It is well-known that the Swedish experiment in practical economic control was inspired by a simultaneous development of economic thought in Sweden. Despite Swedish economics being known globally, until this book was originally published in 1939 there was little except second-hand descriptions of what the Swedes were really saying. This volume remedied that and explained hitherto hidden contemporary Swedish monetary theory.
This books presents a theory of economic development very different from the "stages of growth" hypothesis or strategies emphasizing foreign aid, trade, or regional association. Leaving these aside, the author breaks new ground by focusing on the use of domestic capital markets to stimulate economic performance. He suggests a "bootstrap" approach in which successful development would depend largely on policy choices made by national authorities in the developing countries themselves. Central to his theory is the freeing of domestic financial markets to allow interest rates to reflect the true scarcity of capital in a developing economy. His analysis leads to a critique of prevailing monetary theory and to a new view of the relation between money and physical capital—a view with policy implications for governments striving to overcome the vicious circle of inflation and stagnation. Examining the performance of South Korea, Taiwan, Brazil, and other countries, the author suggests that their success or failure has depended primarily on steps taken in the monetary sector. He concludes that monetary reform should take precedence over other development measures, such as tariff and tax reform or the encouragement of foreign capital investment. In addition to challenging much of the conventional wisdom of development, the author's revision of accepted monetary theory may be relevant for mature economies that face monetary problems.
The novel feature of this study is the application of Keynes' principle of effective demand to demonstrate the existence of a long-run unemployment equilibrium without the assumption of rigid wages.
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION 1. THE MONETARY POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES AFTER THE RECOVERY FROM THE 1920 CRISIS (1925) 2. SOME REMARKS ON THE PROBLEM OF IMPUTATION (1926) 3. ON THE PROBLEM OF THE THEORY OF INTEREST (1927) 4. INTERTEMPORAL PRICE EQUILIBRIUM AND MOVEMENTS IN THE VALUE OF MONEY (1928) 5. THE FATE OF THE GOLD STANDARD (1932) 6. CAPITAL CONSUMPTION (1932) 7. ON 'NEUTRAL MONEY' (1933) 8. TECHNICAL PROGRESS AND EXCESS CAPACITY (1936) Two reviews MARGINAL UTILITY AND ECONOMIC CALCULATION (1925) THE EXCHANGE VALUE OF MONEY (1929) NAME INDEX
Understanding Capital is a brilliantly lucid introduction to Marxist economic theory. Duncan Foley builds an understanding of the theory systematically, from first principles through the definition of central concepts to the development of important applications.
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In this work the author analyzes a unique collection of data from twenty countries, ranging as far back as the eighteenth century, to uncover key economic and social patterns. His findings transform debate and set the agenda for the next generation of thought about wealth and inequality. He shows that modern economic growth and the diffusion of knowledge have allowed us to avoid inequalities on the apocalyptic scale predicted by Karl Marx. But we have not modified the deep structures of capital and inequality as much as we thought in the optimistic decades following World War II. The main driver of inequality--the tendency of returns on capital to exceed the rate of economic growth--today threatens to generate extreme inequalities that stir discontent and undermine democratic values if political action is not taken. But economic trends are not acts of God. Political action has curbed dangerous inequalities in the past, the author says, and may do so again. This original work reorients our understanding of economic history and confronts us with sobering lessons for today.
This book applies finance to the field of capital theory. While financial economics is a well-established field of study, the specific application of finance to capital theory remains unexplored. It is the first book to comprehensively study this financial application, which also includes modern financial tools such as Economic Value Added (EVA®). A financial application to the problem of the average period of production includes two discussions that unfold naturally from this application. The first one relates to the dual meaning of capital, one as a monetary fund and the other one as physical (capital) goods. The second concerns its implications for business-cycle theories. This second topic (1) provides a solid financial microeconomic foundation for business cycles and, also (2) makes it easy to compare different business-cycle theories across the average period of production dimension. By clarifying the obscure concept of average period of production, the authors make it easier to analyze the similarities with and differences from other business-cycle theories. By connecting finance with capital theory, they provide a new point of view and analysis of the long-standing problems in capital theory as well as other related topics such as the use of neoclassical production functions and theorizing about business cycles. Finally, they emphasize that the relevance of their application rests on both its policy implications and its contributions to contemporary economic theory.
John Maynard Keynes is the great British economist of the twentieth century whose hugely influential work The General Theory of Employment, Interest and * is undoubtedly the century's most important book on economics--strongly influencing economic theory and practice, particularly with regard to the role of government in stimulating and regulating a nation's economic life. Keynes's work has undergone significant revaluation in recent years, and "Keynesian" views which have been widely defended for so long are now perceived as at odds with Keynes's own thinking. Recent scholarship and research has demonstrated considerable rivalry and controversy concerning the proper interpretation of Keynes's works, such that recourse to the original text is all the more important. Although considered by a few critics that the sentence structures of the book are quite incomprehensible and almost unbearable to read, the book is an essential reading for all those who desire a basic education in economics. The key to understanding Keynes is the notion that at particular times in the business cycle, an economy can become over-productive (or under-consumptive) and thus, a vicious spiral is begun that results in massive layoffs and cuts in production as businesses attempt to equilibrate aggregate supply and demand. Thus, full employment is only one of many or multiple macro equilibria. If an economy reaches an underemployment equilibrium, something is necessary to boost or stimulate demand to produce full employment. This something could be business investment but because of the logic and individualist nature of investment decisions, it is unlikely to rapidly restore full employment. Keynes logically seizes upon the public budget and government expenditures as the quickest way to restore full employment. Borrowing the * to finance the deficit from private households and businesses is a quick, direct way to restore full employment while at the same time, redirecting or siphoning
