may need its own bailout, The Gardian 8 October, available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/oct/08/economics-nobel-women-bailout-stockmarket [accessed 1 February 2011].Google Scholar
Goodhart, C. A. E. (1975) ‘Monetary relationships: A view from Threadneedle Street’, in Papers in Monetary Economics, Volume I, Reserve Bank of Australia, Sydney.Google Scholar
Greenwald, B., Stiglitz, J. (1993) ‘New and old Keynesians’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 7, pp. 2344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harcourt, G. C. (2006) The Structure of Post-Keynesian Economics: The Core Contributions of the Pioneers, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harcourt, G. C. (2009a) ‘Finance, speculation and stability: Post Keynesian policies for modern capitalism’, in McCombie, J., Sawyer, M. (eds) Macroeconomics, Finance and Money: Essays in Honor of Philip Arestis, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills, Basingstoke, pp. 237249.Google Scholar
Harcourt, G. C. (2009b) ‘The rise and, hopefully, the fall of economic neo-liberalism in theory and practice’, Economic and Labour Relations Review, 20(1), pp. 16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harcourt, G. C. (2010) ‘The Crisis in mainstream economics’, Real-World Economics Review, 53, pp. 4751.Google Scholar
Hart, N. (2009) ‘Discretionary fiscal policy and budget deficits: An ‘orthodox’ critique of current policy debate’, Economic and Labour Relations Review, 19(2), pp. 3958.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harvey, J. T. (2004) ‘Deviations from uncovered interest rate parity: A post Keynesian explanation’, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 27(1), pp. 1935.Google Scholar
Kalecki, M. (1943) ‘Political aspects of full employment’, Political Quarterly, pp. 322331, reprinted in Hunt, E. K., Schwartz, J. (eds) (1972) A Critique of Economic Theory, Penguin, Harmondsworth, pp. 420–430.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. (1923) A Tract on Monetary Reform, Macmillan, London.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. (1930) A Treatise on Money, 2volumes, Macmillan, London.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. (1931) Essays in Persuasion, Classic House Books, New York, 2009 reprint.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. (1936) The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, Macmillan, London.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. (1937a) ‘Alternative theories of the rate of interest’, Economic Journal, 47, pp. 241252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keynes, J. M. (1937b) ‘The “ex ante” theory of the rate of interest’, Economic Journal, 47, pp. 663669.Google Scholar
Keynes, J. M. (1937c) ‘The general theory of employment’, Quarterly Journal of Economics, 51, pp. 209223.Google Scholar
King, J. (2002) ‘Money and the monetarists’, in King, J. (ed.) A History of Post Keynesian Economics Since 1936, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp. 159178.Google Scholar
Kriesler, P., Lavoie, M. (2005) ‘A critique of the new consensus view of monetary policy’, Economic and Labour Relations Review, 16(1), pp. 715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kriesler, P., Lavoie, M. (2007) ‘The new consensus on monetary policy and its post-Keynesian critique’, Review of Political Economy, 19(3), pp. 387404.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krugman, P (1998) ‘Two cheers for formalism’, Economic Journal, 108, pp. 18261836.Google Scholar
Krugman, P. (2009) ‘How did economists get it so wrong?’, New York Times 2 September, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/magazine/06Economic-t.html?_r=1&em [accessed 2 April 2011].Google Scholar
Kydland, F. E., Prescott, E. C. (1977) ‘Rules rather than discretion: The inconsistency of optimal plans’, Journal of Political Economy, 85(3), pp. 473491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kydland, F., Prescott, E. (1982) ‘Time to build and aggregate fluctuations’, Econometrica, 50(6), pp. 13451370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laidler, D. (2009) ‘Lucas, Keynes and the crisis’, Department of Economics Research Report Series #2009-2, Department of Economics Social Science Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario.Google Scholar
Lavoie, M. (2003) ‘A primer on endogenous credit-money’ in Rochon, L., Rossi, S. (eds) Modern Theories of Money, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham.Google Scholar
Lerner, A. (1943) ‘Functional finance and the federal debt’, Social Research, 10(1), pp. 3851d.Google Scholar
Lucas, R. E. (1976) ‘Econometric policy evaluation: A critique’, Journal of Monetary Economics, 1(2), pp. 1946.Google Scholar
Lucas, R. E. (1981) Studies in the Business Cycle, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Lucas, R. E. (2009) ‘In defence of the dismal science’, The Economist print edition, 6 Aug 2009, available: http://www.economist.com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory.cfm?subjectid=348918&story_id=14165405 [accessed 1 February 2011].Google Scholar
Lucas, R. E., Sargent, T. J. (1978) ‘After Keynesian macroeconomics’, in After the Phillips Curve: Persistence of High Inflation and Unemployment, Proceedings of 19 Conference, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Boston.Google Scholar
Mankiw, N. G., Romer, D. (1991) New Keynesian Economics, Vols. 1 and 2, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Minsky, H. (1985) ‘The Financial instability hypothesis: A restatement’, in Arestis, P., Skouras, T. (eds) Post Keynesian Economic Theory, Wheatsheaf, Brighton.Google Scholar
Minsky, H. (1986) Stabilizing an Unstable Economy, Yale University Press, New Haven.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. (2009) ‘The limits of central bank policy: Economic crisis and the challenge of effective solutions’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(4), pp. 581608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nevile, J. W. (2003) ‘Fiscal policy’, in King, J. E. (ed.) The Elgar Companion to Post Keynesian Economics, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar, pp. 149152.Google Scholar
Nevile, J. W. (2009) ‘The current crisis has a silver lining’, Economic and Labour Relations Review, 19(2), pp. 2738.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prescott, E. C. (1986) ‘Theory ahead of business cycle measurement’, Federal Bank of Minneapolis Review, Fall 1986, pp. 922.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. (1962) Economic Philosophy, Penguin, Harmondsworth.Google Scholar
Robinson, J. (1977) ‘What are the questions?’, Journal of Economic Literature, 15(4), pp.131839, reprinted in Robinson, J. (1979) Collected Economic Papers, Vol. V, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 1–31.Google Scholar
Rogers, C. (2006) ‘Doing without money: A critical assessment of Woodford’s analysis’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 30, 293306.Google Scholar
Romer, D. (2000) ‘Keynesian macroeconomics without the LM curve’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 14(2), pp. 149169.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Setterfield, M. (1995) ‘Historical time and economic theory’, Review of Political Economy, 7(1), pp. 127.Google Scholar
Setterfield, M. (2004) ‘Central banking, stability and macroeconomic outcomes: A comparison of New Consensus and Post-Keynesian monetary macroeconomics’, in Lavoie, M., Seccareccia, M. (eds) Central Banking in the Modern World: Alternative Perspectives, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, pp. 3556.Google Scholar
Setterfield, M. (2007) ‘Is there a stabilising role for fiscal policy in the new consensus?’, Review of Political Economy, 19(3), pp. 405418.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shefrin, H. (2002) Beyond Fear and Greed, Oxford University Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shleifer, A. (2000) Inefficient Markets: An Introduction to Behavioural Finance, Oxford University Press. New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Solow, R. (1990) The Labor Market as a Social Institution, Basil Blackwell, Cambridge, MA.Google Scholar
Solow, R. (1997) ‘Is there a core of usable macroeconomics we should all believe in?’, American Economic Review, 87 (2), pp. 230232.Google Scholar
Solow, R. (2008) ‘Reply to Chari and Kehoe’, Journal of Economic Perspectives, 22(1), pp. 243246.Google Scholar
Stiglitz, J. (2008) ‘Keynesian economics finds new relevancy in the 21st century global economy’, The Guardian, 5 December, available: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2008/dec/05/us-economy-keynesian-economic-theory [accessed 10 October 2010].Google Scholar
Storm, S., Naastepad, C. (2007) ‘It is high time to ditch the NAIRU’, Journal of Post Keynesian Economics, 29(4), pp. 531554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stretton, H. (1969) The Political Sciences: General Principles of Selection in Social Science and History, Basic Books, New York.Google Scholar
Taylor, J. B. (2000) ‘Teaching modern macroeconomics at the principles level’, American Economic Review, 90(2), pp. 9094.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tobin, J. (1980) Asset Accumulation and Economic Activity, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.Google Scholar
Wray, L. R. (2009) ‘The rise and fall of money manager capitalism: A Minskian approach’, Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(4), pp. 807828.Google Scholar