Kalecki was one of an important generation of Cambridge economists. Here, Tracy Mott's impressive book examines the relationship of Kalecki's economics to different economic areas and its relationship to major alternative schools, such as Keynes and Marx. Mott looks at Kalecki's 'principle of increasing risk' and how it gives the way in which the reproduction and expansion of wealth can bring a coherent unity to economic analysis. In so doing, it makes sense out of the fundamental conclusions of Keynesian economics on the underemployment of labour and capital.
This book shows how the realistic foundations and stylized facts of Post-Keynesian economics give rise to macroeconomic implications that are different from those of received wisdom with regards to employment, output growth, inflation and monetary theory, and offers an alternative to neoclassical economics and its free-market economic policies.
Michael Kalecki was a Polish economist who independently discovered many of the key concepts of what is now identified as Keynesian theory. His contribution to macroeconomics was late in being acknowledged, but his work can be seen to have resounding influence on some of today's economic problems. The analyses presented in this book serve to scruti
This is a major contribution to post-Keynesian thought. With studies of the key pioneers - Keynes himself, Kalecki, Kahn, Goodwin, Kaldor, Joan Robinson, Sraffa and Pasinetti - G. C. Harcourt emphasizes their positive contributions to theories of distribution, pricing, accumulation, endogenous money and growth. The propositions of earlier chapters are brought together in an integrated narrative and interpretation of the major episodes in advanced capitalist economics in the post-war period, leading to a discussion of the relevance of post-Keynesian ideas to both our understanding of economics and to policy-making. The appendices include biographical sketches of the pioneers and analysis of the conceptual core of their discontent with orthodox theories. Drawing on the author's experience of teaching and researching over fifty years, this book will appeal to undergraduate and graduate students interested in alternative approaches to theoretical, applied and policy issues in economics, as well as to teachers and researchers in economics.
This text provides a history of the post Keynesian approach to economics since 1936. The author locates the origins of these economics in the conflicting interpretations of Keynes' General Theory and in the complementary work of Michael Kalecki.
A systematic comparison of the 3 major economic theories—neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian—showing how they differ and why these differences matter in shaping economic theory and practice. Contending Economic Theories offers a unique comparative treatment of the three main theories in economics as it is taught today: neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian. Each is developed and discussed in its own chapter, yet also differentiated from and compared to the other two theories. The authors identify each theory's starting point, its goals and foci, and its internal logic. They connect their comparative theory analysis to the larger policy issues that divide the rival camps of theorists around such central issues as the role government should play in the economy and the class structure of production, stressing the different analytical, policy, and social decisions that flow from each theory's conceptualization of economics. Building on their earlier book Economics: Marxian versus Neoclassical, the authors offer an expanded treatment of Keynesian economics and a comprehensive introduction to Marxian economics, including its class analysis of society. Beyond providing a systematic explanation of the logic and structure of standard neoclassical theory, they analyze recent extensions and developments of that theory around such topics as market imperfections, information economics, new theories of equilibrium, and behavioral economics, considering whether these advances represent new paradigms or merely adjustments to the standard theory. They also explain why economic reasoning has varied among these three approaches throughout the twentieth century, and why this variation continues today—as neoclassical views give way to new Keynesian approaches in the wake of the economic collapse of 2008.
This book will be of interest to advanced students looking for an even-handed overview of alternative theories of financial disturbances; academics who need a reference on the historical interrelationships of the literature in the field; and professionals who want to understand how the tools and concepts they use daily have emerged through time and whether there are forgotten lessons to be heeded. Susan K. Schroeder, Review of Political Economy Financial markets have an aura of disturbing instability. In this history of the thought of earlier economists who have studied the processes of finance, Jan Toporowski takes us on a fascinating journey to explore how they saw the impact of finance on the real economy. Not one for formal models, nor for rational expectations, Jan [Toporowski] values historical experience and the insights and experience of earlier great thinkers. Charles A.E. Goodhart, CBE, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK Jan Toporowski s Theories of Financial Disturbance is a tour de force. With his substantial knowledge of financial markets, his deep conceptual understanding of relevant concepts and his exhaustive reading of the essential literature, he is ideally placed to tell an absorbing narrative of, as he writes, critical theories of finance from Adam Smith to the present days and he has. In a world in which finance and industrial and commercial capital are so out of kilter with one another, Toporowski s lucid wisdom is required reading. G.C. Harcourt, University of Cambridge, Jesus College, Cambridge, UK and University of Adelaide, Australia Theories of Financial Disturbance examines how the operations of market-driven finance may initiate and transmit disturbances to the economy at large, by looking in detail at how various economists envisaged such disturbances occurring. This book is more than just a study in the history of economic thought it illustrates how economic debate focuses upon financial disturbance at times of financial instability, and then conveniently discards critical views when such instability recedes. Jan Toporowski looks at the development of critical theories from the views of Adam Smith and François Quesnay, and their reflection in recent new Keynesian ideas of Joseph Stiglitz and Ben Bernanke, through credit cycles in Alfred Marshall and Ralph Hawtrey, to the financial theories of Thorstein Veblen and Irving Fisher. Also studied are the theories of John Kenneth Galbraith, Michal Kalecki, John Maynard Keynes, Charles Kindleberger, Rosa Luxemburg, Hyman P. Minsky, Robert Shiller and Josef Steindl. Not least among the original features of this book are a discussion of Quesnay s attitude towards interest, and a chapter devoted to the work of the Polish monetary economist Marek Breit, whose work inspired Kalecki. Jan Toporowski s fascinating work will find its audience in academics of finance and financial economics, bankers, financiers and policy makers concerned with financial stability as well as anyone looking for arguments on the imperfect functioning of finance.
In his 'New Guide' to The General Theory, Mark G. Hayes presents Keynes's illustrious work as a sophisticated Marshallian theory of the competitive equilibrium of the economy as a whole. This unique book takes full account of the nature of time and money and illustrates that The General Theory remains highly relevant to the teacher and advanced student of modern macroeconomics. The Economics of Keynes introduces several interpretative innovations to resolve many puzzles presented in the literature of the last 70 years. It is designed to be read in parallel with The General Theory and will allow modern readers to find their bearings before plunging into an in-depth analysis of major themes contained in The General Theory. The key areas in which this 'New Guide' differs from the familiar exposition of current macroeconomics textbooks are also explicitly identified. The author reaches positive and hopeful conclusions for the development of economic theory and policy. Promoting a thorough understanding of the legitimate domain of equilibrium analysis and a renewed commitment to the possibility of genuinely full employment, this book will provide an illuminating and fascinating read for anyone wishing to appreciate fully the value of The General Theory. More specifically, academics and advanced students of macroeconomics across the board - classical, orthodox, Post Keynesian and heterodox - interested in a fresh attempt to connect The General Theory with modern macroeconomics will find this book to be the ideal tool.
